Bad Ronald (1974)

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

You'll probably read descriptions of "Bad Ronald" that make it sound like a horror movie. A more accurate description would be a thriller. One of the many TV movies that became vogue in the 1970s, it focuses on a socially inept teenager who accidentally kills a girl and hides in a crawlspace in his house. Things turn ugly after his mother dies and a new family moves in.It's easy to feel sympathy for Ronald until he lets his imagination take over. Seriously, this boy turns psychotic. It reminded me of the imaginary world that the girls create in "Heavenly Creatures". I wouldn't call "Bad Ronald" a great movie but it's worth seeing. I guess that one could view it as a look at the underbelly of the middle-class lifestyle.The cast includes Kim Hunter (Stella in "A Streetcar Named Desire"), John Larch (the police chief in "Dirty Harry") and Dabney Coleman (the boss in "9 to 5").

I can't believe that this movie hasn't reached a "cult" status or even a wider fan database. The movie has an unique creepiness given by it's "made for t.v." label. The plot is more dramatic than scary but works perfect for a Horror movie (like Black Christmas or When A Stranger Calls) but very toned down.**SPOILERS** In the likes of "Psycho", Ronald finds in his mother trust, friendship, and love. Unlike Norman Bates, Ronald is a wimp and seems totally unable to cause damage. It all starts with Ronald and his mother celebrating his birthday. Mother makes him his favorite food and spend together a good time. The scene is sad for me because it displays a sad boy whose only friend is his sick mother (it's shown in a scene that she takes too many pills). That day, Ronald seems "happy" and self-confident on himself so he decides to ask out the hottest girl from school. He goes to her snobby house and asks her out but she rejects him in a rather mocking way. She was swimming in her pool with some friends. Sad Ronald, on his way home pushes by accident a mean girl from school who was riding on her bike. Ronald tries to help her getting up but she refuses and starts insulting him. Ronald ignores her but she goes too far by calling he and his mother "freaks". He tells her to apologize but she refuses; both struggle and ends with the blonde girl falling to the ground and hitting her head with a rock (very fake scene). Scene cuts to Ronald telling his mother that he killed and buried a girl. After several thoughts, Mother comes with the idea that he should hide from society while things "cool" a little. You know the rest. Ronald and his mom build a wall over the bathroom door and create a secret room. Ronald has plenty of space there so there's no problem. The way to access the room is from a secret door from the furniture room. Police comes to Ronald's home and discover his jacket with blood and a letter that Ronald himself wrote. The letter said that he apologizes to his mother because he did "something terrible". Brilliant Ronald didn't think about the consequences of his letter. Things seemed to be working on wheels until mother needs urgent surgery and leaves town. She says that it would only take a week for her to return. The week passes and mother didn't return. Ronald suspects because the phone rang once but it wasn't clear if it was mother who called. Anyways, soon before her death; mother sold the house "as quick as possible" in order for them to leave town. As Ronald learns that his mother died, new owners settled in the house. A couple and their three hot (I mean HOT) daughters are the new owners. Crazy Ronald seems to be very busy working on his "fantasy" world called Atranta where he's the prince looking for his princess Fandetta or something like that. Ronald seems to be losing his mind and now looks more like he's a psycho. Soon after the new people arrive, they notice that food among other things (like a personal diary) disappear. The girls say that they feel a negative vibe in the house and that strange noises happen in the night. Things start to get ugly when Mrs. Schumacher (the nosy neighbor) dies of a heart attack and hits her head with the ground after seeing Ronald sneaking in the kitchen. Ronald buries her. Then, he goes nuts and kidnaps the hot Babs (who wears through the movie hot mini skirts, thank you Babs). Then, he kidnaps Duane (the brother of the girl he killed time ago). What will happen to Ronald? Who will stop Ronald and how? "Bad Ronald" is a dramatic movie with Horror tones. It's more of a dramatic story with some creepy scenes and scary ideas. The plot is very interesting and either makes you either hate or love the main character. The movie is creepy mainly because of it's "direct for t.v." status but it's not scary by any means. Check out the "eye" in the wall scene. Now, that's a scary scene. I like the movie very much because it shows you that Ronald behaves like that because of his mother and society. He's sort of a socially abused teen.

I remember watching this movie when I was probably 13 years old. It came on late Friday or Saturday night, probably in a series called "Up All Night". If I remember correctly that was on the USA network. I remember that this movie, scared the crap out of me. The one scene where his neighbor is peeking in the window, still haunts me because I can still see her face. I wish they would release it to DVD. It gives me the creeps, but I will watch it again. If anyone knows where I can find it on DVD please let me know. It has been 18 years and I still think about it every now and then. It probably helped contribute to my insomnia when I was a kid. HA HA.

One of the better TV movies from 1970's I saw this movie a long time ago. I remember it well and I loved it. Ronald Wilby accidentally kills a girl. In order to avoid prosecution from the police, Ronald and his mother construct a secret chamber in the house where Ronald hides and lives. Ronald's mother tells him that she has to leave for a week to have an operation but she dies. As a result, a new family moves into the Wilby house while Ronald continues to live in the walls and spy on the new family and their three daughters. As the movie continues, Ronald sinks deeper and deeper into madness creating and living in his own world called "ATRANTA". In his world, Ronald becomes "Prince Norbert" the ruler of Atranta. Ronald also falls in love with the youngest of the daughters who he calls "Princess Vancetta". He eventually kidnaps her. This movie was really creepy and suspenseful for its time. I loved the scene where the nosy neighbor Mrs. Schumacher caught Ronald raiding the refrigerator. The movie is a watered down version of the novel by John Holbrook Vance, but in the 1970's censorship, most TV movies were also watered down this way. It is definitely dated and the clothes that people wear in this movie are those reminiscent of the ones worn by the Brady Bunch. By today's standards, this movie would be considered to be campy but it is definitely worth a look because it is a good story! The ending was pretty wild too!! Emmy Winner Scott Jacoby did a great job as Ronald Wilby. He handled his role very well and brought a good deal of complexity and depth to his character. Remember how he was knawing on that candy bar? Oscar winning actress Kim Hunter(also known for her role as Dr. Zera in the "Planet of the apes" movies) played his doting mother who had high aspirations for Ronald to become a doctor. A very young Dabney Coleman played Mr. Wood, who moved his wife and three daughters into the Wilby house unaware of Ronald's probing eyes spying on them from behind the walls. This movie is still around and you can buy it on VHS on Ebay. It sells on Ebay very fast and it took me 4 tries to finally buy it. Collectors are after this movie because an original VHS with the original artwork cover of it is very rare. As far as I know, a DVD version of it hasn't been released. However, you can buy a high quality DVD copy. Follow the link: http://www.franksreelreviews.com/shorttakes/buybr.htm I posted some "BAD RONALD" trivia questions here on the message board. If you are a true "BAD RONALD" fan, check out the message board here and see how many Bad Ronald trivia questions that you can answer. Good Luck!