Michael_Elliott Bad Ronald (1974) *** (out of 4) Creepy made-for-TV thriller about a nerdy boy named Ronald (Scott Jacoby) who is constantly picked one. One day a girl insults his mother so he accidentally kills her. Ronald tells his mother (Kim Hunter) what he has done and she suggests that he live behind the walls until everything can blow over. She goes in for an operation and dies, which means the house gets sold to a new family who Ronald stalks from behind the walls. OK, it's highly unlikely Ronald could have lived behind the walls but I'm willing to let this slide because the story itself is so good and so interesting that one can overlook a flaw here and there. I was really shocked at how drawn in I was and by the time the 70-minutes was over I had found a new favorite. The movie has an overall creepy feel from the start of the film when we see the relationship between Ronald and his mother and it gets creepier as the film goes along as Ronald slowly begins to lose his mind. The "friendships" he builds behind the walls, which forces him to come out is rather creepy and handled extremely well here. The scene where he confronts the youngest daughter living in the house has some great suspense and does the ending, which closes everything up quite nicely. I thought Jacoby was very good in his role and make the character quite believable as did Hunter. Dabney Coleman, Pippa Scott, Cindy Fisher, Cindy Eilbacher and a young Lisa Eilbacher (AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN) round out the cast and also deliver fine work. The 70's were a pretty good decade for made-for-TV films and this one has gotten one of the best reputations out there and for good reasons.

The_Void On the face of it, Bad Ronald doesn't look like it has much going for it, but despite some silly plot devices and the fact that it was made for TV back in the seventies; this is actually a very decent little cult gem. The film capitalises on the idea of creepy old houses being haunted; only this time the house at the centre of the tale is not inhabited by ghosts, but rather by the psychopathic son of the previous owner. The premise works from what is probably the most obvious plot device ever, as we watch the title character; an odd young man obsessed by the fantasy world that he himself has created, accidentally murder a young neighbourhood girl. That's just the start of the chain of events, and when he comes home to tell his mother that he's killed a girl and buried the body in a shallow grave, she immediately decides that he must convert the downstairs bathroom into a secret hideout. He stays there while his mother brings him food, but tragedy strikes when she dies in hospital, leaving Ronald on his own. It's not long before a new family moves in, and Ronald isn't moving out...I'm probably overrating this film a little really, but the way that the story is delivered is completely undemanding, and that makes this a very fun film to watch. Too many films these days are too complicated, but Buzz Kulik's film focuses on the important elements, and the resulting film is very simple and easy to get into. The film isn't heavy on characterisation, but the central situation has more than enough to make up for this, and the character of Ronald is easy to get behind, despite the fact that he's the villain of the piece. The fact that it was made for TV is obvious as the film looks very cheap and the acting is largely diabolical, but I've seen a lot worse from theatrically released films. There's no blood and gore in the film, partly because it was made for television, and partly because the story really doesn't need any gore to succeed. Bad Ronald is a real bona fide cult gem; it may never achieve classic status, but its well worth tracking down and I highly recommend this film to anyone that gets their hands on it. I know I'll definitely see it again!

Elma13 BAD RONALD was a childhood movie... I remember seeing it on TV back in the days. I liked it so much that I recorded it on my little cassette recorder. I finally got the movie on VHS last week and it brought back so many memories! I was such a fan of cute-pie Scott Jacoby. Does anyone know where he is now? I so love Scott's character because he reminds me of me. BAD RONALD is not eerie to me like others say. I like the chemistry between Ronald and his mother. They are devoted to each other which is cool to me.THE BAD RONALD BOARD--- http://www.network54.com/Forum/241459/SCOTT JACOBY, WHERE R U!!!!!!!!!

insomniac_rod 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.