Bad Ronald (1974)

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Boring

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

When teenage outcast Ronald Wilby (Scott Jacoby) accidentally kills a young girl, his overprotective mother Elaine (Kim Hunter) comes up with an unusual way to keep her son out of the hands of the law: she instructs Ronald to turn their guest bathroom into a hideaway, covering up the doorway with plasterboard and wallpaper and creating a secret entrance in the pantry.When the police inevitably turn up, his mother tells them that her son has left home and that she doesn't know his whereabouts. Her intention is to keep up the pretence until the time comes when she can move away with her son without raising suspicion. In the meantime, Ronald occupies his time by drawing characters from his fictional fantasy realm of Atranta.Things goes awry, however, when Elaine has to go into hospital for an operation and dies while under the knife. Her presumably empty house is sold to a new family, the Woods, and Ronald is forced to sneak out whenever possible to find food. Eventually, the lad loses his grip on reality, retreating into his imaginary world, and becomes obsessed with the youngest Wood daughter (Cindy Fisher), who he believes is a princess who must come and live with him in Atranta.Bad Ronald is a made-for-TV movie and, as such, doesn't exactly push the envelope (no gore or nudity here, folks); despite this, it still manages to be both creepy and bizarre enough to appeal to the cult crowd. The premise might be a bit far-fetched at times, Ronald managing to remain undiscovered even when sharing the house with a new family (wouldn't they hear him flushing the toilet?), but solid performances and great direction make it easy to overlook the film's sillier moments (the worst of which involve cartoonish snoop of a neighbour Mrs. Schumacher, overplayed by Linda Watkins).Towards the end, Bad Ronald changes from quirky drama to tense thriller, with the now unhinged Ronald chasing 'princess' Babs through the house (director Buzz Kulik proving particularly fond of the 'upskirt' shot).6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

Scott Jacoby gives a memorably creepy performance in this popular TV-movie about a young fugitive from the law who lives in the walled-up guest bathroom of his house after his divorced mother dies and a new family moves in. Interesting, if far-fetched premise, adapted by Andrew Peter Marin from a novel by John Holbrook Vance, contains some startling scenes handled well by veteran director Buzz Kulik. Although brief at 72 minutes, the movie utilizes its time well; Kulik was obviously working against the restraints of a low budget and content requirements for television, but he admirably doesn't treat this scenario lightly. Jeered teenager Ronald, who lives in a fantasy world of doomed medieval lovers, isn't simply a misfit--he's seriously touched in the head--and Jacoby doesn't attempt to make him likable. The supporting performances are uneven, ranging from stilted to overly-broad (the nosy neighbor), yet the dark, edgy mood of the piece is conveyed very well.

Gawky misfit teen Ronald (a truly spooky and unnerving performance by Scott Jacoby; the gimpy magician in "The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane") accidentally kills a bratty little girl. He's subsequently hidden in a secret room of an old Victorian house by his sickly, smothering mother (a wonderful portrayal by "Planet of the Apes" film series regular Kim Hunter) in order to avoid being arrested by the authorities. Mom dies and a new family -- father Dabney Coleman, mother Pippa Scott, and their three hottie daughters Cindy Fisher, Cindy Eibacher and Lisa Eibacher -- move into the swanky and enormous abode. Ronald loses his grip on reality and disappears into an elaborate fantasy world created by his own warped overactive imagination. One fateful day he comes out of his clandestine hideaway hole to terrorize the hapless adolescent lasses when the parents leave for the weekend.One of the all-time classic 70's made-for-TV horror psycho thrillers, "Bad Ronald" 's extremely fantastic and far-fetched premise is made reasonably credible and totally compelling by journeyman TV show veteran Buzz Kulik's capable direction (along with his episodic TV show credits, Kulik also helmed the enjoyable Burt Reynolds private eye picture "Shamus" and the underrated Steve McQueen action vehicle "The Hunter"). Fred Karlin's effectively eerie score and a top-rate cast make this feature a cut above average TV movie fare. Popping up in especially nice bits are John Larch as a shrewd homicide detective and John Fiedler as a friendly real estate agent. Yeah, this film is fairly preposterous, but thankfully Jacoby's unforgettably creepy and disturbing character keeps the show gripping and harrowing right down to its thrilling climax. Jacoby's role as a murderously messed-up teenage nerd deserves a place right alongside "The Bad Seed" 's Patty McCormack and the Udvarnovsky brothers from "The Other" in the All-Time Scary Killer Kids Hall of Infamy.

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.