Bad Ronald

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Mike P @RT09890132 Oct 21, 2026 Modest but effectively creepy TV movie from the 70s...Stars Scott Jacoby as Ronald Wilbe; a young outcast who slowly descends into madness. (He's kind of a teenaged Norman Bates). The great Kim Hunter plays his protective mother. The mother has him hiding in a crawlspace in the wall; after he accidentally kills a local girl. Then the mom unexpectedly dies. Pretty soon he's spying on the new family that's moved in, planning his attack. As all this is happening Ronald gradually loses touch with reality; starting to believe all the people around him are characters in a fantasy novel he's reading. This is all very involving and effectively suspenseful, and even moving at times; featuring excellent acting by the cast. Particularly by Jacoby, who's very scary. I guess my one complaint is that it's sorta much ado about nothing. It's missing some big epiphany at the end a la Psycho; or some cataclysmic event to sorta bring it all together. Still interesting though. See more Go T @RT99501886 Dec 18, 2024 I am firmly on Ronald's side. Calling him "bad" in the title colors our perception before we even get to know him. He is a folk hero for the ages; someone way more ethical than Luigi. Imagine if Ronald was more photogenic. EVERYBODY would be on his side, instead of just the occasional oddball like me. See more Sep 11, 2021 Surprisingly tense for a 70s TV movie. The whole story gets fast forwarded a little, but it's genuinely creepy, with the whole terror silently hiding in the walls angle. Really goes a long way to attack the facade of the tranquil suburban family home. See more Dec 23, 2018 This film is brilliant, okay the acting isnt the best, but the story makes up for it. See more Feb 4, 2015 You wouldn't expect a TV movie from the mid-70s to be this creepy and unsettling, but it succeeds. Scott Jacoby does a good job as Ronald, making him seem like a poor pathetic loser one minute and a crazed maniac the next and never breaking stride. If you can hunt this down, you're in for a blood free but nevertheless terrifying good time. See more Mar 24, 2014 Bad Ronald came out when TV movies were a new thing, so it's possible that the genre wasn't as developed as it is today. However, that is no excuse to pardon the movie's flaws. It's silly, yet dark at the same time, and is extremely quirky in eccentric ways. See more Read all reviews

Bad Ronald

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