Bad Ronald (1974)

58% of users liked it
(667 ratings)

"Bad" Ronald (Scott Jacoby) has been in hiding in a secret room ever since going off the deep end and killing a teenaged girl who'd made fun of him. Ronald's mother (Kim Hunter) helps her son to remain hidden, even when the house in which he is sequestered is rented by a family. As luck would have… More "Bad" Ronald (Scott Jacoby) has been in hiding in a secret room ever since going off the deep end and killing a teenaged girl who'd made fun of him. Ronald's mother (Kim Hunter) helps her son to remain hidden, even when the house in which he is sequestered is rented by a family. As luck would have it, three of the family members are nubile young girls--perfect targets for the lonely, and looney, Ronald. In the original John Holbrook Vance novel on which this TV-movie is based, Ronald abducts, repeatedly rapes and ultimately kills two women. The video version of Bad Ronald is heavily laundered, but no less terrifying. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 18 min.
Directed By: Buzz Kulik
Genres: Drama, Television, Horror, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Dec 23, 1974 Wide
Studio: Live Home Video

Critic Reviews

John Beifuss, Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
Offers a non-supernatural variation on the idea that something sinister haunts the conventional family home, lurking within the walls and behind the 'normal' furnishings -- and relationships.
Ryan Cracknell, Movie Views
Although it's hampered by rushed pacing and some plot contrivances, Bad Ronald isn't actually that bad.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Lafe F

A made-for-TV movie about a creepy nerdy boy named Ronald "Scott Jacoby" who gets himself in over his head when he kills a little girl in the neighbourhood by accident, and is put into hiding by his grandmother in between the walls of his house. Well, Grandma passes away,… More
A made-for-TV movie about a creepy nerdy boy named Ronald "Scott Jacoby" who gets himself in over his head when he kills a little girl in the neighbourhood by accident, and is put into hiding by his grandmother in between the walls of his house. Well, Grandma passes away, but Ronald doesn't come out. A new family movies into the house, and Ronald is still in there, living in his own creepy fantasy world. He watches them through holes in the wall, and sneaks out for food occassionally. It's a creepy movie which I watched in '74 and could never forget.