‘You must stay in the lair until it’s safe…’
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A lifelong love of horror films will take you to some weird and wonderful places. I once watched a film about a murderous tire, for example. Well, Bad Ronald, as recommended to me by the With Gourley and Rust podcast is about as niche as horror gets. But I have to admit, I kinda liked it…
The titular Ronald (Scott Jacoby) is an awkward and lonely teenage boy who accidentally murders a younger girl following a short argument. Upon hearing about this terrible accident, Ronald’s mother Elaine (Kim Hunter) decides the only sensible course of action is for Ronald to live inside the walls of their house. As you do. This is all well and good until Ronald’s mother dies and a new family moves in.
No matter how niche this film is, there is no denying that that is a great premise. And to say this is an obscure made-for-TV movie from 1974, the execution is pretty good too. Sure, the middle part of the film doesn’t live up to the introduction or the conclusion, but those bookends ensure that Bad Ronald is worth seeking out for any horror aficionados out there. If anything, at only 74 minutes I could actually have done with a bit more Bad Ronald in my life. Jacoby is surprisingly great as our eponymous villain, although having said that, ‘bad’ Ronald is actually not that bad really. He’s a bit weird in a Carrie White sort of a way, but he seems a good egg aside from all of the murdering. A weak defence, I suppose, but a defence nevertheless.
Bad Ronald is rough around the edges, but it has a lovely nostalgic feel to it, and it has apparently stuck around in pop culture ether long enough for it to become a cult classic of sorts. An odd but enjoyable cinematic experience.