"Bad Ronald" Haunted a Generation and Became TV's Creepiest Cult Classic

A Haunting Legacy of "Bad Ronald"

The 1974 made-for-TV movie Bad Ronald has a premise that is as unsettling as it is unforgettable. It taps into the deepest fears of anyone who has ever felt watched from within the safety of their own home. This low-budget film, though simple in production, has left an indelible mark on horror fans and remains a cult classic that continues to be revisited today.

Bad Ronald not only terrified viewers in the 1970s but also managed to carve out a lasting place in pop culture. It is frequently featured in lists of the best made-for-TV horror movies, including:

• The Best Made-For-TV Horror Movies Of All Time at Giant Freakin Robot
• Scariest ABC Movies of the Week From Bad Ronald to Crowhaven Farm on Collider
• Movies in Which Creepy People Hide in a House Without Anyone Knowing So They Can Watch, also on Collider
• No. 2 on The Top 50 1970s Made for TV Horror/Thriller Movies on IMDb

For those who haven’t seen the film or have chosen to forget its terrifying tale (spoilers ahead), Bad Ronald follows the socially awkward teenager Ronald Wilby (Scott Jacoby). He is constantly mocked and bullied by his classmates. During a confrontation with his mean girl neighbor Carol Matthews (Angela Hoffman), Ronald overreacts and shoves her to the ground, causing her to hit her head and die.

After the accident, Ronald's mother Elaine Wilby (Kim Hunter) panics, and the two decide to hide Ronnie inside their house by walling up one of the bathrooms, creating a creepy hidey hole where he can live—complete with a secret escape door through the kitchen pantry so he can come and go until they figure out what to do next.

The plan falls apart when Ronald’s mother dies suddenly, their house is sold, and a new family moves in. Yes, and Ronald is still living inside there, and this new family doesn’t know it!

Ronald, quickly descending into madness, watches the family through peepholes and sneaks out to steal their food and other items. Of course, he is eventually discovered, and everything comes crashing down for Ronald and the family.

Nowadays, we understand that poor Ronald Wilby was experiencing a severe mental health crisis, but back in the '70s, we weren’t as emotionally intelligent, and we simply turned the story into terror and nightmares—nightmares that have never gone away.

Bad Ronald is based on the Jack Vance novel with the same title. The made-for-TV movie, directed by Buzz Kulik, first aired on October 23, 1974, on ABC. Along with Jacoby, Hunter, and Hoffman, the movie also starred Dabney Coleman (9 to 5, On Golden Pond), Pippa Scott, and John Larch.

The film is one of the earliest "killer living in the walls" thrillers, predating and possibly even inspiring aspects of films like Hider in the House (1989), The People Under the Stairs (1991), and even the Oscar-winning South Korean film Parasite (2020).

Decades later, the Bad Ronald movie is still lurking around in its eerie, strangely celebrated hidey hole of 1970s made-for-TV cinema. It has a 6.6/10 rating on IMDb, and a 67% Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Bad Ronald is currently available for streaming via Prime Video, where subscription and other fees may apply.

Watch the Bad Ronald trailer:
Check out this clip from the TV movie Bad Ronald:

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