Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Bad ronald

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Bad ronald

    Jack Vance is such a revered sf/fantasy writer his career as a mystery-suspense writer has largely been overlooked. One of his early mysteries won the Edgar, in fact, and at least one of his suspense novels was made into a TV movie, this being BAD RONALD which is a whole lot better than the 1973 Ballantine packaging would lead you to believe.

    The era was still in the throes of Psycho. Numerous writers tried to run riffs on the basic Crazy Mama theme. Vance took the simple but suspenseful story of a seventeen year old kid named Ronald and paired him with an over-protective mother who had to hide him after Ronald committed an unthinkable crime, an event which Vance wisely left (mostly) off-stage. The only thing Mom can do is hide him in a hollowed out space in the house (a familiar trope in those days; in fact a more more celebrated novel was called CRAWLSPACE).

    As grisly as the set-up is Vance deals with the rest of the novel (the police staking out the house; the nasty neighbors taunting her; and her near-breakdown) with, believe it or not, a healthy dose of black humor. All too soon Mom begins to understand Ronald is not only murderous but maybe even worse, he's a dipshit. He's pretty much happy to be hidden in the house. She feeds him three times a day (but makes him go on a diet); she gives him magazines hoping this'll keep him in contact with the real world--but he prefers working on his imaginary fantasy novel world; and he whimpers like a child when he can't get exactly the kind of "treat" he wants.

    The dark humor only makes Ronald's psychopathology all the grimmer. We really are dealing with a freak here, one who should be chained to a dungeon wall for life.

    Unlike many of the PSYCHO riffs, there's a great deal of perceptive and nimble writing here. A very solid novel. The TV movie was straightforward and wasn't hip enough to include the humor.

    #2
    I do remember this movie when I was a lot younger and I remember liking it... the hiding place really stays with me for some reason. Never new Vance wrote this.. thanks for sharing this info.

    Comment


      #3
      LOL this is one very, very good movie. It has cult status and it should. Finally got the DVD version.

      Comment


        #4
        Never read the book, nor saw the movie.
        Think I'll check it out!
        Thanks for posting.

        sk

        Comment


          #5
          Bad Ronald was recentlt reprinted in the Jack Vance omnibus from Subterranean Press entitled DANGEROUS WAYS.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by theenormityofitall View Post
            LOL this is one very, very good movie. It has cult status and it should. Finally got the DVD version.
            You HAVE to see the movie...it's ultra bizarre.

            Comment


              #7
              This is a great movie! Very dark and creepy and just bizarre enough to be believable. We hear about hidden rooms all the time.
              I've been looking for this movie on Netfix for months, but it never shows up. hahaha
              "What shall I say when my lord comes a calling? What shall I say when he knocks on my door? What shall I say when his feet enter softly? Leaving the marks of his grave on my floor."

              Comment

              Working...
              X