21

TUESDAY

What do neutered melodrama, reliably bad acting, predictable family-values fluff, and Robert Ulrich have in common? Made-for-TV-moviedom, natch. Ulrich’s absence notwithstanding, 1974’s Bad Ronald has the rest of the bland requirements in spades. Oh, wait, and Ronald (played by Scott Jacoby, a ’70s TV-movie staple) is a psychotic predator who lives in the walls of his childhood home long after Mommy’s died and another family has moved in, their three nubile daughters conveniently in tow. If you can get past teenaged Ronald’s bloodlust, you’ll find that the film is really the heartwarming tale of love between mother and child. I mean, what mother worth her annual flowers and card wouldn’t concoct an elaborate protective scheme for her son—who’s just murdered a young lady for calling him “weird”—that involves lying to the cops after stashing Sonny Boy deep in the bowels of the family home? Skip the commercial breaks when the Washington Psychotronic Film Society presents the film at 8 p.m. at Dr. Dremo’s Taphouse, 2001 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington. $2 (suggested donation). (202) 707-2540.