In April 2019, New York magazine published “ Larry Ray and the Stolen Kids of Sarah Lawrence,” a shocking account of a group of bright college students who fell under the influence of a classmate’s father and did everything he asked of them, no matter how vile — ultimately resulting in his incarceration for sex trafficking, extortion, and conspiracy. As a Sarah Lawrence graduate, director Elisabeth Rohm read the article with intense interest. “It could have happened to me,” she told IndieWire.
“I felt so strongly about that.” Rohm immediately saw the potential for a compelling feature film, but it would take several years of script development and untangling of legal issues for the story to finally make it to the screen. The result was worth the wait.
Lifetime ‘s “ Devil on Campus: The Larry Ray Story ” is easily one of the best TV movies in years, a tonally complex and expertly directed crime film with an Emmy-worthy performance by Billy Zane in the title role. It’s the fourth in a series of thrillers that Rohm has directed for Lifetime that all transcend their limited resources and avoid the cliches often associated with movies of their type; working on tight budgets and schedules, Rohm has carved out a niche for herself as an auteur with a subtle and powerful approach to stories of violence against women that eschew both sensationalism and easy moralizing. (Her 2022 film “The Girl in Room 13” is more genuinely unsettling than most theatrical hor.
