Billy Zane
Larry Ray
Overview
Larry Ray moves into daughter's dorm, manipulates her friends by exploiting insecurities, promises personal transformations through disturbing psychological tactics aimed at gaining control over vulnerable students.
Cast
12 people
Tedra Rogers
Claudia Drury
Rhona Rees
Agent Maguire
Brenda Matthews
Ingrid Ray
Miles Merry
Daniel Levin
Reviews
4 min readThe Charm of the Devil
I’ve seen this trick before—the slow, seductive slide from mentor to monster. It’s a story as old as power itself, but Devil on Campus: The Larry Ray Story doesn’t just retell it. It forces you to watch, with a queasy fascination, as the trap snaps shut.
And then, just when you think you’ve seen the worst of it, the film lingers in the aftermath, where the real damage isn’t the abuse itself but the way it hollows out the people who survived it.
Elisabeth Röhm, directing her fourth Lifetime thriller, approaches the material with a restraint that feels almost clinical at times. That’s not a criticism. If anything, it’s the film’s most unsettling quality.
There’s no grandstanding, no melodramatic score swelling to tell you when to feel horrified. Instead, Röhm and cinematographer Michael Blundell use shallow depth of field to isolate the characters, their faces sharp against blurred backgrounds, as if to say: This is how it happens. Right in front of you, and you still won’t see it until it’s too late. The camerawork starts loose and fluid—Steadicam gliding through dorm hallways like a predator circling—before tightening into claustrophobic close-ups as the group fractures.
By the end, the handheld shots feel like a physical manifestation of their unraveling minds.
The film’s greatest strength—and its most frustrating limitation—is Billy Zane’s performance. He doesn’t just play Larry Ray; he inhabits him, with a campy, almost theatrical charm that makes the character’s descent into cruelty all the more chilling. Zane has said he wanted to incorporate humor into the role, and it shows.
Ray isn’t a snarling villain; he’s the guy who makes you laugh, who listens when no one else will, who offers you the world if you’ll just trust him. In one scene, he sits cross-legged on a dorm-room floor, spinning a tale about his past like a seasoned storyteller. The students lean in, rapt.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsBilly Zane Stars in True-Crime Drama Devil on Campus: The Larry Ray Story—Here’s What We Know
The chilling real-life saga of Larry Ray, the convicted manipulator who exploited college students at Sarah Lawrence, is getting the Hollywood treatment in Devil on Campus: The Larry Ray Story (2024). Directed by Elisabeth Röhm—best known for her roles in Law & Order and Angel—the film promises a disturbing dive into psychological control, grooming, and the dark underbelly of campus life. latestnetflix.com's view is that With Billy Zane leading the cast, the project has already sparked curiosity about its approach to the harrowing true story.
A True-Crime Story That Shocked the Nation
Larry Ray’s crimes, which unfolded between 2010 and 2014, involved moving into his daughter’s dorm at Sarah Lawrence College and systematically manipulating her friends. Exploiting their insecurities, he promised personal transformation through what prosecutors later described as "disturbing psychological tactics," including coercion, financial extortion, and emotional abuse 
. The case gained national attention after a 2019 New York magazine exposé, and Ray was ultimately sentenced to 60 years in prison in 2023 for racketeering, extortion, and sex trafficking.
The film, described as a "true-crime drama," aims to dramatize these events, though details about its narrative focus remain scarce. Given the sensitive nature of the story, the production likely faced challenges in balancing factual accuracy with dramatic tension—especially since some victims have spoken publicly about their trauma 
.
Billy Zane Takes on the Role of a Lifetime
Zane, famous for his iconic turn as Caledon Hockley in Titanic, steps into the role of Larry Ray, a man whose charm masked predatory behavior. The actor’s casting suggests a deliberate choice to emphasize Ray’s manipulative charisma—a key factor in his ability to control his victims. While Zane has tackled dark roles before (Dead Calm, The Phantom), this project marks one of his most morally complex characters yet.
The supporting cast includes Tedra Rogers, Rhona Rees, and Brenda Matthews, though their specific roles haven’t been detailed in available sources . Röhm, who also appears in the film, brings her experience as both an actress and director to the project, though her directorial credits are limited compared to her on-screen work .
Streaming Plans and Release Timeline
After its network premiere in mid-2024, Devil on Campus is set to make its U.S. streaming debut on Netflix in September 2025 . The delay between TV and streaming release is unusual but not unheard of, possibly indicating a strategic rollout to maximize viewership. Netflix’s involvement could also mean a wider audience for the film, given the platform’s track record with true-crime content.
What’s Missing? The Behind-the-Scenes Details
Despite the buzz, concrete details about the film’s production are thin. There’s no word on whether victims or their families were consulted, a common ethical concern in true-crime adaptations. The evidence also doesn’t reveal how closely the script adheres to real events or if creative liberties were taken for dramatic effect.
Rumors about on-set tensions or challenges haven’t surfaced in the available snippets, leaving fans to speculate about the film’s tone—will it lean into psychological horror, courtroom drama, or a character study of Ray’s descent? For now, the project remains shrouded in the same mystery that once surrounded its real-life subject.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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