The Wraith (1986)

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The movie begins with a young man named "George" (Steven Eckholdt) down a lonely highway somewhere in Arizona with his girlfriend. Suddenly, a group of cars appear and force him to stop. It's then that a man named "Packard Walsh" (Nick Cassavetes) comes up to him and threatens George with physical violence to his girlfriend unless he agrees to race his car against that of Packard's--with the loser having to forfeit their car. Packard wins and both George and his girlfriend are subsequently left out in the middle of nowhere to fend for themselves. The scene then shifts to another young man named "Jake Kesey" (Charlie Sheen) riding a motorcycle in the town of Brooks, Arizona and asking a pretty young woman named "Keri Johnson" (Sherilyn Fenn) for directions. She offers to show him but as soon as she gets on the motorcycle Packard drives up and tells her to get in his car. She obediently gets in even though is is apparent she wants nothing to do with him. But Packard's days of bullying everybody in town is about to be challenged by a mysterious man driving a sleek black Turbo Interceptor who challenges certain members of Packard's gang to race against him one-on-one. What they don't know is that it isn't their cars that this mysterious figure is after—but rather their lives. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that I remember watching this movie in the theater when it first came out and I rather liked it as it had a decent horror plot enhanced by some pretty good action scenes. Admittedly, some parts were kind of hokey but all things considered I found the overall film to enjoyable enough and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Evidence points towards a teen stranger being the same person responsible for killing local thugs during dangerous drag races in this uncredited remake of 'High Plains Drifter'. On paper, it sounds quite promising, updating the classic western story to modern times with cars instead of horses and the drag races (full of point-of-view shots) are admittedly exciting. The screenplay is rather incoherent though with no explanation for how the protagonist has returned or the origins of his supernatural gadgetry. In fact, a key difference between 'High Plains Drifter' and 'The Wraith' is that the latter film makes it glaringly obvious that something supernatural is up from Scene 1, whereas the 1973 film only slowly reveals its twists. The supernatural element consequently weighs more heavily here and the lack of explanation is more bothersome. There is also the fact that Eastwood's character gradually humiliates and perplexes the townsfolk before taking revenge; here, revenge comes too soon. The baddies are also vile that there is no reason to root for them even without knowing of their checkered past; they are such brainless scum that the film treads no ethical ground when offing them. The film is additionally beset by a blaring song soundtrack, and yet 'The Wraith' is reasonably watchable for such a heavily flawed project. The seemingly driverless, darkly tinted supernatural car is a wonder to behold, the drag races are well filmed and the movie features some great locales and vistas considering that the only place to socialise in town appears to be the local hamburger joint!

Jamie, killed by neighborhood thugs, returns as a mystical figure named Jake the Wraith (Charlie Sheen) to gain revenge.A movie from the 1980s with fast cars and Charlie Sheen? Sounds like a winner, maybe a mix between "Ferris Bueller" and The Chase". Add in Sherilyn Fenn in a pre-"Twin peaks" role... that has to be good, right? She stole the show there and the under-appreciated "Boxing Helena". Oh, and did I mention Clint Howard? But somehow it all seems so bland. Like a made-for-TV movie, and not a very good one, at that. I feel like the exact same story, with a little spit and polish could have been a minor masterpiece. But no. Somehow this gets labeled a "horror" film, but that is quite the stretch. Though it is not much of anything else either.

Packard Walsh (Nick Cassavetes) and his gang terrorize an Arizona town and force drivers to drag race for their cars. Jake Kesey (Charlie Sheen) is new in town riding in on his bike. He catches the eye of Keri Johnson (Sherilyn Fenn) who is the possessive Packard's girlfriend. She used to be Jamie Hankins' girl before he was killed by Packard. Jake befriends Jamie's brother Billy (Matthew Barry). He slowly takes out Packard's gang as The gun-toting Wraith driving his ghost car. His car is reborn every time it is destroyed. Sheriff Loomis (Randy Quaid) helplessly investigates.With the roller skating burger joint waitresses and the old fashion gang drag races, this has a cheesy derivative 50s feel. It's kind of fun but kind of bad. Charlie Sheen is doing a likable bad boy hero. Sherilyn Fenn looks hot in her bikini. Nick Cassavetes is a forgettable brute. Clint Howard is memorable as the bespectacled gearhead Rughead. This is a cheesy cult movie but limited other than the cool idea.