The Wraith Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
He's not from around here.
An evil force took his life... Now an unearthly power has brought him back.
He's heaven-sent and hell on wheels!
...his spirit returns for revenge.
If you've done nothing wrong, you've got nothing to fear.
He is a phantom - a wraith.
A small desert town has been harassed for months by a gang of drag racers, but so far no one has done anything to stop them. One day, a ghostly black car shows up, challenging members of the group to race, then killing them one by one. Neither the gang nor the police can catch the car or its driver, but some investigating into the gang's past may reveal just who's behind all this.
| Charlie Sheen | Jake Kesey, The Wraith |
| Nick Cassavetes | Packard Walsh |
| Sherilyn Fenn | Keri Johnson |
| Randy Quaid | Sheriff Loomis |
| Matthew Barry | Billy Hankins |
| David Sherrill | Skank |
| Jamie Bozian | Gutterboy |
| Clint Howard | Rughead |
| Griffin O'Neal | Oggie |
| Chris Nash | Minty |
| Vickie Benson | Waitress |
| Peder Melhuse | Murphy |
| Jeffrey Sudzin | Redd |
| Michael Hungerford | Stokes |
| Mike Marvin |
5.00 out of 10 (3253 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Great and funny movie! Hot cars too!
posted on 31 Aug 2009Great and funny movie! The smaller parts of Skank and Gutterhead were hilarious. I just loved those two guys. They almost stole the movie from Charlie Sheen. Charlie and Keri (lead boy and girl) were well cast. It was a toss-up who was the prettier of the two. While watching I thought Keri amazingly sexy and wondered if she was some Playboy Centerfold who won a part in a small movie. (check out her biography on IMDb, she WAS a bunny at one time). Every outfit she had was absolutely cute and hot looking. The cars were cool and it was fun watching them race. Two bloopers I caught were when Skank and Gutterhead had a shotgun. They kept talking about putting "bullets" in the shotgun. You would think scriptwriters knew that you put shotgun SHELLS in a shotgun, not bullets. Bullets go in a gun. Also, I had to look up Cassavetes birthplace. For 99% of the movie he speaks "standard American English" (no identifiable accent). But one scene where he is in his bad guy garage, and Randy Quaid approaches him, he slips into some kind of New York/New Jersey accent. See if you can catch it, it's only a few lines but he gives away his birthplace. I looked him up on the IMDb and he's from New York. Randy Quaid is perfectly cast, as usual. The guy is a legend.
This didn't age well
posted on 10 Aug 2009I loved this movie when I was growing up in the '80s. I had Knight Rider - Road Warrior - and Transformers on the brain back then, so of course a movie about a "ghostly magical car and it's mysterious driver that kills people" was too cool for me to ignore. I think I payed more attention to all the cool car action than the story line when I watched it. I thought this movie was the coolest ever.Now, 20 years later, I can say this movie didn't "age" very well and I can't believe how stupid it really is, especially the cheesy dialog of Sheriff Loomis (a.k.a Randy Quaid) and bad acting and directing of the rest of it. The only two characters I think are entertaining to watch were Skank and Gutterboy. I laugh aloud whenever I see the wraith costume, which looks like a paint-ball suit with elbow pads and a motorcycle helmet. Not much thought went into that design. I will admit that the special effects used in the movie looked ahead of their time, for a mid-80's movie, and still look pretty cool today - especially when the wraith car repairs itself after a crash.Anyway, I gave this movie a moderate 5 out of 10 for nostalgia reasons. I did love it as a kid and I know if you asked me in 1986 I would have given it "20 out of 10" if it were possible. Today I see a low-budget sci-fi movie mixed with a 2 hour of "product placement" for Chrysler.
Is this movie for real?
posted on 07 Aug 2009Wow, what a total waste of an hour of my life, but I must say this movie........ so very bad it kinda ruled. For a movie released in the winter of 1986, it grossed 4500 dollars in its first week at the box office in the US, and grossed over 4.5 million in France. This movie made use of such high tech products as, the Digital Radio Blaster, and the flame retardant racing helmets, capable of allowing only your skin to burn yet saving your hair from a fiery death. I love movies that have a supernatural twist, yet I wonder why the spirits chose Chrysler as its provider for the ghostly super car? Also the car is powered by two vibrating lightning laden shoeboxes, strait from Chrysler's special engine division. All in all a mind numbing flick full of homosexual undertones, and great all around dialogue. Have fun with this one folks!
Formulaic but enjoyable cheese.
posted on 23 Jul 2009When I was little I remember seeing this film on TV and enjoyed for what it is even at that age I knew it was cheesy and corny; especially in it's writing and direction. Yes it's '80s soundtrack is cheesy, and the acting is b-movie quality but the special effects were pretty nifty for an '80s movie. If they focused more on the film further, this could've been pretty good action flick. Well, it has to be settled for that though there is a fair amount of T&A which satisfies the fantasies of males( in retrospect, the girls are much healthy looking than, you know, nowadays). The best scenes in the movie are the races which lead to a fiery death and the verbal joust between Jamie's girlfriend and the gang leader near the end. The final duel at the end was quite suspenseful but underwhelming. Not good or bad but something to watch on a boring summer afternoon when there is nothing else on. It's entertaining but nothing more.
i like it
posted on 23 Jul 2009i saw this movie,and it's my love now. But i don't have it at home. It's my only one problem with it. I love Charlie,as an actor,and i love this movie because it can touch my heart. It's the best!!! I need to watch it every time i want! Yes,i love the another movies too. You can understand what i feel if i see the movie,if you had a lonely life like mine. i am a hungering girl,i love cars,so i love this movie. I want to meet another people who feels like me. i need to know if i am not alone. i don't have anything about Charlie sheen except maybe a little photo of he. But i have the title song from the wraith... If secret loser from Ozzy is that song...
Just see it for the Interceptor.
posted on 09 May 2009This film is kinda funny.....the acting is fairly bad....not so much bad....just kinda dull sometimes. The only reason anyone need see this movie is for the Dodge Turbo Interceptor. To this day it is still my dream car. Only rival to Mad Max's Australian Mustang.
"The Wraith"--low budget movie; high octane film
posted on 24 Apr 2009I first saw this film when I was 13 and fell in love with it. The characters, plot, and setting all come together perfectly; not to mention the awesome soundtrack (which I own!!!). If you are into fast cars, 80's music, supernatural beings, and romance, "The Wraith" is for you. I have the DVD and the soundtrack and they are two of my most prized possessions. Charlie Sheen, Nick Cassevettes, Sherilyn Fenn, and Randy Quaid do a wonderful job of portraying their characters. Give this movie a try and I guarntee it will become one of your favorites.
Still no DVD??!!
posted on 12 Apr 2009I actually don't have much to say about this movie. If you have seen it, you'll know that it speaks for itself, as one of the most original and well written sci/fi flics of the 80s. The idea of a teenager, killed by a gang of car racing thugs, coming back in an indestructable car to exact justice on the gang that killed him is amazing to say the least! It's like The Crow on wheels! The fact that this movie hasn't made it to DVD yet is a travasty. I can only imagine what the engine of the only Dodge "Interceptor" in existance would sound like, re-mastered in Dolby 5.1!
Please Help...Anyone...Anyone....Anyone!
posted on 28 Mar 2009I am an 80's buff and I accidentaly stumbled upon this movie on TNT while surfing TV stations late nite. I loved the movie and now I am obssessd in trying to locate its soundtrack...basically HELPPP MEE! My contact info. is FTessema@Compaq.Net or TessemaF@Hotmail
Entertaining Movie
posted on 29 Oct 2008The Wraith is one of the few movies growing up in the Eighties that l found truly captivating from numerous reasons.Most enduring as a young male at the time of its release were the unique cars,race sequences and a mysterious plot.In my opinion the key elements which make it in every part a "sci fi classic" is it still remains the one movie l can continually watch over and over again.If you allow yourself not to scrutinize certain predictable outcomes and appreciate the legacy of what essential was a low budget film,it has in my opinion more than delivered a satisfactory movie.The movie coupled with the fantastic soundtrack,meant that in years gone by it was always first amongst the movies on video night.Two movies which l feel a similar and most definitely be appreciated by fans of The Wraith, are two Australian films made slightly prior to The Wraith.The obvious movie being Mad Max,however the second less obvious is the movie "Running on Empty",similar plots lines,identifiable characters and outback,desert type settings are all evident.In summary a truly enjoyable movie,where you strap yourself along for the ride.Win the race,Win the Girls heart and get the second chance everyone so desperately wishes for.
A must see for any car buff
posted on 30 Aug 2008Great movie from the 80's. Not just for the fact of a great story line and great looking cars, but for the fact of vengence sheen gets on all the bullies who did him in when he was alive. Aslo a little note for all, The Wraith car is the PPG pace car Dodge Turbo Interceptor, which has the same 2.2 ltr turbo charged engine as the Daytona. And if you look closely in the garage there is a proto-type 86' Daytona
Great movie
posted on 22 Jul 2008The wraith is a really cool movie!I think the movie really stands out for car lovers (some awesome cars in this movie; not just one), and romantics alike. Who wouldn't like for a lover to return and rescue you (after all death didn't even stop him) and I love the revenge he got on everyone that took part in his death......lawyer, judge, and jury all in one :)My favorite part in the movie is when he (charlie sheen) kills packardI own this movie as well and would recommend it to all 80's fans out there~Angie~
I wished I'd gone to bed!
posted on 25 Jun 2008This came on TV just recently and I thought it had the looks of a fun so-bad-it's-good SF potboiler. Sadly, that was too much to aspire to.It is just so bad it was really not worth staying up for. Risible plot, hokey script, wooden acting. I really want that 90 minutes or so of my life back.**spoilers, if you can call 'em that**Charlie Sheen is a ghost (we wish) who returns in an uber-car to wreak revenge on the gang of street racers who killed him and took his girl (well, the head street racer did). He wants them dead and the girl back. Yes it really is as bad as it sounds.
Good, cheesy fun
posted on 22 Jun 2008This movie survives only because the plot idea is kinda' cool. The rest of it is tremendously cheesy, but the excellent car and a compulsive 80's sound track make this a movie worthy of a night in and a bucket of popcorn. Put up your feet, put your brain to bed, sit back and enjoy.
The Only Adults are Cops
posted on 23 May 2008This is an often overlooked 80's classic. It is one of those movies made up mostly of the 16-24 year old group, with not an adult in sight. Pretty much the only adults around are the police, who accomplish very little.
The movie is about a wrongfully young man returning to avenge his death. He was wrongfully killed by a local hotrod gang. Now he is back as a wraith, with a supercar as well!
This IS a classic 80's b-movie!
posted on 23 May 2008It makes me laugh when I read bad reviews of this movie. No one claimed it was a classic, no claimed it would win awards or prizes for depth of storyline etc.What it does have is earnest performances, fantastic fx, amazing score and very pretty photography.Yes, laugh at the shadow of the camera (in the days before monitors) during the race scenes, at least they bothered to use real cars on real roads at high speed, unlike pathetic cgi cars (fast & the furious, 2 fast 2 furious, gone in 60 seconds) with crap physics.This movie is totally innovative, nothing like it before or since and there are a lot of techniques used in this movie that I haven't seen bettered since. The bit where Jake's scrambler breaks into 4 meteorites still looks great, the tasteful re-animation of the Wraith mobile after crashes (nowadays that would probably be done using reverse photography).The action scenes in Mad Max & Mad Max 2 are sped up and look ridiculous. (Watch the bit in Mad Max 2 just before he crashes his Interceptor...you'll see.)The acting is pantomimish (baddies=very bad, goodies=very good) but that is the style of this movie. We know that these actors are capable of more in-depth characterisations, but this is a shallow b-movie. That's all it's supposed to be. Anyone who watches this movie and expects anything other than popcorn fodder is an absolute idiot. Moaning about technical problems and poor acting only makes you look like an idiot. And let's face it, even today's biggest blockbusters are chock full of mistakes and glitches.You don't watch a Carry On movie and then say "Oh, that was quite unrealistic, and the acting is bad." That's the point. It's silly farce. You're not supposed to take it seriously!I'm also aware that Charlie Sheen hates this movie and he must have good reason.Strangely enough, I'm surprised that this movie was not seized upon by the pompous comic book brigade! I guess, if it was a little more Gothic and The Wraith was brooding and had a troubled back story it would have been more accepted. I'm glad it didn't and wasn't.If it was made now, it would have stinking CGI fx and too much back story.It's a bubblegum movie. You don't like it, don't watch it. As a b-movie for it's time, it is a technically superior easy watch which still towers over many newer movies of the same genre. The Crow? Pompous nonsense!Hellboy? Crap!The Wraith? Know's it's place and doesn't try to overstep it's mark!And for people moaning about rubbish acting, check out Matthew Barry's performance when Billy Hankins realises Jake is his brother. It's an amazing, emotionally charged moment. I dare you to disagree and if you do you must be tripping. Stop henpecking this movie.....it's ace, I tell you...ACE!
Should've been on VH1's "I Love The 80's"...
posted on 31 Aug 2009When I was a kid, this movie had me and my friends talking for weeks. The car featured in this flick was way ahead of anything we'd seen on the road back then, and we all of course wanted a car just like it when we grew up. Still haven't got one yet, but watching this DVD makes me want a kick-a** ride like that, even after all these years. A great and (sadly) long forgetten diamond-in-the-rough film about a guy using his tricked-out wheels to get the ultimate revenge on the adolescent bullies who killed him.