IMDb > The Wraith (1986)
The Wraith
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The Wraith (1986) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
5.1/10   3,919 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Down 3% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Mike Marvin

Writer:

Mike Marvin (written by)

Contact:

View company contact information for The Wraith on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

21 November 1986 (USA) more

Tagline:

He's not from around here. more

Plot:

Jake is killed by neighbourhood thugs, and returns as a mystical figure (The Wraith) to gain revenge. full summary | add synopsis

Plot Keywords:

more

NewsDesk:

Syfy's Summer of Schlock
 (From Dread Central. 23 June 2009, 4:01 PM, PDT)

User Comments:

Sheen's Post-Impressionist Masterpiece more (87 total)


Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Finland:K-16 | USA:PG-13 (re-rating) | USA:R (original rating) | Australia:M | UK:15 (2008 TV Rating) | Canada:14A | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | West Germany:16


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

The Song "Never Surrender" by Lion, was used in a race sequence where one of the cars goes over the edge of a cliff thus killing the driver. The drummer of the band died in the same way when he accidentally went over the edge of a cliff racing his motorcycle. more

Goofs:

Continuity: When the two cars (Packard's Corvette and the white Dodge Daytona) return from the race in the opening scene, the driver of the Daytona stops and switches off the lights. Later he walks away with his girlfriend and Packard's Gang gets ready to get off, but now the tail lights of the Daytona are on again, although nobody has gotten in already. more

Quotes:

Sheriff Loomis: Forget it Murphy. Roadblocks can't stop somethin' that can't be stopped. more

Movie Connections:

References The Thing (1982) more

Soundtrack:

WAKE UP CALL more


FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
7 out of 12 people found the following comment useful.
Sheen's Post-Impressionist Masterpiece, 14 July 2005
9/10
Author: cari0021 from United States

Very few films past or present stray from the predictable form of a fluid linear narrative. Exposition, conflict, resolution, and possibly an occasional flashback or revisiting of an earlier moment---these are all staples of visual story telling.

Charlie Sheen's late 80's action masterpiece THE WRAITH, however, successfully ventures down a road much less traveled by filmmakers, a road which guides viewers through an assemblage of scenes which seem somehow related, but give no indication of how or why.

Ingeniuosly, the many questions of THE WRAITH, much like the guiding directions in other impressionist images, provide a grander picture of a straight forward story of love, loss, and revenge. Who is the angelic avenger that, one by one, picks off the gang of road-rash-ruffians in a futuristic car? Who, inexplicably halfway through the picture, receives his untimely demise from the ruffians in the trunk of car? Can it be the same character so craftily played by Sheen, a charming young man who both befriends the young short-order chef and knocks boots with the buxomly Sherilyn Flynn?

Thankfully the audience is given a clue to THE WRAITH's avante-garde modus in the air brushed leather jacket of Nick Cassavettes: the skull-among-flames symbolizes many things, maybe most important of which is the picture's dramatic refutation of sensible organization. The line between the beautiful, bone-white skull and the jacket's hot, licking flames, is blurred in the same fashion as the line of narrative arch which threads through THE WRAITH.

80's Action connoisseurs will appreciate the steely-eyed performance Sheen gives, as well as the supplemental contributions of Chuck Howard and Randy "Uncle Eddy" Quaid. From the first moment Flynn appears on the screen, there can be no doubt that Sheen will take her to the mat---or in this case, an Arizona hot spring---and there can be no doubt that Cassevettes and co. will receive their devilish comeuppance. During the course of such a spectacle, the audience must then ultimately ask itself, will we be able to handle the power contained in rest of this film? And if so, more importantly, will we be able to ever again stomach the banality of traditional film?

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