The Wraith (1986)

Jamie, killed by neighborhood thugs, returns as a mystical figure named Jake (The Wraith) to gain revenge.

Director:

Mike Marvin

Writer:

Mike Marvin

Stars:

Charlie Sheen, Nick Cassavetes, Sherilyn Fenn

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Steven Eckholdt	...	George in Daytona

Storyline

Packard Walsh and his motorized gang control and terrorize an Arizona desert town where they force drivers to drag-race so they can 'win' their vehicles. After Walsh stabs the decent teenager Jamie Hankins to death for being intimate with a girl whom Walsh wants for himself, the mysterious Jake Kesey arrives, an extremely cool motor-biker with an invincible car. Jake befriends Jamie's girlfriend Keri Johnson, takes Jamie's sweet brother Billy under his wing and manages what Sheriff Loomis can not - the methodical and otherworldly elimination of Packard's criminal gang.

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Plot Keywords:

gang | wraith | arizona | police | revenge | 

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Taglines:

He is a phantom - a wraith.

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Thriller | Sci-Fi | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 November 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Aparição

Filming Locations:

2128 East 5th Street - Tucson, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,700,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$3,500,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Century Entertainment Corporation, Alliance Entertainment, Turbo Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Packard Walsh drove a late-1970s Chevrolet Corvette with a custom paint job and nose clip; Oggie drove a 1986 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z; Minty drove a 1977 Pontiac Firebird with a highly-visible (but apparently non-functional) supercharger; Skank and Gutterboy drove a beat-up 1966 Plymouth Barracuda; Rughead was driving a late-70's Chevrolet pickup. The couple who are cheated out of their car in the first race were driving a 1987 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z (distinguished by its' pop-up headlights, unlike the exposed headlights of Oggie's 1986 model). The police drove a variety of mid-1980's Plymouth Caravelles and Gran Furys, as well as early-1980's Chevrolet Malibus; Sheriff Loomis drove a "civilian" Plymouth Caravelle.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Sheriff Loomis: You listen to me, you son-of-a-bitch! There's a kid out there usin' his car to kill people, not that it's such a big deal since it seems to be your gang he's got it in for... so, if you guys try to take the law into your own hands, and that killer turns up dead, I'm gonna see you all sniffin' cyanide in the Arizona gas chamber.

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Connections

Referenced in A Tale of Two Sillies (2013)

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Soundtracks

"HEARTS VS. HEADS"
By Stan Bush and Andy DiTaranto
Performed by Stan Bush
Courtesy of Scotti Brothers Records

User Reviews

Lost and found!

Well, this movie is one of those half-forgotten gems of this cool decade. As a child I use to rent this movie over and over again but then I forgot it's name when I grew older. Recently, when I started to look for old cult 80s, I stumbled upon this little nice saga. The story is ridiculous but quite entertaining (I love revenge ;)) and there are many strange plot-holes through the whole movie. So why bother renting or buying this old s*** you may ask? Well if you are a child of the 80s and saw it back then, it can bring back some nice memories. If you are from that time but have not seen it, you MUST see it. Everyone else, just see it and enjoy a movie with one of the greatest cars ever on screen. For those who have seen it I just must make some statements of some of the major flaws in the film. How come that the police just let the thugs steal all the nerds cars in a small town like this? (very strange) And why don't the stupid morons see that they're next to die on the list when their buddies fall off one buy one. No fear at all...=) Well... all and all a funny flash-back. You know from like ten minutes into the movie how the end will be, but you'll KEEP on looking...