The Wraith

If you accept that it takes two of the characters a long time to figure out who Jake really is, even though the evidence of his past is written on his back, the film is a decent revenge film. There is no redeeming quality at all to the bad guys and you have to feel that they deserve whatever is coming to them. Hot rod buffs will drool over the cars in the film, and rock fans will love the soundtrack. It is hard to imagine today that Charlie Sheen was making movies at that age. As someone else noted, this is not Oscar winning stuff, but it is an interesting 92 minutes. But how to classify it? Drama, Action Adventure, Science Fiction or horror? It's your choice.

~Spoiler~ The Wraith is the definition of cult 80's cinema. Charlie Sheen is killed by a gang of road pirates and is resurrected to incite his revenge using an intense killing machine...his car. And what a car it is; easily the coolest car ever, the turbo interceptor. Think of The Wraith as the 1980's answer to High Plains Drifter (an excellent Eastwood spaghetti ghost story) or as the original Crow. No matter how you think of it, it's great. I love this flick. I was surprised to learn that this came after Platoon. Sheen seems almost too big for this movie. I'm glad he's in it though, as well as the rest of the cast, including Randy Quaid, Nick Cassavetes, Sherilyn Fenn, and Clint Howard in one of his best roles. The Wraith is a fine ghost story and well worth checking out.

This is how Fast and Furious looked like in the 80's. Great performances, settings and incredible BSO. I just watched this on August '21 and the movie looks great, not cheap. A cult classic if you loved 80's.

I remembered this movie from my childhood. It was good back then and it actually still holds its own even today. Way before "Fast and Furious" there was "The Wraith". The story in "The Wraith" is about a mysterious stranger who shows up in an Arizonan town terrorized by a gang of brutal drag-racers led by Packard. At the same time does a mysterious car show up too and challenge the gang to a race one by one. The races end with the death of one of the racers. But when the police show up, the corpse is in perfect condition and missing the eyes. "The Wraith" is an entertaining movie with a good story, fast car races and a fairly good cast that includes Charlie Sheen, Sherilyn Fenn and Randy Quaid. This is one of those types of movies that can be seen several times and it has actually withstood the test of time quite well. If you haven't already seen "The Wraith" then you should take the time to sit down and watch it because it is rather enjoyable.