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The Wraith
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Wikipedia article
'The Wraith' is a 1986 independently made American action-fantasy film, produced by John Kemeny, written and directed by Mike Marvin, and starring Charlie Sheen, Sherilyn Fenn, Nick Cassavetes, and Randy Quaid.[https://dreadcentral.com/news/16314/after-all-these-years-mike-marvin-talks-the-wraith/ "After All These Years ... Mike Marvin Talks The Wraith."] 'Dread Central', March 17, 2010. The film was theatrically released November 21, 1986 on just 88 screens in the United States by New Century Vista Film Company (later New Century Entertainment Corporation).
'The Wraith' tells the story of an Arizona teen who mysteriously returns from the dead as a supernatural, or possibly alien-created, street-racer driving an invulnerable supercar. His intent is to take revenge on the gang who murdered him.
Plot
Four spheres of light descend from the night sky and collide at an isolated desert crossroads. Their collision reveals, in a bright flash, a sleek, all-black Dodge M4S Turbo Interceptor, driven by a helmeted, all black-clad figure.
In the town of Brooks, Arizona, Packard Walsh, the leader of a gang of car thieves, coerces people with sporty cars into racing for pink slips. He controls everyone through intimidation, including Keri Johnson, whom he views as his property. Keri's boyfriend James "Jamie" Hankins was mysteriously murdered, leaving no trace; Keri, who was with him, was hospitalized with no memory of the traumatic event.
Jacob "Jake" Kesey arrives in Brooks riding a dirt bike. He befriends both Keri and Jamie's brother William "Billy" Hankins, who both work at Big Kay's, the local burger drive-in; they later meet up at a sun-and-swim gathering on a local river, where Jake is seen to have knife scars on his neck and back.
Packard's control of the illegal races comes to a sudden end when the Turbo Interceptor appears, seemingly from nowhere. The mysterious driver of this supercar is covered head-to-toe in black body armor and a black race helmet. The armor is adorned with metal braces resembling those worn by victims recovering from severe physical trauma. The driver wordlessly challenges Packard's gang to race, explosively killing Oggie Fisher and later Minty in high-speed, fiery crashes which leave their bodies untouched except for burned-out eye sockets; the Turbo Interceptor then mysteriously reconstructs itself. Sheriff Loomis and his lawmen are always in hot pursuit, but the Turbo vanishes in a cloud of glowing light.
Two more gang members, Skank and Gutterboy, always high on drugs, are later obliterated when the Wraith races the Turbo through the gang's isolated warehouse garage, causing a huge explosion. With Packard's gang now destroyed, Rughead, the gang's tech-geek, who alone among them had not participated in Jamie's murder, realizes, too late, why the gang had been targeted. When Loomis arrives at the scene of the destruction, Rughead tells him everything.
After Packard witnesses Keri kissing Jake, he kidnaps her from Big Kay's, beating up Billy when he tries to intervene. When Packard tries to drive Keri to California, she stands up to him and says she will never love him. Just as he gets out of the car and draws his knife on her, the Turbo arrives ready to challenge Packard to a race; a challenge he readily takes up. However, Packard is killed in an explosive head-on collision with the Turbo similar to the rest of his gang. Loomis calls off the hunt for the mysterious driver, observing the futility of such hunt and reasoning that Packard's gang are all dead.
As Keri arrives home that night, the Turbo pulls up, and the armored driver emerges, revealing himself as Jake. Keri then realizes that Jake is actually a revived form of her dead boyfriend Jamie, who had returned for a chance to rekindle their past relationship. He then asks her to wait for him because he has one last thing to do.
Jake startles Billy by driving the supercar to Big Kay's and handing him the Turbo's keys while extolling its special features, saying that his work is finished, but then Billy asks who he is. Jake says that Billy already knows and as he rides off on his dirt bike, Billy realizes he is actually Jamie. Jake picks up Keri, whom Loomis is watching from a distance. Together they ride off along the desert highway into the moonlight.
Cast
* Charlie Sheen as Jake Kesey / The Wraith / Jamie Hankins
* Matthew Barry as Billy Hankins
* Sherilyn Fenn as Keri Johnson
* Randy Quaid as Sheriff G.L. Loomis
* Clint Howard as "Rughead"
* Nick Cassavetes as Packard Walsh
* David Sherrill as Maurice "Skank"
* Jamie Bozian as "The Gutterboy"
* Griffin O'Neal as Oggie Fisher
* Chris Nash as "Minty"
* Christopher Bradley as Jamie Hankins
* Vickie Benson as The Waitress
* Jeffrey Sudzin as "Redd", Skank's uncle
* Peder Melhuse as Deputy Murphy
* Michael Hundrtford as Deputy Stokes
* Dick Alexander as Deputy Sandeval
* Steven Eckholdt as George, Boy In Daytona
* Elizabeth Cox as Girl In Daytona
* Joan H. Reynolds as Policewoman
Production
Shooting locations
'The Wraith' was shot entirely in and around Tucson, Arizona; shots of the hilly road leading into the fictional "Brooks, AZ" were filmed on Freeman Road on the city's south side. Keri's (Sherilyn Fenn) home is located at 2128 East 5th Street; however, "Big Kay's Burgers" was a set built especially for the film at 2755 East Benson Highway, and it no longer exists.[https://maps.google.com/maps?q=2755+E+Benson+Hwy,+Tucson,+AZ&hl=en&sll=34.299398,-119.248936&sspn=0.169321,0.363579&oq=2755+E.Benson+Hwy.,+Tucson+AZ+85706&t=h&hnear=2755+E+Benson+Hwy,+Tucson,+Pima,+Arizona+85706&z=16 "Big Kay's."] 'maps.google.com'. Retrieved: January 12, 2015.Sheriff Loomis goes to talk to Skank and Gutterboy at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, at the airplane graveyard where they both work. The film's swimming hole is located in Sabino Canyon, off North Upper Sabino Canyon Road. The curvy mountain road where Packard and his gang challenge other cars to deadly races is the General Hitchcock/Catalina/Mount Lemmon Highway that winds through natural stone monoliths north of the city. Skank and Gutterboy chase after Jamie and Keri down North 4th Avenue at East 7th Street. The portion of the chase that leads into a tunnel is the since-redone tunnel on North 4th Avenue, where it crosses under railroad tracks; Jake and Keri are seen riding down the road through Sabino Canyon Recreation Area (near Sabino Lake Dam) northeast of Tucson.
Bruce Ingram, a camera operator, died during the filming of one of the car chases; another crew member was seriously injured.
Turbo Interceptor
The Dodge M4S Turbo Interceptor used in the film was originally a pace car built by Chrysler Corporation and PPG Industries. Six copies were made for use in the film: two stunt cars made from molds of the original car and four non-drivable "dummies" that were destroyed during filming. During production, the real Dodge Turbo Interceptor was used in close-ups. That original was located at the Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills, MI until 2016, when the museum closed permanently.[http://www.allpar.com/cars/concepts/dodge/M4S-PPG-Interceptor.html "Dodge M4S (Dodge PPG Turbo Interceptor; 1981, 1984)."] 'allpar.com'. Retrieved: January 12, 2015.Soundtrack
The music score was composed and performed by Michael Hoenig and J. Peter Robinson, two famous synth composers of film and TV series Soundtracks. The soundtrack LP was recorded by Rick Hart and entirely played on a NED Synclavier II.
Many famous 1980s rock music hits are included on the film's soundtrack:
* Tim Feehan "Where's the Fire"
* Ozzy Osbourne "Secret Loser"
* Stan Bush "Hearts vs. Heads"
* Ian Hunter "Wake Up Call"
* Mtley Cre "Smokin' in the Boys Room"
* Robert Palmer "Addicted to Love"
* Nick Gilder "Scream of Angels"
* Lion "Power Love"
* Honeymoon Suite "Those Were the Days"
* Lion "Never Surrender"
* Bonnie Tyler "Matter of the Heart"
* Mark Tiemans "Hold on Blue Eyes"
* Billy Idol "Rebel Yell"
* Jill Michaels "Young Love, Hot Love"
* James House "Bad Mistake"
Release
'The Wraith' was released in the United States on November 21, 1986. In the Philippines, the film was released as 'Black Moon Rising: Part-2' on April 29, 1987, connecting it to the unrelated film 'Black Moon Rising' starring Tommy Lee Jones. In Germany, it was released on June 11, 1987, under the title "Interceptor - Phantom der Ewigkeit" (Interceptor - Phantom of Eternity).
Critical response
'The Wraith' received mixed reviews from critics. Film historian and critic Leonard Maltin dismissed the film as "... for those who favor fast cars and lots of noise."Maltin 2009, p. 1567. In the 'Time Out' review, editor John Pym saw 'The Wraith' having "comic-strip killer car thieves" with "...the best joke having one of the thugs knowing the word 'wraith.'"Pym 2004, p. 1338.Following its theatrical run, the film was featured on television in an episode of 'Cinema Insomnia.'[http://www.cinemainsomnia.com/info/episode-list/ "Episode Guide."] 'Cinema Insomnia'.
Home video
In 1987 the film was released to VHS video by Lightning Video, then on LaserDisc by ; it was then released in 2003 on DVD by Platinum Disc Corporation (now Echo Bridge Home Entertainment). In spite of having no special features and only being available in the pan-and-scan format, there is footage retained that was missing on the original VHS and LaserDisc releases. LionsGate released a widescreen Special Edition DVD on March 2, 2010, which included the previously missing footage.[https://dreadcentral.com/news/34871/the-wraith-roars-back-dvd-courtesy-lionsgate "The Wraith Roars Back to DVD Courtesy of Lionsgate!"] 'Dread Central,' December 8, 2009. Retrieved: January 12, 2015.
See also
* List of American films of 1986
* List of film accidents
References
Notes
Bibliography
* Maltin, Leonard. 'Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide 2009'. New York: New American Library, 2009 (originally published as 'TV Movies', then 'Leonard Maltins Movie & Video Guide'), First edition 1969, published annually since 1988. .
* Pym, John, ed. "The Wraith." 'Time Out Film Guide.' London: Time Out Guides Limited, 2004. .
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