a5c7b9f00b 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&#39;s past may reveal just who&#39;s behind all this. Packard Walsh and his motorized gang control and terrorize an Arizona desert town where they force drivers to drag-race so they can &#39;win&#39; 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&#39;s girlfriend Keri Johnson, takes Jamie&#39;s sweet brother Billy under his wing and manages what Sheriff Loomis can not - the methodical and otherworldly elimination of Packard&#39;s criminal gang. No, not the movie. I&#39;m talking about the commenter that says he ranks The Wraithhis second favorite movie behind Maximum Overdrive! Maximum Overdrive????? There goes all your credibility, bud. That was one of the rare movies where I actually stopped the tape halfway through and took it back to the video store.<br/><br/>Obviously the best thing about The Wraith is the car. I wanted a turbo interceptor and still do whenever I watch this! The thugs were not intimidating at all. Packard is the leader (named after a piece-of-junk computer??), who&#39;s looks and acting are totally unbelievablea tough/psycho. Griffin O&#39;Neal is miscast, my little sister could kick his ass. Clint Howard&#39;s got to be the ugliest actor ever, though his performance was the best. Skank&#39;s 80&#39;s rooster hairstyle and feminine eye makeup coupled with Gutterboy&#39;s whiny sniveling left much to be desired. This is the most wimpy gang ever!!<br/><br/>Randy Quaid&#39;s sheriff must be his worst ever performance. With those terrible lines they give him it is obvious the writing is sub-par.<br/><br/>I do like The Wraith even though I wince at the story and acting. The car, Sherilyn Fenn, and a few songs save it from total disaster. Charlie Sheen was rather subdued but he gives it star power, I guess. It has re-watch ability, but the more I watch the more I see why this movie is so bad. Back when Sheen was making a name for himself, this cute little action pic came out. The movie that rides on too little, is a simple revenge tale about a wraith (ghost) apparently a car that Sheen is driving that picks off our baddies, the first one being Ryan O Neal&#39;s son. It can vanish like that or suddenly appear, but it does exist. Thick haired, Nick Cassavetes, a very versatile actor, is just the guy you need to play the head baddie, Packard Walsh, and he does it well, while the one goofy looking guy, with the glasses, I&#39;ll never forget. Packard likes to race people for their cars, even if the drivers are disinclined. One driver had got fresh with his girl, so he killed him, in a quite nasty scene, hence the revenge, that follows in the mysterious form of Sheen. Hot property, Sherilyn Fenn, one of the film&#39;s attributes, especially in red bikini wear, catches the eye of Sheen, the new kind of dorky boy, in town. Worked it out yet, yeah, she&#39;s Cassavete&#39;s girl, so that really doesn&#39;t really sit well with him, so now I&#39;ve guessed you&#39;d made out the climax. Sorry. Even though there&#39;s not much that makes up the film, that watching these faded stars, early in the prime, is enough to carry it along, but that&#39;s all it is, an unimpressive yet well acted time passer. Cassavetes had also acted in a film earlier, where the black car was also the star. There's some fun potential here, but Marvin's direction is plodding enough to snuff it fairly quickly. Yet Charlie Sheen, promising in his second-banana appearances in Lucas and Pretty in Pink, emerges with his promise intact. Sheen already has the reserved but powerful manner of a Wayne or an Eastwood; with a little more maturity, he could be a contender.
Nighgalunich Admin replied
355 weeks ago