Any time someone asks for a suggestion on a cheesy ’80s movie to watch, I give them two answers. The first, to no one’s surprise, is The Lost Boys for obvious reasons. The second is a lesser-known action-horror gem from 1986 that encompasses everything from that decade, The Wraith.
For those of you who haven’t seen this bundle of campiness and explosions, The Wraith follows young couple Jamie (Christopher Bradley) and Keri (Sherilyn Fenn) as they’ve finally found true love in one another. However, local bully and street racer Packard (Nick Cassavetes) and his crew of misfits have other plans for the couple, as Packard believes Keri should be his and only his. The crew breaks into Jamie’s home and murders him right in front of Keri, scaring her into keeping quiet.
A year later, a stranger on a dirt bike named Jake (Charlie Sheen) shows up out of nowhere with a sudden romantic interest in Keri. Conveniently at the same time, a mysterious driver with a futuristic car shows up to pick off Packard’s gang, one-by-one.
This premise is awesome! Now, obviously, Jake and this mysterious driver are one and the same, but it gets better! There is the added story bonus that Jake is actually the reincarnated Jamie, back from the dead as an unkillable ghost (wraith), to claim both his relationship and his revenge on the gang that killed him. How does he do it, you ask? By street racing almost every one of them to the death in his never-before-seen sleek and futuristic Dodge Turbo Interceptor and lighting them up with his sci-fi shotgun!
Not only does this film sport ’80s staple actors like Sheen and Cassavetes, but the cast also includes a pre-Twin Peaks Sherilyn Fenn as Keri, Randy Quaid as the small-town Sheriff hell-bent on putting a stop to the chaos, and, of course, Clint Howard as Rughead, Packard’s skeevy little sidekick with Jack Nance’s hair from Eraserhead.
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This film doesn’t stop with the just typical WD-40 huffing bullies named Skank or tight-studded leather. In true cheesy action horror pizzazz, we’re treated to about a billion car and building explosions. In fact, the only bit of CG in this film is the hilarious transition from futuristic biker ghost to normal human Charlie Sheen. The soundtrack rocks as well, smashing our earholes with legends Ozzy Osbourne, Motley Crue, Billy Idol, and the film’s theme, “Where’s the Fire” by Tim Feehan.
If you’re a big fan of the film or have never seen it, there’s no better time than now, as Vestron Video recently released the 4K Collector’s Series Blu-Ray this year to go along with its 35th birthday. The special edition release features exclusive audio commentary with writer-director Mark Marvin, an interview with Clint Howard, a closer look at the Dodge Interceptor’s practical build, and much more. I picked it up from Walmart for $13 bucks, and I guarantee you it’s worth the money.
Birthday cheers to one of my favorite cheesy films and quite possibly the most ’80s film ever!
