Definitely a fun B-movie. Is the story great? Is the acting great? Are the special effects great? All a "No... not really."...but it's still fun to watch.
I thought it would be scarier.
Charlie Sheen, Emilo’s brother, returns as a ghost–a spook, a specter, a wraith–to avenge his own death, running down the members of a pirate/street racing gang who murdered him at the worst possible moment.
“The Wraith,” an independent 1986 release, packs in a lot, though.
There’s a cool car. When not riding his ’80s-tastic Honda XL350R–I didn’t have one, either–Sheen pilots the Dodge M4S, Chrysler’s look into the future that also did some Indy pace car duties.
There’s Clint Howard. Not sure what’s with the hair, though.
There’s Randy Quaid. At 36 at the time, he plays the movie’s token adult.
There’s Sherilyn Fenn before her “Twin Peaks” days.
There’s assorted bad guys with one a major tweaker who sprays WD-40 up his nose. (Don’t try this at home, kids.)
There’s even a Triumph Spitfire.
Know what there’s also a lot of? Sunshine. Bright, Arizona sunshine–which, if you know anything about horror movies, even a teeny bit, doesn’t play well with the genre.
Make it dark. Make it spooky. Make me wonder what’s hiding in the shadows. Have these people never seen “Phantasm,” “Friday the 13th” or even those pirate movies with Johnny Depp? I’ve seen scarier Disney flicks.
Maybe the producers couldn’t pull the right permits for nighttime shooting.
Other than that, expect the usual plot holes that we usually just accepted back in the ’80s. Who gave Sheen that second chance? What other special powers does he have? Is Sheen the car, too? Why does he only occasionally appear in that special black getup? Who waxes his chest?
Some exciting chase scenes, though, with solid camera work. You can find “The Wraith” out there for streaming.
Definitely a fun B-movie. Is the story great? Is the acting great? Are the special effects great? All a "No... not really."...but it's still fun to watch.
In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :
Pretty much what I was going to say.
Not scary at all, was it supposed to be?
In reply to llysgennad :
No, it wasn't supposed to be scary. Not a horror movie. Just fun 80's B movie popcorn fodder. It is available on DVD... 
And the 'Wraith' was based on the Dodge M4S Indy Pace Car / technology demonstrator.
Teenage me enjoyed that movie for the cars, the dual sport Honda, and maybe a couple of other reasons. It was terrible, but fun.
Rodan said:In reply to llysgennad :
No, it wasn't supposed to be scary.
David thought it would be scary-ish, in the headline...and the article...that talked about the Chrysler car...
Part of me wants to recreate Skank's car. I have one without a purpose. Except his is nicer.
I still stand by the fact it should have been scarier. The first scenes are scary. And then, well, not so much.
The concept is ripe for a remake. As Ebert said: take a good idea/bad execution movie, and make it better. Think John Carpenter's The Thing.
I remember watching it at some point "back in the day", and forgot about it. I think I should find it again this weekend. (Sherilyn Fenn, you say?)
I swear I saw this movie 50 times on a VHS my dad recorded for us 😅 . We would constantly skip to all the race scenes...
I actually recently re-watched it with my 7-year old, so yeah it's not a scary movie lol.
The trailer seems a little scary. Maybe that’s what set my expectations.
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