An Avenging Car on Day O’Horror #12!

1986 Arizona

Some movies come along and for no real reason seem to click with the audience.  Critics may hate it, but it still draws a crowd.  Take The Wraith for instance.  It was one of the earliest films in the careers of both Charlie Sheen and Sherilyn Fenn.  It was the first major role for Nick Cassavetes, and many believed that it was meant to be the film that would launch him to stardom.  It didn’t.  Randy Quaid also had a small role as the local and very generic 1980’s sheriff.  It had fast cars, handsome rogues, and a beautiful damsel in distress.  It had a good guy with a heart of gold and a mysterious driver that would challenge the local gang to street races, all of which ended in death for the gang.

Packard (Cassavetes) heads up a local gang running races in Brooks, AZ.  They brutally murder a young man and not long after doing so, a driver arrives in town with a suped up Dodge Turbo Interceptor. The driver challenges each member of the gang to a race and takes them out one by one.  He then destroys Packard’s hangout.  While all of this is going down, Packard and his dwindling entourage terrorize Billy Hankins (Matthew Barry), the brother of the young man that the gang murdered and Keri Johnson (Fenn), the dead boy’s girlfriend.

The cast is decent for what was needed for this film.  Sheen, Fenn, Cassavetes, Quaid, and Barry were all up to the task.  The rest of the characters were basically car crash fodder.  With names like Skank, Gutterboy, Rughead, Oggie, and Minty, you knew that you weren’t necessarily dealing with an intelligent group of individuals, but the guys looked like they were enjoying their roles.

Of special note are Griffin O’Neal and Clint Howard.  O’Neal comes from a long line of actors, including his father Ryan O’Neal, mother Joanna Moore, and sister Tatum O’Neal.  Clint Howard is, of course, the brother of legendary director/actor Ron Howard.

Of course, the true stars of the film were the cars.  Along with the 1984 Dodge M4S Turbo Interceptor, other popular vehicles in the film included a 1966 Plymouth Barracuda, a 1986 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z, and a 1977 Pontiac Firebird.

The movie holds up fairly well considering the fact that it bleeds 1980’s.  From the awesome soundtrack featuring tunes from Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol, and others, to the stereotypical drive in, cop car chases, short shorts, and whacky hair, The Wraith is definitely a product of its time.

I recommend it to anyone looking for a nostalgia fix or an action film.  It’s not scary at all, but it’s definitely cool.  Thanks for reading.  Tomorrow is Friday the 13th!