Why are there so many shooting stars in 80’s movies? You would think meteorites didn’t exist before 1980.
In the opening of 1986’s The Wraith, one of those objects flaming across the sky turns out to be a UFO. It flies through a saguaro cactus, a street sign and a campaign billboard, punching a hole through each, with the hole being right in the middle of somebody’s face in that last instance.
Turns out the UFO is a car. Well, it can morph into a car, at least. We never see the original craft, if it was different than a car. All I know is we end up with an automobile that can regenerate.
And it has to regenerate a lot as it gets destroyed repeatedly. You see, it keeps luring drivers to their doom, always ending in the explosions of both vehicles. If there’s one positive thing I can say about this picture, stuff blows up real good.
Actually, there’s another good reason for some of us to see this picture and that is a brief glimpse of Sherilyn Fenn’s right breast. I guess if we saw both of them, that would be three positives. I just wish I had known about this PG-13 movie back in my teenage years.
There’s something resembling a plot here, in addition to explosions and boobs…I mean, a boob. Alas, it is a bit difficult to describe without giving away any potential spoilers. Let’s see what I can do by just throwing out the random elements that barely make sense together even after everything is revealed. OK, deep breath and…
Everything takes place in rural Arizona, though the action shifts to areas that look remarkably like parts of Los Angeles at seemingly random moments. There’s this gang led by Nick Cassavetes that forces drivers into fixed street races they always lose, so he always takes their cars. Fenn is his girl, though completely against her wishes. Charlie Sheen is a mysterious stranger newly arriving in town on his motorcycle. Mathew Barry plays a nice guy whose brother had been dating Fenn until his death at the hands of thugs.
Cassavetes and his minions hang out at an old barn containing more advanced auto repair facilities than the last dealership I bought a car from. Adhering to 80’s movie building codes, the interior also has lots of neon and glass block.
It is astonishing this gang would have such a large facility and go to this much trouble, especially when we see the others. At least two minions appear to have degrees of competence: Clint Howard plays a gearhead and some other guy obviously runs the business aspects, what with his green visor and the copy of the Wall Street Journal he carries around.
I think it’s more difficult to justify the existence of the others, however. They have so few defining characteristics, I almost think of each as a Smurf: midriff Smurf, punk Smurf and whiny Smurf. At least the punk has a recurring gag of trying to get a buzz from a different chemical each time we see him. I think the last attempt has him shooting WD-40 up his nostrils.
Anywho, these guys are basically the film’s cannon fodder. Most of them will meet their demise at the hands of the visitor from space and their magical car. Despite each of those characters meeting their demise in fiery explosions, none of the corpses have any burn marks. Also, their eyes are always missing, so there’s that.
At the scene of each explosion, we see a metal object like a leg brace that appears to be part of the visitor’s suit. We then see this disappear. I still have no idea what the fuck that was about.
And when the movie was over, I had more unresolved issues nagging me than after most films. But once again, I can’t discuss those here without giving away what I assume are meant to be surprises. Most frustrating to me was I never understood why the eyes were missing from each victim.
I can see why some people may enjoy The Wraith, especially if they are approaching it with an appreciation for camp. It is also a very 80’s film, with a soundtrack that is all bubble-metal, power ballads and “Addicted to Love”. Just don’t expect it to make much sense. After all, this is a movie where a character in a race shifts gears…but they are driving an automatic.
Dir: Mike Marvin
Starring: Charlie Sheen, Nick Cassavetes, Sherilyn Fenn
Watched on Vestron blu-ray, which had a ton of bonus features I won’t bother exploring