The Wraith

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mike Marvin directs. Reed Smoot behind the camera. Michael Hoenig scores. Scott Conrad cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America, Canada. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Shot for just $2.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
• 240 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
• 3International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Canada.
• 4Directed by Mike Marvin, shot by Reed Smoot. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 5Original score by Michael Hoenig. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 6Editor Scott Conrad shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7Charlie Sheen and Nick Cassavetes and Sherilyn Fenn carry the top of the cast.
• 8Marketing tagline: "He's not from around here...".
• 9IMDB entry: tt0092240 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 10Classified under 14 themes, including "sheriff", "car race", "cemetery", "killing".

The technical file

Cinematography

Reed Smoot

Original score

Michael Hoenig

Editing

Scott Conrad

Stunt coordinator

Buddy Joe Hooker

Runtime

93 min · 1h 33m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$2,700,000

Box office

$3,500,000

Return

130% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

The Wraith (1986) ↗

Also by

Mike Marvin

• 
  Wishman

  1992 · ★ 5.8
• 
  The Dragon Gate

  1994 · ★ 5.7
• 
  Hamburger: The Motion Picture

  1986 · ★ 4.5
• 
  Maui Heat

  1996 · ★ 4.2
• 
  Sunstorm

  2001 · ★ 3.9
• 
  Treasure

  1997 · ★ 3.8

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  The Wraith ≣ 1986 ≣ Trailer

  Trailer
• 

  ▶
  The Wraith (1986) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]

  Trailer

Community reviews

What people are saying

• misubisu2024-08-06
  ★ 8/10

  I first saw this movie back in 1986... didn't really remember too much about it... decided to watch it again after seeing the car in an episode of Leno's Garage. You know what.. it is actually very entertaining movie... it doesn't suck at all. The bad boy characters are somewhat stupid but fit in quite well... the story is a little simplistic... but sometimes watching a movie that is entertaining and you don't need to think too much about is just what you need. Plus it was a trip down memory lane from 35 years ago. Charlie Sheen was 21, but looked a lot younger!! For the time, the movie had a good look and feel to it. And the Wraith car stands the test of time really well.

  Read full review ↓
• Wuchak2024-12-01
  ★ 6/10

  Hammy 80’s motorhead thriller with Charlie Sheen and Sherilyn Fenn A ruthless (but comical) gang terrorizes a town in southern Arizona, forcing guys to drag race in order to ‘win’ their vehicles; that is, until a young man comes to town (Sheen), along with a mysterious black sportscar and driver. Randy Quaid is on hand as the Sheriff. "The Wraith" (1986) is like a meshing of the contemporaneous “Top Gun” with the campiness of “Lost Boys” (which came out the next year), just trade the pilot ace flying with drag racing and the vampires with a thug gang. The hammy approach mainly applies to Skank (David Sherrill), Gutterboy (Jamie Bozian) and tech-geek Rughead (Clint Howard) whereas Nick Cassavetes is more subdued about it as the lead bully, but still cartoonishly exaggerated. Nick, by the way, is the son of John Cassavetes & Gina Rowlands, which is odd since John was only 5’7” while Nick is 6’6”, but I guess it happens. I’m not a fan of the hammy tone and think it would’ve worked better if done more seriously, like “Top Gun.” However, if you can roll with the goofiness, it’s entertaining on several fronts. For instance, the Arizona locations are spectacular, Sherilyn Fenn’s beauty is well captured and there’s a lot of thrilling vehicle mayhem. It runs 1 hour, 33 minutes, and was shot in the Greater Tucson area, including the Sonoran Desert National Monument in Gila Bend, which is 92 miles northwest of Tucson (and just southwest of Phoenix). GRADE: B-

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• NE

  New Century Entertainment Corporation

• AL

  Alliance Entertainment

  CA

• TU

  Turbo Productions

  US

Key crew

• Executive ProducerBuck Houghton
• ProducerJohn Kemeny
• EditorScott Conrad
• EditorGary Rocklen
• StuntsDick Ziker
• StuntsSandy Berumen
• Associate ProducerJeffrey Sudzin
• CastingIlene Starger
• Art DirectionDean Tschetter
• Set DecorationMichele Starbuck
• StuntsNorman Howell
• StuntsDavid R. Ellis
• StuntsFreddie Hice
• StuntsSteve M. Davison
• Stunt CoordinatorBuddy Joe Hooker
• StuntsKaren Price
• SongsStan Bush
• SongsBonnie Tyler

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• sheriff
• car race
• cemetery
• killing
• arizona
• reincarnation
• car crash
• romance
• street race
• revenge
• murder
• gang
• motorcycle
• ghost

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1986-11-21R
• Physical2021-07-20

Also known as

International titles

• Interceptor - Phantom der EwigkeitDE
• Tillbaka till verklighetenSE
• A ApariçãoBR
• Turbo InterceptorFR
• El EspectroMX
• El ejecutorAR