Screenhead

So the crew out at Lions Gate sent me a copy of The Wraith, and if it looks familiar to you it’s because you were a horror buff back in the eighties–or at least got started when eighties horror flicks were still readily available, much like I did.

The Wraith features a stretch of road inhabited by drag-racing punks who like to force people into vicious automotive battles for their very lives.  But one of the victims of this road gang isn’t taking things lightly–he’s come back as The Wraith, kind of like Ghost Rider but without the fire and with a Dodge Interceptor instead of a motorcycle.

Oh, and a much, MUCH lower budget.

You’ll be surprised, royally, by all the “Hey, I know that guy!” moments in this movie.  Charlie Sheen’s here, Randy Quaid, even longtime genre favorite Clint Howard are all on hand.

Okay, so it’s not exactly high art, even by the much, much lower standards of eighties fare.  But it’s still quite a bit of fun.  Lots of fast cars, shotguns, explosions, everything your basic low-rent action fair might need.  Including a few cheap laughs as one of the main villain’s henchmen regularly indulges in drinking hydraulic fluid.

Admittedly, the horror elements of this movie–an undead killing machine in a big black car wearing what looks like motorcycle leathers is a bit on the comically overdone side.  Maybe more like a LOT on the comically overdone side.  But still, it’s pretty entertaining despite its almost cartoony nature.

The Screenhead Ten Scale knows what it’s getting into and hands this cartoony little bit of eighties fluff a seven out of ten for doing its job passably well and for being darned entertaining, even if it’s not anything big and special.

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