Alliance Communication Corp., 1986
starring: Charlie Sheen, Nick Cassavetes, Sherilyn Fenn and Randy Quaid
written and directed by: Mike Marvin

the plot: Packard Walsh (Cassavetes) and his cadre of motorhead thugs use their souped-up cars to terrorize a small desert town. Using threats of violence and deadly drag races to keep the town’s teens in line, Packard and his crew seem unstoppable. But all of that changes when Jake Kesey (Sheen) shows up. Jake’s appearance coincides with the sudden arrival of a mysterious drag racer who directly challenges Packard’s gang to a series of increasingly dangerous races. Soon, Jake is found cozying up to Packard’s girlfriend, Keri (Fenn), and befriending Billy Hankins (Matthew Barry), whose brother, Jamie, was murdered by Packard months earlier. As Packard’s friends die, one by one, in fiery explosions and bone-mangling car wrecks, the beleaguered Sheriff Loomis (Quaid) tries to stop the carnage. Packard takes Keri hostage and decides to bring the fight to Jake, who reveals his connection to the black-suited drag racer and the deceased Jamie Hankins.

why it’s good: The bastard child of vengeful spirit movies and drag-racing flicks, “The Wraith” is a surprisingly awesome B-movie. Sure, it’s formulaic and about as unsubtle as the exploding cars that fill the movie, but “The Wraith” also features a healthy dose of exciting car chases, an awesome ’80s soundtrack (featuring everyone from Bonnie Tyler and Robert Palmer to Ozzy Osborne and Stan Bush) and an excellently excessive performance by Nick Cassavetes. Throw in a supporting role by Clint Howard as a geeky mechanic with an Eraserhead-style haircut and you’ve got the makings of an ’80s classic. Yes, the acting is cheesey—Charlie Sheen is distracted and aloof (probably because he shot his scenes in two weeks before heading to Manila to film “Platoon”), Cassavetes is overly crazy and Randy Quaid tries his best to be a hardass, even though he doesn’t do much of anything. Much of the plot is ridiculous, but whatever. The coolest part of “The Wraith” is probably Jake/Jamie/The Wraith’s car, a Dodge M4S concept car that was originally designed to be a pace car in races. And, as if the automotive porn weren’t enough, 80s uber-hottie Sherilyn Fenn spends most of the movie parading around in either a skimpy bathing suit or a revealing car-hop outfit, a bonus in and of itself.

why you should own it: The DVD put out by Platinum Disc in 2002 is out of print, but you can still find “The Wraith” on Netflix. The unrated disc features the uncut version of the film, which includes all the explosions and naked Sherilyn Fenn goodness, but, sadly, no extras.