By MICHAEL GINGOLD
Before the FAST AND THE FURIOUS franchise, there was this lower-budget epic about street racing with an unearthly twist.
Lionsgate will release 1986’s THE WRAITH on Blu-ray + Digital July 20 as part of its Vestron Video Collector’s Series. Written and directed by Mike Marvin, it stars Charlie Sheen (Emilio Estevez’s brother), Nick Cassavetes (John’s son), Sherilyn Fenn, Randy Quaid (Dennis’ brother), Matthew Barry, David Sherrill, Jamie Bozian, Clint Howard (Ron’s brother) and Griffin O’Neal (Tatum’s brother). The synopsis: “When four glowing orbs crash into each other over the Arizona desert, they leave in their wake a badass Dodge Turbo Interceptor–and its enigmatic, helmeted driver. The next day, the mysterious Jake [Sheen] appears in the town of Brooks, catching the eye of Keri [Fenn] and the ire of Packard [Cassavetes], the ruthless leader of a gang of street racers. When gang members start losing races–and lives–to the Interceptor, the recent death of Keri’s boyfriend suddenly seems connected to the arrival of Jake, the unbeatable car…and an avenging entity called The Wraith.”
The disc has a ton of special features under its hood:
- Audio commentary by writer/director Mike Marvin
- Audio commentary by actors Dave Sherrill and Jamie Bozian
- “Tales from the Desert”: An interview with writer-director Mike Marvin
- “Rughead Speaks!”: An interview with actor Clint Howard
- “Ride of the Future”: Interviews with stunt coordinator Buddy Joe Hooker and transportation coordinator Gary Hellerstein
- “The Ghost Car”: Interviews with visual effects producer Peter Kuran and effects animator Kevin Kutchaver
- Isolated score selections featuring audio interview with co-composer J. Peter Robinson
- “THE WRAITH Filming Locations: Then and Now” featurette
- Alternate title sequence
- Still gallery
- Theatrical trailer
- TV spots
Retail price is $17.99.
