10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Wraith

The Wraith is not only one of my favorite movies, but it’s also the first movie I ever wrote about here at Bulletproof Action. Thanks to repeated viewings over the years on everything from basic cable to DVD, I’d like to think I learned all I could about Charlie Sheen’s revenge seeking supernatural racer.

Now that film has gotten a Blu-ray release as part of the Vestron Video Collector’s Series, it was time for a rewatch, but this time with a commentary track provided by several stars from the movie! No, we don’t have ol’ Charlie talking up tiger blood while reminiscing about his dirtbike from the film, but we do have Dave Sherrill and Jamie Bozian, who played sadistic gang members Skank and Gutterboy here to guide us through the film with plenty of tidbits and inside references. With their help, I’m here to tell you 10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Wraith…

1. The Wraith was filmed in Arizona just across the way from where the comedy Three Amigos! was being filmed. This was the basis for a couple of stories from the set; the first being that both Dave and Jamie became smitten with actress Patrice Martinez (who played Carmen in Three Amigos) after meeting her at the hotel that both crews were staying at. The second story to come from the simultaneous shoots was that during one of the race scenes in The Wraith their production crew’s radio picked up the “ACTION” call from the Amigos set, throwing off the actors’ timing for the upcoming scene.

2. Sherrill referred to all of the cars used in the film as “deathtraps” that were all in rough shape, and credits stunt coordinator Buddy Joe Hooker for getting the most out of a bad situation. He said the only car that was actually new was the famous Turbo Interceptor car used by The Wraith.

3. While the cast all survived their respective cars and race scenes, one crew member was not so lucky. Bruce Ingram was a passenger in a camera car that flipped over early on in the shoot, and died as a result. Other crew members were also injured in the crash, with Sherrill remarking that one guy became permanently disabled.

4. Due to the accident, costs were cut, and so was some of the script. Dick Butkus was supposed to have a role in the film, but everything involving his character was scrapped. The guys also believe that the accident is what prevented the movie from getting a bigger push when it was released, and that it didn’t really gain a big following until HBO started airing it often in the late 80’s.

5. The scene where Rughead checks out the engine of the Interceptor and finds it glowing and pulsating was incredibly expensive to shoot. A copy of the actual engine was built and backlit, and Sherrill claims that “six feet of film” was used for the brief shot.

6. Sheen was heading out of the country to film Platoon in the Philippines, and was only on set briefly.  Dave and Jamie point out that a Sheen body double was even used in the famous love scene with Sherilyn Fenn. Even though he wasn’t around for long, Charlie still had a wild night in Vegas the night before he filmed the climactic scene where The Wraith is revealed as Jake/a reincarnated Jamie Hankins, and the guys mention that he was in “no condition to perform”.

7. Fenn’s real life boyfriend spent a lot of time on set, and was a heartthrob in his own right; it was Johnny Depp. Jamie remarks that Johnny was a bit of a dick, but when he went on to guest star on an early episode of 21 Jump Street he and Johnny made amends and became buddies.

8. Randy Quaid was only on set for a week, filming the role of Sherriff Loomis during his downtime from Saturday Night Live.

9. Sherrill and Bozian imply that they had a good share of groupies while filming in Arizona, but not all locals welcomed them with open arms. During a trip to 7-11, Sherrill and Griffin O’Neal (who played fellow gang member Oggie) were sitting in their car eating burritos when a guy leaned in, grabbed O’Neal’s burrito, and took a bite. Sherrill said that led to a fight with a group of guys and how O’Neal was like a pit bull, tearing into the guy who ruined his meal.

10. The two actors have remained friends through the years since they portrayed Skank and Gutterboy, and live only 12 minutes from each other in North Carolina. They’ve appeared in a few different projects together in the past 35 years, and Sherrill remarks that he even has the script for a Wraith sequel ready to go if anyone’s interested in making it!