Episode 164 - The Wraith: LIVE!

[grudlian. 4725]

Austin BBQ Corner for a second, y'all....

 

2) Don't stand in line at Franklin. Get someone to drive you out to Lockhart for Kreuz (pronounced "Krites") Market or Llano for Cooper's. They're both much better, and you can drive there, eat, and drive back in the amount of time you'd stand in line at Franklin.

 

If you're in Lockhart, I'm going to put Blacks and Smitty's as the barbecue places to go over Kreuz. Kreuz is good but just not my favorite of the three. I'll add the caveat that, the one time I went to Lockhart, I ate a bit at all three places and Kreuz was last. So, maybe I was barbecued out.

 

But thank you for the pronunciation of Kreuz. I was not sure how and definitely not pronouncing it correctly.

[JammerLea 2070]

 

If you're in Lockhart, I'm going to put Blacks and Smitty's as the barbecue places to go over Kreuz. Kreuz is good but just not my favorite of the three. I'll add the caveat that, the one time I went to Lockhart, I ate a bit at all three places and Kreuz was last. So, maybe I was barbecued out.

 

But thank you for the pronunciation of Kreuz. I was not sure how and definitely not pronouncing it correctly.

 

We went to Smitty's once, but didn't like it nearly as much as Kreuz. But Kreuz was my first Texan barbeque, so I may be biased.

 

I've honestly never heard anyone use "Krites" down here in San Antonio, which includes a local news show covering the history between Kreuz and Smitty's, so I'm still boggled lol

 

And this digression is just making me hungry for food I can't have, so... back to The Wraith

[tomspanks 9039]

In movies and stories like High Plains Drifter in which a ghost/spirit is brought back to avenge their death all end in the same way. Once vengeance has been served the ghost will then leave and go back to the world of the dead like they were never there. It's a simple formula. There was some debate over whether or not at the end of the film Jake/Jamie goes back to the afterlife, and this is simply can not be the case. How do we know that? Because he gives the car to his brother! By the mere fact he can pass it over to his brother means that the car is a real physical object. We see the car being created by the spirit orbs in the beginning making it seem like a ghost car. This would explain why it can do the weird things throughout the movie. Yet if it's a ghost car how can he give it to his brother? Wouldn't it just disappear the moment Jamie goes back to the afterlife? At the end of the movie the car has suddenly become a real physical object through Jamie's vengeance. Would this not also imply the Jake is now real as well. Otherwise his spirit comes back to the world of the living with a special ghost car that becomes real while his spirit goes back to the world of the dead. A car created out of thin air is now real, but the ghost that created it is not? That's nonsensical even for a nonsensical film such as this.

 

Yup, The Wraith is basically Ugetsu.

[tomspanks 9039]

On the side of Skank's car, does he have a count of the races he's won? He beat 4 cars, 3 motorcycles, and then...

 

He beat 2 people in wheelchairs? And one dog? Does he get to keep the wheelchairs if he wins? What does he get when he beats a dog?

 

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

On the side of Skank's car, does he have a count of the races he's won? He beat 4 cars, 3 motorcycles, and then...

 

He beat 2 people in wheelchairs? And one dog? Does he get to keep the wheelchairs if he wins? What does he get when he beats a dog?

 

Bow down, folks, Tom wins the week.

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

Bow down, folks, Tom wins the week.

 

I don't know...There's still time for Skank to write a better post and then take Tom's computer.

[DanEngler 5249]

On the side of Skank's car, does he have a count of the races he's won? He beat 4 cars, 3 motorcycles, and then...

 

He beat 2 people in wheelchairs? And one dog? Does he get to keep the wheelchairs if he wins? What does he get when he beats a dog?

 

Worse than that, it's the number of cars/motorcycles/wheelchairs/dogs he's destroyed with his car, a reference to the markings on fighter planes:

 

 

Pilot Lt. William King on the wing of his P-51B Mustang “Atlanta Peach” of the 355th Fighter Squadron, 354th Fighter Group. The Mustang’s victory markings show 24 missions with 2 German planes destroyed, 1 locomotive, and 2 troop carriers. (U.S. Air Force Photograph)

[tomspanks 9039]

[JammerLea 2070]

Worse than that, it's the number of cars/motorcycles/wheelchairs/dogs he's destroyed with his car, a reference to the markings on fighter planes:

 

 

I don't know how to feel about this movie anymore.

[Give Me Your Baby 2 22]

At the beginning of the movie Keri is describing Jake and says that he just appeared in front of her house, but we watched a long opening sequence of him riding his motor bike around Arizona. You would think that him driving into town is to avoid the suspicion of appearing under strange circumstances, but apparently to Keri it is bewildering that a stranger might happen to be driving down her street when she happened to be leaving her house.

[Ofcoursemyhorse 1043]

So the medical braces all over his outfit got me thinking that they were supposed to indicate all the damage the villains of the movie inflicted on him during the beating that killed him.

 

And after every race he sheds a piece, I think to show that he's getting closer and closer to what eventually happens at the end of the movie with his resurrection.

 

But his whole outfit would have made significantly more sense if they had a scene where he initially lived although in a comatose state and then passed away. That way they could have showed him in all the medical equipment that adorned his Wraith outfit.

[JammerLea 2070]

So the medical braces all over his outfit got me thinking that they were supposed to indicate all the damage the villains of the movie inflicted on him during the beating that killed him.

 

And after every race he sheds a piece, I think to show that he's getting closer and closer to what eventually happens at the end of the movie with his resurrection.

 

But his whole outfit would have made significantly more sense if they had a scene where he initially lived although in a comatose state and then passed away. That way they could have showed him in all the medical equipment that adorned his Wraith outfit.

I like this! There are just so many things that could have made this movie sooooo much better, if they had taken the time to think things through.

 

I wanted to present a better setup.

 

The movie should OPEN with the scene of his death. The two people in beginning of the movie are inconsequential and just shouldn't be there. Open with his death, have the gang knock out Keri first (preferably with chloroform as it's used in other movies). Then have Packard exclaim they're killing Jamie because he's their rival or part of a rival gang they're wiping out (if that "Jamie wasn't a nice guy" thing is true). They kill him and dump unconscious Keri on the side of the road. Keri then becomes a "trophy" for Packard, since she was his rival's girl.

 

Meanwhile Jamie wakes up in the afterlife, there's some shadowy figure that he ends up pleading with to let him go back for revenge. Shadowy figure makes a deal with him as long as Jamie gets him the souls of the gang that killed him, but there are "conditions". Though he's given the fancy car and some supernatural abilities, he's stuck with the braces, like chains, which he won't be released from until he kills off the gang members that killed him. But the worst is that he cannot return as himself. He must take a new identity and he cannot reveal his past life until the deed is done.

 

From there, you can probably follow the general plot. Keri should DEFINITELY have reservations about getting involved with another guy. Maybe throw in the reason why Jake can't just blow up the barn when everyone is in it is because Rughead is there. We know Rughead wasn't one of the lackeys who killed Jamie, so he has to scare Rughead away instead. And maybe... don't kill the first two guys in the exact same way? Get a little more creative, come on.

 

I haven't thought it out past that, but that's my suggestion.

[EternalSammich 167]

I remember vividly being a little kid and seeing the video rental boxes at a VHS rental store and really wanting to see it because it looked so cool from that cover! I kind of forgot this movie existed until a few years ago when I got back into watching movies and horror being a favorite genre in particular. I kind of had this film on a "watch list" in my mind.

 

Having seen this film: Wow. It's so bad. I feel like every suggested "fix" or explanation people give in the podcast and these forums is far more interesting and enriching than this film actually is.

 

I feel like this film had a budget for cars and explosives and hoped to make a movie around that based on a lazy version of High Plains Drifter.

 

The only things I liked about this film were the explosions and some of the over acting from Clint Howard, Skank and Gutterboy. Oh and the soundtrack. It was a good soundtrack.

[Give Me Your Baby 2 22]

I like this! There are just so many things that could have made this movie sooooo much better, if they had taken the time to think things through.

 

I wanted to present a better setup.

 

The movie should OPEN with the scene of his death. The two people in beginning of the movie are inconsequential and just shouldn't be there. Open with his death, have the gang knock out Keri first (preferably with chloroform as it's used in other movies). Then have Packard exclaim they're killing Jamie because he's their rival or part of a rival gang they're wiping out (if that "Jamie wasn't a nice guy" thing is true). They kill him and dump unconscious Keri on the side of the road. Keri then becomes a "trophy" for Packard, since she was his rival's girl.

 

From there, you can probably follow the general plot. Keri should DEFINITELY have reservations about getting involved with another guy. Maybe throw in the reason why Jake can't just blow up the barn when everyone is in it is because Rughead is there. We know Rughead wasn't one of the lackeys who killed Jamie, so he has to scare Rughead away instead. And maybe... don't kill the first two guys in the exact same way? Get a little more creative, come on.

 

 

I would have liked it if Jaime had been the leader of Packard's gang and that his murder wasn't just a setup for Packard's kidnap dating of Keri. Rather there would be a larger rivalry between them and the murder would have some betrayal associated with it rather than seemingly random capriciousness.

[JammerLea 2070]

 

I would have liked it if Jaime had been the leader of Packard's gang and that his murder wasn't just a setup for Packard's kidnap dating of Keri. Rather there would be a larger rivalry between them and the murder would have some betrayal associated with it rather than seemingly random capriciousness.

 

Oh my god, I love it! Much better movie!!

[Dumpsterfire16 2]

During the scene with skank and gutterboy talking at the quarry, Paul thought they said "queef city". I'm pretty sure they said "quiff city". The quiff was a preppy boy hairstyle. I took it as them mentioning how many dudes were at the quarry.

 

I'm surprised you guys didn't mention the fact that they first said "look at all the duck butter". I had to look that up. Urban dictionary told me duck butter is when you don't clean under your balls for a few days and it builds up a gross film. Did they really say duck butter?! What did they actually mean?? Ew.

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

I would have liked it if Jaime had been the leader of Packard's gang and that his murder wasn't just a setup for Packard's kidnap dating of Keri. Rather there would be a larger rivalry between them and the murder would have some betrayal associated with it rather than seemingly random capriciousness.

 

I like to think that Keri had Jamie killed. I think she let Packard and his goons know where they were going to be the night Jamie was murdered and then had them drop her off in the desert afterward where she could conveniently develop "amnesia." However, what she didn't count on was Packard going blood-licking crazy. So they end up in this weird stalemate. This is why - despite the fact that Quaid is looking for any reason to put Packard away, and as shown in the movie, would certainly be sympathetic to a woman being used by him - she can't just have him arrested for murder as he might rat her out as an accomplice. This would also explain why when being "kidnapped" she seems more annoyed than threatened and why she gets so bizarrely upset when Oggie dies.

 

So, stuck in this situation, Keri does the only thing any rational person would do: she turns to the occult. To rid herself of her problem, she sells her soul to have her former lover return as a Spirit of Vengeance - upgraded to look like the star of Lucas and Red Dawn. So he comes back and eliminates anyone who can implicate her in his murder. This would also explain why anyone who's ever been murdered isn't given the chance to come back and avenge themselves - they have to have someone on the outside willing to risk damnation to bring them back. Unfortunately for Keri, she's told to "pack light" (because it's gonna be hot) for her "short trip" (to Hell).

[JammerLea 2070]

 

I like to think that Keri had Jamie killed. I think she let Packard and his goons know where they're going to be the night Jamie was murdered and had them drop her off in the desert afterward where she conveniently develops "amnesia." However, what she didn't count on was Packard going blood-licking crazy. So they end up in this weird stalemate. She can't have him arrested for murder (despite the fact that Quaid is looking for any reason to put Packard away, and as shown in the movie, would certainly be sympathetic to a woman being used by him) as he might rat her out as an accomplice. This would also explain why when being "kidnapped" she seems more annoyed than threatened and why she gets so bizarrely upset when Oggie dies.

 

So, stuck in this situation, Keri does the only thing any rational person would do: she turns to the occult. To rid herself of her problem, she sells her soul to have her former lover return as a Spirit of Vengeance - upgraded to look like the star of Lucas and Red Dawn. So he comes back and eliminates any one who can implicate her in his murder. This would also explain why anyone who's ever been murdered isn't given the chance to come back and avenge themselves - they have to have someone on the outside willing to risk damnation to bring them back. Unfortunately for Keri, she's told to "pack light" (because it's gonna be hot) for her "short trip" (to Hell).

 

[tomspanks 9039]

I like to think that Keri had Jamie killed.

 

But what would be her motive?

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

 

But what would be her motive?

 

He has sex with his underpants on...

[tomspanks 9039]

He has sex with his underpants on...

 

[Cam Bert 8145]

Here's my take on the medical braces. Due to costuming constraints and budget they used medical braces but in fact they were not suppose to be medical braces but rather shackles or bonds. It seems he had one for each member of Packard's group that took place in his murder. Now if we assume the line of logic that he is some sort or avenging angle or spirit of vengeance and that his ultimate reward is returning to the corporeal world then this makes perfect sense. After vengeance has been gotten on each member of the gang one of the shackles/medical brace disappears. Their deaths are freeing him and bringing him closer to being back to life. The final one disappears after the death of Packard and once he transforms from the rider back into Jake he states "I won't be doing that again." That's because he is now free of his bonds and able to return to life.

[Jack Frost 252]

To my ears, Skank is not referring to the swimming hole as "Queef City," but Quiff City. My hunch is that the writers confused the word quiff which is a pompadour-like hairstyle popularized by Smiths singer Morrissey, with quim which is British slang for ladyparts. That or it was their sly way of calling Morrissey a pussy.

[EternalSammich 167]

That's because he is now free of his bonds and able to return to life.

Wait.. so now he's alive? Living as Jake?

Mind blown.

 

[Cam Bert 8145]

Wait.. so now he's alive? Living as Jake?

Mind blown.

 

Don't take my word for it. It's merely how I made sense of this all. I think it's just as believable that in the end like Cameron said that she's cashing in her soul and Jake is collecting. Depends on how happy and ending you want.