Packard (Nick Cassavetes) is a mean guy who likes to race teenagers for pink slips, cheating when he’s going to lose. He and his gang of punks: preppie guy Minty (Chris Nash), bandanna-wearing Oggie (Griffin O’Neal), high-pitched Gutterboy (Jamie Bozian), referee RUghead (Clint Howard), and Skank (David Sherrill), who’s always drinking random hazardous stuff, find Packard’s sort-of girlfriend Keri (Sherilyn Fenn) in bed with another guy, and kill him. But he gets a second chance, and is reborn as ghostly Jake (Charlie Sheen), who one by one races and kills each member of the gang—all while rekindling his romance with Keri. However, Packard won’t go down without a fight.
It’s not classified as a horror movie, but it’s a pretty grim premise, with some gruesome details like the dead guys’ eyes being burned out of their sockets. The film has its roots in action movies, hence the many car chases and violence, but little gore.
I do have some gripes. Jake is the only tolerable character. Everyone else is either annoying and whiny or unrealistically evil. Keri is particularly insufferable, as Fenn has yet to come into her own as an actor. Cassavetes is a bit painful to watch, as he is just too good for this movie. Even Sheen looks a little embarrassed to be there. You gotta love Randy Quaid as the sheriff, delivering such terrible dialogue with such conviction.
I love the 80s. The synth pop soundtrack (I’ll be honest, I shelled out $50 to get it on CD), Skank’s mohawk and pastel eye shadow, Charlie Sheen before he was a joke. I recently made my husband watch the movie because it was one of my favorites as a kid. I was chagrined at the terrible special effects and multiple plot inconsistencies like these weird metal rods that appear and disappear every time one of Packard’s boys dies. But overall it’s fun. Give it a look if you’re in the mood for something shallow, cheesy, and not too original.
GhoulieJoe 