Movies with similarities to Ghost Rider

[InVictus]

I watched this movie a lot of years ago, and yesterday it came in my mind that actually it has some concepts quite similar to Ghost Rider. Here in Italy it was named "Il replicante" but the original name was "The wraith", with Charlie Sheen as a guy killed and returned years later to exact vengeance (and retrieve his body in a strange system) driving a black "demonic"/extraterrestrial car (wich had a sort of flaming engine under the hood, was indestructible and was able to reach Tron's blur speed :D). Some visual scheme and color were quite good and the flick was quite enjoyable for that time.What do you think(if you remember/can view it)?
http://www.sd455.com/moviewraith.htm
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0092240/

[Riding Ghost]

Yeah, I've seen it a couple times, it was really cool. I think the last time I saw it was on cable, not too long ago. But it didn't remind me of GR. Still cool though.

[BIGGUN]

Yup...The Wraith. saw it in the theaters when it 1st came out. theater only had myself, a friend, and some fat dude who wouldnt stop laughing at anything remotely funny on screen...weird.
movie was bad....as in badly made..heh. i did see some similarities to GR as well....mainly he was a spirit inflicting vengeance on the guilty and used a supernaturally powered vehicle to help acclomplish his goals.

[FlameHead]

Yes, The Wraith. I remember that one well... yet I always thought it was one of those movies that you seen but never remember anything about it until someone mentions it 15 or so years later. Like me, right now. I remember it but only because you brought it up. I wouldn't have thought about it if you didn' and now that you did, I can picture the car and even a few scenes I think.

Good call on the similarities too. I see where you come from... and I think I'd like to see the movie again now. Just to regress back to my youth a little, if nothing else. It seems I had a connection with this flick, now that I'm thinking about it.

[FlameHead]

So, I was doin' some searching for Ghost Rider news and found the following article. Notice the section in bold.

BONE HILL/THE WHISPER KING/MACABRE/PLAY DEAD

The Hollywood Reporter also notes that Platinum Studios has acquired rights to the next four graphic novels by horror writer Wil Radcliffe to develop as live-action features. The four properties are "Bone Hill," a thriller about a psychiatrist trying to save a young female patient whose psychoses might hold the key to ending an ancient evil; "The Whisper King," about a man who must protect a group of kids from the monsters who abducted him as a child; "Macabre," a teen supernatural horror story about a young man possessed by a vengeful spirit; and "Play Dead," in which a family is haunted by the malevolent spirit of their beloved household pet.

I know there are a lot of possibilites with a plotline like that but is it too close to what we know and love as Ghost Rider? Do you think these people are jumping on the Ghost Rider (or horror in general) ban wagon... or is it all a coincedince?

Regardless of the firey head or not, the storyline will no doubt be similar. How do you guys feel about this news?

[InVictus]

Macabre is actually quite different if i remember correctly.. it is more like Hellboy/hellblazer i think, yet i have to check it.
If you fear a clone of Ghost Rider, that is Spawn.

[FlameHead]

LOL. True enough.

I'm interested to hear more though... just to see.

[InVictus]

Here is what i though "macabre" was referring to:
http://it.search.yahoo.com/search?fr=fp-tab-web-t-1&ei=ISO-8859-1&p=Wil+Radcliffe+macabre&meta=vl%3D
but i misunderstood ^^;
I've never heard of Will Radcliffe, maybe the story could end up similar to that SkullFire half boy half demon in one Hellstrom mini.

[FlameHead]

Because of only having a couple of Hellstrom related comics (It's second or third tier in my midnight sons/Occult comic collection) I'm not sure who your referring too. Was his name SkullFire or was that description of him?

I'm not sure who Radcliff is either...

[InVictus]

It was a somewhat "recent" Hellstrom mini based end of the group, Gargoyle was Hellstrom buckler, HellCat had married Hellstrom and was driven crazy, very adult theme too.SkullFire was a boy turned in a demon because of satan crazy life/chess game prepared for HS, started by a minor daemon while master was away. o_o
It was somewhat funny also see this giant blue demon with the skull on fire and bandages cry out for mummy or say "i am a suppa hero!Cool!"
Nevermind, my memories can be quite strange :o

[FlameHead]

As can mine, my friend, as can mine.

Thanks for the information. I'll definatly be picking those issues up at sometime. The Hellstrom character definatly fits into my realm of collecting... as will SkullFire, though I doubt that character had many appearances.

[InVictus]

Err, my memory somethimes build up truly amazing things!
It wasn's SkullFire, it was SOUL fire ^_^;
Here it is all visual/BG of this Ghost Rider ripoff:D
http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/soulfr.htm

Seriously, Marvel Demons can be quite imaginative?:rolleyes:
http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/soulfr1.gif

[FlameHead]

Holy ripoff Batman. There is no way in Marvel hell that he was not 'inspired' by our beloved Ghost Rider. I do love the way he looks though, even if his head is exactly the same as the well known hothead.

Thanks for the pic!

[InVictus]

He lacks jaw, actually, and has longer canine tooths, spikes are different(except on backhand^^; ) and the flame/eyes color are different, so he is truuuly not a ripoff right?:rolleyes:
But the artist is indeed quite good, that's one good skull drawer(err not forniture, artist who draw...ouch>_<).

[FlameHead]

Was this before or after Vengeance?

[InVictus]

It was after Vendetta, if i remember correctly.

[FlameHead]

I'm not sure what you're refering to by Vendetta...

This is a neat pic of Soulfire too...
http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/soulfr5.gif

[InVictus]

D'oh i did it again! I was actually checking the news on the V for Vendetta movie and since Vengeance =Vendetta in italian....:D

[FlameHead]

LOL, no worries. Easy mistake to make...

[WilRadcliffe]

Hi, guys. Hope you don't mind if I come in to clear up a few things. Since I'm the writer of the Macabre graphic novel, I can assure you that it is nothing like Ghost Rider. Without giving away too much, I will tell you that it has nothing to do with demon possession or a Spirit of Vengeance. There is a definite supernatural element, but it's more along the lines of "A Nightmare on Elm Street," or "Friday the 13th." No flaming skulls or hellfire or motorcycles.

I hope you'll give the book a chance. And thanks for hearing me out.

Cheers!

Wil

[SuperFerret]

"Play Dead" sounds like Pet Sematary to me.

[WilRadcliffe]

Well, you have to keep in mind that these quick descriptions of the projects don't relate the details. "Play Dead" doesn't feature an Indian burial ground, and it centers more on the ghost of a single pet, rather than various pets and people coming back as zombies. So, there are a lot of differences, really. But I can understand how based on the initial description you might feel that the two projects are similar.

[FlameHead]

Mind? Not at all. It's very good to see you and welcome to the hype. We always like new visitors and I'll definatly give things a chance. Though I jump to conclusions often, I still tend to give things a chance.

Nice of you to drop by and give us more information regarding your graphic novel. I can assure you that you only reason I jumped to such a conclusion as I did is because I am such a huge Ghost Rider fan. There are millions of different ways you can go with a possessing of a vengeful spirit. Plus, the image is most of whats cool about Ghost Rider... and I like you say, no flaming skulls...

I guess the report mean't 'vengeful spirit' to mean a much different thing. The vengeance probably doesn't involve severe pain... and spirit didn't actually mean 'spirit' as in the soul of another persons exisitance. I get it now.

I'm Ghost Rider crazy...

[InVictus]

Thanks for the informations, i will surely give a look to you work.
Hmm is it then similar to the Grudge/The Ring type of horror or more of the "old school" '80 atmosphere?
Yet thoose news were surely misleading >_<
And, yes, we are so crazy about GR that by the coming out of the movie our heads will self combust...:D:D:D

[WilRadcliffe]

Flamehead and Invictus: I understand about being Ghost Rider fans. He's a very cool character. Which version are you partial too? The original Johnny Blaze or the Spirit of Vengeance. It's hard for me to choose, personally. Blaze was the first one I read as a kid, but the SOV version was a very cool reworking of the character with an awesome backstory. Anyway, I hope they do right by the character in the movie.

As for Macabre, it will have a bit of an 80s vibe to it probably. But there will also be a lot of suspense and probably more character development than what you'd get from an 80s slasher flick. At least that's the way I'm writing the comic. How they do the movie is out of my hands.

Thanks for the welcome, guys! Feel free to stop by my web site (www.nogglestones.com (http://www.nogglestones.com/)) to check out some of my other projects!

Cheers!
Wil

[HighVoltage]

Macabre is actually quite different if i remember correctly.. it is more like Hellboy/hellblazer i think, yet i have to check it.
If you fear a clone of Ghost Rider, that is Spawn.

Spawn is a clone of Ghost Rider?,I Think Spawn is a clone (amalgam)of; DOCTOR STRANGE, THE PROWLER & VENOM.What do you think about this?.:unishr:

[FlameHead]

Nogglestones. Interesting name for a website; I love it! I have it bookmarked and like Arnuld... "I'll be back".

Anyhoo, Dan Ketch (SOV) is my personal favorite but that's mainly because I read him first. It seems to go that way... but you're right, it's hard to choose. I'm happy that they've decided to go with the original GR for the movie though. This comes after much thought of course. I was a avid protestor of the news because of my first 'love' for Ketch's GR, once apon a time. The movie sounds so cool so far that I've come to terms with the merger of the two as a character... even if that means there is no Ketch ever.

Anyway, I look forward to the 80's style slasher flick of yours that they're developing. I like slasher flicks. I grew up with that as my favorite Genre. Big fan of Freddy here. Big.

[InVictus]

Yesterday i watched with my friends a very ****ty, funny(because of its ****tyness) movie named Van Helsing: Dracula's Revenge ( story: Dracula in space :lol: horrible acting, horrible scenography , amusing characters) and in the special contents of the rented dvd we saw even funnier promos of horror movies of a certain David LeCoteau. Searching in the net for his other works i found this....:eek:
http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/coverv/64/222664.jpg
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/speed_demon/

[Mr Nick]

Ha ha. Good spot there. It just reeks of quality, doesn't it?

:D

[FlameHead]

Man, that is almost too Ghost Rider like isn't it?

Synopsis from IMDB; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0339714/
A mysterious driver in a muscle car with a demonic hood ornament hunts down a gang that has taken over a small town.

The question is, is the driver a demon or just the hood ornament?

Has anybody ever seen this?

[BIGGUN]

Netflix has it so im gonna take a chance and rent it to see just how bad it is..heh.

[InVictus]

Please don't do that for your sanity's sake!
Actually i rented it today...
Awful, not even funny, just plain bad.=_=
The skull on the cover it's actually just a medallion....=_=

[BIGGUN]

Please don't do that for your sanity's sake!
Actually i rented it today...
Awful, not even funny, just plain bad.=_=
The skull on the cover it's actually just a medallion....=_=


thanks for renting for us and letting us know...now i dont have to waste a rental selection :)

[NDX]

So this is just a lower budget version of "The Wraith"?

[Mr Nick]

Invictus, you're like the soldier who throws himself on a grenade to save the platoon.

;)

[InVictus]

So this is just a lower budget version of "The Wraith"?
Well....you could say that...yes.
Probably.
But lower in astronomical distance standards.
There must be either two reason why ALL male characters in this crappy movie appear 80% of time with naked torso. The one reason i hope is: they filmed it in a particular hot place.
Not to mention the magic "purification" rite....a mass massage of blood on the naked torsos...the horror....the horror!!
I shouldn't have rushed with my GR frenzy and instead i should have read this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_DeCoteau about the director...
*shudders*

[FlameHead]

Invictus, you're like the soldier who throws himself on a grenade to save the platoon.

;)

LOL. That's indeed exactly what he's like.

Thanks Invictus!

[Weadazoid]

Anyone remeber this really odd old 80's movie with a young Charlie Sheen as the ghost of this guy that gets killed racing his car, and he comes back as the driver of this sick looking vehicle to take revenge on the racers that killed him


The car had a glowing engine and it was black

[BIGGUN]

yeah...The Wraith.
really cheesy/bad movie from the mid 80s.

[Weadazoid]

http://www.fast-rewind.com/


thank you.... I find it hilarious tha the Wraith is there with Platoon Lucas and Wall street LOL

[FlameHead]

We actually started a topic about Wraith a while ago... http://www.superherohype.com/forums/showthread.php?t=161701

[Joker]

The Wraith was actually a semi-remake of High Plains Drifter, in a bad, 80's kind of way. Guy is unjustly killed, comes back in a different body (I think his body is different inthe Wraith, been a while since I saw it), tears up the town, gets revenge, nobody knows who he is till the end, etc, etc.

[Mr Nick]

That film's stuck in my head for years, for some reason. Maybe it's because I watched an obscene amount of movies and TV in the 80's!

One thing I vividly remember, is that his turbo interceptor would get smashed to smithereens and then reform from a ghostly mist. Makes me wonder if we'll see the Hellcycle or GR himself blown to kingdom come, then reform right before the terrified bad guys' eyes.

And I also remember Sherilyn Fenn was way hot!

:eek:

[NDX]

And I also remember Sherilyn Fenn was way hot!

I definately agree with that.

Actually, my friend (named Wraith) introduced me to the movie a few years ago, and it's been one of the few movies I watch because it's not the best. Plus the soundtrack has been on my wishlist for 2 years now. Can't find it.

Due to this thread I now have an urge to watch this movie. I need to borrow the dvd from him.

[tecnowraith]

http://www.thewraithcar.com/images/Wraith1.jpg
Always did like the look of the car!!

[Mr Nick]

Ooooo. Still looks good.

"Turbo interceptor. The only one in existence."

Apparently, God has a kick-ass garage.

:eek:

[InVictus]

One thing I vividly remember, is that his turbo interceptor would get smashed to smithereens and then reform from a ghostly mist. Makes me wonder if we'll see the Hellcycle or GR himself blown to kingdom come, then reform right before the terrified bad guys' eyes.
:eek:

Hey! The reforming bike trick it's a must be in the movie, just like when Flag Smasher blew out GR with a missile! Heck we should have asked MSJ about this!
FlameHead!
Add this one in the MSJ question thread!:)

[FlameHead]

Sadly, we probably wont make another Q&A thread until next years comic-con. MSJ will probably not get the chance to answer them. Plus, we have to keep some things under the hat don't we?.... Nahhhh.

I do think the bike should be dismantled at some point as well though. Perhaps we'll see a regular looking bike at the start and then it's gets blown up and reforms into the hellcycle we've seen. That's a possibility?

As for Wraith, I think I might rent it again sometime soon. That's a flagship movie from my childhood man. It's so strange that it's similar to Ghost Rider, a character I later became obsessed with.

[Vartha]

For those of you who haven't seen Wraith, if you like "B" movies, this is a movie to rent.

I liked it when it first came out, but, I wouldn't go out and buy it.

[FlameHead]

I've never heard of High Plains Drifter either. Seems like there's lots of movies with a similar idea to Ghost Rider... not to say they were all taken from the idea of Ghost Rider. It's just a good idea I guess.

[FlameHead]

I probably would, just for nostalgia sake. It's probably not even on DVD yet though...

[Crowley9]

I checked a local movie net store and they have that, so it definitely is on DVD.

[Mr Nick]

Yep. They have it at Amazon.

:)

[NDX]

My friend has the DVD. I have seen it in person, it does exist, and it is official. Not that is makes it a better movie, but it's good to know.

Still need to borrow it.

[BURNFOREVER]

I've never heard of High Plains Drifter either. Seems like there's lots of movies with a similar idea to Ghost Rider... not to say they were all taken from the idea of Ghost Rider. It's just a good idea I guess.

Hey, FH.
HPD isa great Eastwood movie, man. Watch it, now. I guess already came to dvds. It´s really good, and i´ve heard that Goyer had plans to makehis 2001 GR script as a mix of HPD and Mad Max.
But as we all know, his script is very bad. No GR soul around there.

[InVictus]

Wait, was HPD that film where Clint comes back with vengeance towards the city that let him be hanged?
That's my favourite Eastwood movie ever!

[BIGGUN]

Wait, was HPD that film where Clint comes back with vengeance towards the city that let him be hanged?
That's my favourite Eastwood movie ever!


Yup..
FH...you NEED to rent that movie. you will love it....one of my fave Eastwood westerns.

[FlameHead]

Awesome! Good to know this movie has moved to DVD... of course, not much hasn't these days eh? I'm gonna rent it sometime soon... then again, I could probably buy it for the same price as a rent.

[FlameHead]

Wow, 3 very stong recommendations from my pals eh? I'll have to rent that one on my next outting to the vid store. I'm not a huge fan of Westerns but I'll definatly give this a shot as it's so dear to my peeps. The plot sounds pretty darn good anyway...

[BURNFOREVER]

Awesome! Good to know this movie has moved to DVD... of course, not much hasn't these days eh? I'm gonna rent it sometime soon... then again, I could probably buy it for the same price as a rent.

It´s really a surprise that exists someone who hasn´t saw this movie, specially in US. Here, in Brasil, i´ve watched so many times on tv.
Here we call it "A Aparição".
It´s very ok to the 80´s, of course. Now he grows old.
But still cool. Same to another 80´s classic that we saw much on tv: James Spader´s "Tuff turf". Cheesy 80´s classic teen movie.

[Crowley9]

I saw a Wraith DVD at an internet auction site which is toted as an 'uncut' version. Does anybody have any further knowledge about that?

[BIGGUN]

I saw a Wraith DVD at an internet auction site which is toted as an 'uncut' version. Does anybody have any further knowledge about that?


that has to either be a bootleg or an import...
found this interesting site about films which had scenes removed or were banned called the chopping list.
http://www.cosmos.net.au/~hologram/chopping/list_home.html

here is a direct link for the Wraith....just some extra nudity was cut out it seems.
http://www.cosmos.net.au/~hologram/chopping/titles_w.html

[FlameHead]

Noooo... not the nudity. Don't cut the nudity!!! hehe.

Nice site find there though BG. Lots of neat info there, not found in a lot of other places.

[Seeker]

Maybe the fact that screenwriter Mike Marvin (real name: Michael Oliveros) wrote this originally as a treatment for a proposed Ghost Rider TV movie in 1980, riding the coattails of "The Incredible Hulk"´s sucess, can explain some things.

[Mr Nick]

Wow. I never knew that. That's some pretty cool info right there, Seeker. Or should I call you Sherlock?

:up:

[Seeker]

A Ghost Rider TV series would be cool, but the original idea, obviously due to budgetary reasons, was that the Ghost Rider would just have a very pale face (in the original concept, he was a dead man brought to life to avenge wrongs) and a helmet with PAINTED flames.

[Seeker]

My friend has the DVD. I have seen it in person, it does exist, and it is official. Not that is makes it a better movie, but it's good to know.

Still need to borrow it.

http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/coverv/03/203403.jpg


It was released on a so-so transfer by Platinum in 2003 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00008VGNJ/ref=ase_imdb-adbox/102-1198505-5360965?v=glance&s=dvd), but I´ve heard that Anchor Bay is going to re-release it anytime. Problem is, all those "anytime soons" by AB take years to materialize...

There´s also a German edition

http://www.splashmovies.de/images/dvd_video_cover/2003/interceptor_cover_klein.jpg

[Crowley9]

And this I believe is the region 2 DVD cover:
http://covers.dvd.img.compricer.com/0/79000.png
That small writing is Swedish in case you're wondering.

[InVictus]

Italian version.
http://www.dvd.it/img_big/23164.jpg

[FlameHead]

Man, I completely forgot that Charlie Sheen was in this one.

Seeing the different covers is pretty cool. I like how the movie sounds like a different one when it's in a different language. Interceptor? Much different than Wraith...

[Joker]

Yeah, HPD kicks ass. Not quite as good as The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, or Unforgiven, but damn close.

[TrailerCues]

After watching the new Trailer the story & plot to this Ghost Rider movie is very similiar to to this movie

http://www.*******.com/files/2006/10/4/263152/spawn-movie-poster-art-2.jpg

[webhead731]

Wow lol.

Spawn got its ideas from Ghost Rider. Ghost Rider was made long before Spawn.:rolleyes:

Spawn was an okay movie. I have the DVD.

But Ghost Rider will beat it so bad.

[FlameHead]

Wow. I can't believe this thread was created in a section full of Ghost Rider fans. Unbelievable.

[webhead731]

Someone, please close the thread before this user is pretty much beat up by us fans.:(

[Antonello Blueberry]

I think it will be as laughable as Spawn was.
But with a far superior budget.

[webhead731]

This movie looks so much better than Spawn.

You can't be serious.

[FlameHead]

Spawn wasn't horrible. I just felt they spent too much time developing and when it finally got going, it was over.

[webhead731]

I didn't say it was bad, but it wasn't great either.

It was okay.

[InVictus]

Okay, now i'm pissed off.
I saw this thread coming almost two years ago.
Stupid GR ripoff.

[Doc D]

...and does Spawn strongly resemble Goethe's "Faust" just because of some contract with a devil?.....NO!!! Does GR? (well, it's Mephistopheles, and that contract), but anyway: NO!!!

Some concepts are still good although there's a certain similarity.
Come on, it's meant as entertainment, so enjoy!

:ghost:

[OptimusPrimeRib]

This is off subject, but oh well. Who else remembers when Spawn first came out. I remember rushing to the comic shop for the #1 issue. At the time I was really into Todd McFarlane so I was pretty excited. Then I read it and was totally dissapointed. I immediately thought this character is such a rip off. I continued to collect just for the art until McFarlane stopped drawing.