‘It’s what’s inside that counts’
The Wraith Within is a 2023 American comedy horror film about a group of friends enjoying a weekend getaway. Unfortunately, a dangerous secret emerges that may kill them all.
Directed by Aaron Strey from a screenplay written by Carlos A. Samudio. Produced by Robbie Stevenson. Executive produced by Shane Christopher, Trent Herring, James Mcshan and Carlos A. Samudio.
The Looknow Productions/Teamwork Pictures/Titus Kane Productions movie stars Michael Madsen (Arena Wars; Incarnation; Death Count; Damon’s Revenge; Burial Ground Massacre; Dirty Fears; Shark Season; Red Handed; Angels Fallen; Megalodon 2018; Rock, Paper, Scissors; Devil’s Domain; Lumberjack Man; CobraGator; Piranhaconda; Species and Species II), Allison Hawkstone, Shane Christopher, Brian Hodges Ally Kathryn, Zara Majidpour, Gabe Aronson, Shea Herring, Jonathan Joss, Chris Hahn, Trey Davis, Arvind Vashisht, Joy Leigh, Jaxsen Luke Dill and Alex Szabo.
Plot synopsis:
When a group of friends returns to their hometown for a high school reunion, a tragic curse of the town’s history emerges to terrorize them after horrifying revelations that put all of their lives in peril for a shocking night they may not all survive…
Reviews:
“The dialogue is what challenged me the most; it was the thing that I had to constantly question and attempt to understand. There are literally dozens of lines that serve no purpose other than to bamboozle viewers and force them to question the validity of what is being said and done. With all of the negatives that exist throughout The Wraith Within, the dialogue only exacerbates them, making them more challenging to appreciate and less likely to reach viewers along the way.” 2 out of 5, Bain’s Film Reviews
“The Wraith Within is one of those homemade horror films. And it’s rather bad, in every conceivable sense. The story is lame. The writing is horrible. The acting sucks. And the wraith- who is a pitchfork-wielding ghost of a murdered little girl- is even worse. Most of the film consists of the cast of characters reliving their high school drama, after returning to their hometown for a reunion.” Meddlecore
“The Wraith Within could have been a pretty interesting story if they had kept it more grounded and focused more on the town’s story instead of trying to insert so many jokes throughout […] While the concept of an evil spirit escaping from a cursed teddy bear may pique some viewers’ interest, the film’s execution and lack of suspense ultimately leave much to be desired.” 2 out of 5, Overly Honest Movie Reviews
“Strey and Samudio have a potentially fun concept but the end result is a lost opportunity in horror. They attempt to go meta ala Scream but abandon those notions as the town instead becomes (underwhelmingly) terrorized like Antonio Bay of The Fog. The origin of the wraith is never grounded, bouncing between curses from the land, the old family, and probably stubbing of toes in the night. ” 1.5 out of 5, Read@Joe’s
“The dialogue is bad, the line-readings of it are worse. A couple of the cast aren’t native English speakers and the strain of trying to make bad lines sound natural proves an over-reach for them. Not that the gringos are any better. The deaths are not all that interesting, but the makeup “effect” is modestly chilling. All things considered, this is just plain bad, even by horror C-movie standards.” 0 out of 5, Roger’s Movie Nation
YouTube reviews:
Teaser:
Trailer:
Release:
The Wraith Within was released On-Demand (VOD) by Gravitas Ventures on February 21, 2023.
Cast and characters:
Michael Madsen … Sheriff Townsend
Jonathan Joss … Jim Ravenfeather
Amber Blaze Lemmond … Jane Hill
Chris Hahn … Mayor Sampson
Sheril Rodgers … Marlene Rogers
Zara Majidpour … Leyla Ahmadi
Dimitrius Pulido … Alfred Jones
Allison Hawkstone … Jennifer Corolla
Joy Leigh … Josephina Jones
Wesley Blake … Jacob Cutter
Gabriel Aronson … Bert Galindo
Frankee Romero … Benji Ravenfeather
Shane Christopher … Aaron Johnson
Shea Herring … Annie Eastman
Jaxsen Luke Dill … Young Jim Ravenfeather
Derek Broussard … Deputy Jones
Trey Davis … Deputy Dan Gibson
Daniel Welch … Second Paramedic
Patrick Dudley … Deputy Kinkaid
Victoria Soto … First Paramedic
Brian Hodges … Cory Johnson
Ally Kathryn … Ami Cutter
Rayen D. Herring … Kaylee Eastman
Elizabeth Crunk … Thrift store shopper
Arvind Vashisht … Jon Mallick
Filming locations:
Junction, Lockhart, Seguin and Wimberley, Texas
Working title:
Look at Me
More movies with Michael Madsen:
ARENA WARS (2022) Preview of sci-fi actioner
INCARNATION (2022) Reviews and overview of supernatural horror
DEATH COUNT (2022) 18 reviews of internet game horror movie – now with trailer
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