Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A cursed hero must team up with a religious organization to protect a young boy from a demonic plot.
The story
In rural Eastern Europe, a monk warns a nearby monastery about Roarke's forces seeking to kidnap a young boy named Danny for a ritual to transfer Roarke's mind into the boy's body. After a skirmish, Danny escapes with his mother, Nadya. The monk seeks out Johnny Blaze, a man hiding his inner demon, and offers to break his curse if he helps find the boy. When the pair is captured by a mercenary, the Ghost Rider intervenes. Amidst the chaos, the alliance between the desperate mother, the cursed hero, and the religious order deepens as they race to stop the devil's minions from completing their dark ritual.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In rural Eastern Europe, a monk named Moreau warns a monastery about Roarke's forces seeking to kidnap a boy named Danny to perform a ritual transferring Roarke's mind into the boy's body. After a skirmish, Danny and his mother Nadya escape. Moreau finds Johnny Blaze, who is hiding his inner demon, and offers to break his curse if he helps find the boy. When the pair is captured by the mercenary Ray Carrigan, the Ghost Rider intervenes. Roarke (Mephistopheles) places a spell on Danny to hide him from the Rider. Later, the Rider confronts Carrigan, and the duo brings Danny to the monastery. Moreau reveals the Rider is an angel named Zarathos. To break the curse, Johnny must reveal a secret; he admits his deal with Roarke was born of desperation for his dying father. Moreau exorcises the spirit, and Johnny becomes human. However, Carrigan captures Danny. During a final ritual, the trio infiltrates the ceremony. Carrigan is killed, and Danny returns the Rider to Johnny, granting him the ability to stay in his form during the day. The Rider then confronts Roarke, defeats him, and sends him back to Hell. Zarathos regains his sanity as the Spirit of Justice, and Johnny, now with blue flames, revives Danny.
- First release year
- 2012
- Runtime (minutes)
- 95
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Mark Neveldine; Brian Taylor
- Writers
- Scott M. Gimple · screenplay; Seth Hoffman · screenplay; David S. Goyer · screenplay; David S. Goyer · story
- Cast and characters
- Nicolas Cage · Johnny Blaze / Ghost Rider; Ciarán Hinds · Mephistopheles "Mephisto" / Roarke; Violante Placido · Nadya Ketch; Johnny Whitworth · Ray Carrigan / Blackout; Christopher Lambert · Methodius; Idris Elba · Moreau; Ionut Cristian Lefter · Young Johnny Blaze; Fergus Riordan · Danny Ketch
- Genres
- superhero; action; fantasy; supernatural
- Themes
- Sacrifice; Redemption; Faith
- Tone and mood
- Dark; Action-packed
- Setting
- Rural Eastern Europe
- Premise and plot tags
- Supernatural; Demonic; Superhero
- Source material / true-story basis
- Marvel Comics
- Franchise connections
- Ghost Rider
- Reception
- The film received poor critical reception, with critics criticizing the script, CGI, and performances.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 18% · scale: percentage; Metacritic · score: 34 · scale: 100 · review count: 22; Cinemascore · score: C+ · scale: A-F
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Raspberry Awards · Worst Actor (Nicolas Cage; also, for Seeking Justice) · nomination; Golden Raspberry Awards · Worst Remake, Rip-off or Sequel · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was shot in Romania and Turkey.; The motorcycle used by Cage was a Yamaha VMAX.; The film rights to the character reverted to Marvel Studios in 2013.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…