Q: The Winged Serpent

source: Q: The Winged Serpent

Larry Cohen's "Q" makes no pretense about what kind of movie it is. The purpose is to be over-the-top. It looks like the sort of movie that they had a lot of fun making. What really caught me eye was the cast. While Michael Moriarty isn't known for anything in particular, we have Candy Clark (Debbie in "American Graffiti"), David Carradine (Bill in "Kill Bill"), Richard Roundtree (Shaft in "Shaft"), Mary Louise Weller (Mandy in "Animal House") and Malachy McCourt* (the brother of "Angela's Ashes" author Frank McCourt). On top of that, the scene in the bar shows an Arlo Guthrie** poster in the background. What a collection for a movie about a winged Aztec serpent god terrorizing New York! *A few hours after watching this, I watched "The Brink's Job", which it turned out also featured Malachy McCourt in a supporting role. I never expected to see him in two movies the same day. **As it turns out, Arlo grew up in a property owned by Fred Trump. Woody Guthrie wrote a song about what a creep the elder Trump was.

Ouch! New York is menaced by a plasticine monster, a terrible script, and some dreadful acting from Michael Moriarty... and has only David Carradine (of Kung Fu fame) and Richard Roundtree (the original Shaft) doing dubious tough-guy acts to defend it. This is a seriously bad movie from the early 80's... and it's hard to see why it has been dug out and issued on DVD. Nostalgia...?

This masterpiece of modern science fiction stands in a class all by itself. the story has a little something for everyone, it has humour,action and excitement, and most of all great special effects. This geat godzilla style 80's monster movie really hits the mark. Gigantic winged reptile stalking new york city reflects horror flicks of the 50's.Truly a cult classic. one of my favorites, I recommend this one to any fan of the genre. However, the squeamish should avoid at all cost.

An unusual state of deaths has hit New York, where people on high-rise buildings are being gruesomely killed. NPYD detectives Shepard and Powell are on the case, where Shepard believes these deaths are connected with another case involving skinned corpses. What he throws up is that the flying serpent god Quetzalcoatl that the Aztecs worshipped has been brought back to life due to these skinned sacrifices. A small time crook Jimmy happens to stumble upon the winged serpent's nest, and after being caught for a bungled robbery he uses this information to his advantage. What an extremely nifty and charming little film by the inventive b-film maestro Larry Cohen! Original, weird, wild and downright snappy is the trademark of this gem. Cohen's brightly taut direction takes flight and gets a highly amusing sardonic script to blend splendidly into the versatile and old-fashioned story. A super knockout cast make it a huge delight too. An excellent David Carradine keeps it suitably dry and Richard Roundtree superbly plays it hard-boiled. Candy Clark is sincerely good. Cohen regular James Dixon also pops up. However it's an outstanding neurotic method performance by Michael Moriarty, which livens up the show. His twitchy turn is fun to watch. The authentically gritty NY locations lend to the colourful atmosphere, and Fred Murphy and Robert Levi's inspired cinematography is spaciously swirling and always on key. The film is heighten by compelling suspense, and some workably conceived shock sequences that shows few gruesome images with a humorously dark streak tag to them. Robert O. Ragland's breezily flavoured score fits right at home with eccentric nature of the picture. The opening main cue also kicks in nicely. Cohen who also penned the stellar story mixing monster elements with a crime caper. Throws in plenty of witty satire, rooftop terror, few surprises and some major character progression. The characters do win out here, but you got to hand it to Cohen as he gets right into it. The way it sticks to telling a story, then concentrating just on the monster gives it more depth and heart. The other star of the piece Q is exceptionally staged in campy stop-motion animation. The special effects are creative, but never overdone and stays pretty effective throughout most of the film because of perfect timing and positioning.

Q is a fun film but the main problem with it is that monster in the title is rarely seen or is just a simple plot device and the end result is sorta unsatisfying. The story is more about the Aztec cult and their human sacrifices to their god, a Quetzalcoatl (hence Q), and the cops trying to figure what's going on than anything about the flying serpent. There is a lot of padded moments in this film. But like I said, it's fun nonetheless and is more enjoyable than Cohen's heavy handed GOD TOLD ME TO. Q is an homage of the monster movies of the 1950s, with lower production values and even more questionable acting than their 1950s counterpart. If you don't like those movies, you'll certainly won't like this homage. But if you're like me and enjoy watching those classic genre films, Q will make you smile. I just wish there was less talk and more monster action.

I've seen no end of monster-on-the-loose films, and the fact is that 'Q' is one of the very best of them. A terrifying prehistoric winged beast starts snatching people from New York, whilst there are cult murders involving an ancient Aztec god. As if the NYPD haven't enough on their plate, there's a bank robbery in which a put-upon small-time crook loses the money and then finds a giant egg on top of a skyscraper. What sets this film apart from the hundreds of other monster movies is its genuinely tense atmosphere, its characters, its haunting scenes which really do stay with you, its well-written and witty script, its great views of New York and its monster which really does have a life and character all of its own.

I agree with the original viewer's summary but am compelled to warn others of the added truth. This movie starts off BAD but steadily proceeds to get worse with every predictable twist. Billed as science fiction it should be considered science fraction. A giant flying lizard (dragon) is attacking New York. Along the way a two bit thief Jimmy played by Michael Morriarity)finds the creature's nest. After he is arrested he negotiates with the NY police commissioner and David Carradine's character a detective to give to his demands and he will help locate the creature. 1 million dollars (after tax), immunity, etc... They find the creature's egg and blow it up. Then the creature is killed. Then somewhere along the way an ancient sacrificial attempt is thwarted and somehow relevant to the plot. The sacrificial priest finds the two bit (now rich) thief, Jimmy and tries to get him to pray to the creature's god. David Carradine finds Jimmy after searching all the hotels in NYC and kills the demented priest/sorcerer. When the movie finally ends, the camera closeup is on another egg that is waiting to hatch and presumably attack NYC again. The plot is weak, the acting weaker and the drama missing. Other than that, a fine movie to watch if your option is being executed. David Carradine should be ashamed of this piece of crap. It was like watching a train wreck, "I could not look away".

Boy, this started off promising, with a campy look to it with a combination of a 1950s corny science-fiction look with 1980s gore and language. However, the movie gets more and more profane as it goes along, and the last third gets ridiculously blasphemous which may not bother most viewers but it did me. All the characters become unlikeable and the film lost its appeal to me because of that and its credence to its "gods theories" complete with an anti-Christian slur. All this mumbo-jumbo theology was a quick turnoff and explains why national critics liked this film so much. In summary: the film industry once again displays its anti-Biblical bigotry.

This is by far my favourite movie. Like most Larry Cohen movies it's a work of art disguised as trash. On the surface it's just an average monster flick - big lizard terrorizes big city. Scratch a little deeper and you'll find a philosophical meditation on belief and disbelief; on the apathetic nature of the modern urban sprawl and further still a commentary on the thirst for fame and fortune. Oh, I forgot to mention how funny it is. Performances by David Carradine and Michael Moriarty are superb - as Time Out has already commented a just world would offer Oscars to all involved. Much is made of how "cheap" this movie is. That's something we should be grateful of. It forces a sort of imaginative rampage on the film maker (who's more than capable of pulling off any scene that comes his way). In short, Cohen is a genius and this movie is smart with a capital "s". It just, well. rocks.