Q (1982)

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.

Fmovies: 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.

This flick is a distinctive and haunting oddity , concerning about a winged serpent , a dragonlike , which carries out creepy killings , happening in N.Y. City . A pair of detectives (David Carradine , Richard Roundtree) are investigating the strange events . As the giant winged bird hungry for sunbathers and rooftop construction workers . Thanks help a delinquent (Michael Moriarty) who encounters the monster's hidden nest on the Chrisler building , detective Sheperd discovers that several murders committed in violent manner have been executed as bloody sacrifices to Aztec God named Quetzalcóatl , a feathered serpent whose two halves are a serpent and a bird .

This is a rough-edged chiller and results to be an entertaining return to monster movies from the 50s . Simple and stop-motion monster special effects by recently deceased David Allen , usual to 'Full moon' and 'Empire' Factory . Good cast as an overacting Michael Moriarty and David Carradine , Richard Roundtree as Police Inspectors ; and nice support casting as Eddie Jones and Candy Clark as crooks'fiancée . The film is well produced by Samuel Z. Arkoff who along with James H. Nicholson financed numerous movies of various genres , including monster movies , during the 50s, 60s , and 70s for their production company called ¨American International Pictures¨ . Atmospheric photography by Fred Murphy who has a successful career as an expert cameraman . The picture was compelling and originally written/realized by Larry Cohen . He's a B series craftsman , such as : terror genre (Stuff , Return to Salem's Lot , It's alive I ,I and Island of the alive) , hard hitting crime films (FX , Ambulance) and Blaxploitation(Black Caesar , Hell up in Harlem , Original gangsters) ; plus , a prestigious screenwriter (Phone booth , The ex , Invasion of privacy) and usually writes all his own scripts . This is a cult movie to be liked for chillers and monster films admirers .

Q fmovies. 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.

Q - The Winged Serpent is a trash movie classic, and it also represents one of the masters of that cinema niche's finest hours. Larry Cohen directs this movie, which follows the standard monster movie formula, and is blended well with a theme of mass hysteria and a gritty New York setting. The plot for the movie is, of course, very simple and it sees two sets of murders being investigated by David Carradine's police detective. One set of murders is made up of ritualistic killings - people being flayed, having their hearts cut out etc. The other bunch of murders is more mysterious, and it sees things such as people having their heads bitten off, or being lifted from high rooftops, as if by a giant bird. Maybe there is simply a giant bird on the loose; or maybe those ritualistic killings have reincarnated an Aztec god known as Quetzalcoatl (or just 'Q' for short), which is currently nesting in one of New York City's high buildingsÂ…

The special effects in 'Q' are definitely the film's main talking point. While they're not very 'special', they sum the movie's trash status up nicely, and the scenes that see the winged serpent swoop down and take people off rooftops are an absolute riot. The creature is also very well designed. Nowadays, special effects seem to want to be as far removed from convention as possible, so much so that it's getting to the extent that it's more of a cliché to change things than it is to leave them how they were. It is refreshing, therefore, to see that Larry Cohen has stuck the design to the classic dinosaur style. It's abundantly obvious what Cohen wanted to do with this movie, and that shows when it comes to the story surrounding the antics of the giant flying lizard. The story surrounding it has it's moments, but it's clearly just something to fill up the time between the snatch and grab killings. It doesn't matter, though, because the monster ensures that the film is always interesting and if you like your trash classics, you'll sure like this!

Old time horror flicks knew that the monster had to be hidden. The zipper up the back of the necks don't show as often that way, and besides, the movie was about more than the monster, right?

There are no less than 3 separate story lines in this Larry Cohen blue plate special. Any one of them would be enough for a half dozen current wannabe filmmakers, but Cohen weaves them all together, makes his point, and delivers up an amusing little cheezy entertainment.

If only more current horror films were as entertaining.

Watching Michael Moriarity and David Carradine is fun, too.