Q - A Serpente Alada

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 .

It was the best of films. It was the worst of films.

One day Screenwriter Larry Cohen came up with two interesting but totally different ideas. The first was a Science Fiction epic about two NYC detectives charged with stopping a modern day Aztec cult and the monsterous winged deity they have brought to life.

The second concerns the exploits of a small time hood trying to rise above his station in life. Both interesting concepts. Unfortunately, try though he might Cohen could not develop enough material to make either project viable. Then a thought struck him. A notion so radical he dare not give it utterance. What if he were to combine both projects into one??????

Sound impossible???? Well Cohen tried to pull it off with the convoluted epic Q.

Q stands for Quetzacoatl, the aforementioned winged deity worshipped by the aforementioned Aztec cultists. Needless to say Q is not a nice deity and decides to get its jollies noshing on penthouse dwelling Manhattanites. Investigating the crime are Richard Roundtree and David Carridine as the aforementioned detectives.

Meanwhile the aforementioned small time hood protrayed by Micheal Moriarty is making a half hearted attempt to reform. He fails and is soon involved in a jewel heist. When the heist goes sour Moriarty seeks a spot to lay low. As chance would have it his sanctuary happens to be the same location Q has chosen for its nest. When Roundtree and Carridine's investigation fails to turn up Q hiding spot Moriarty offers to lead them to the nest in exchange for criminal immunity and monetary considerations.

The blending of these two stories is far from seemless. Despite the critical praise he recieved for this role, Moriarty's charactor seems totally out of place. His low end gangster antics seem better suited for an episode sapranos.

Far more impressive, though sadly less seen is Q itself. Brought to life with the aid of some niffy bits of stop motion animation, the elephant sized beastie wings its way over the Manhattan skyline out performing the human actors as it goes.

The best thing Cohen could have done is to drop Moriarty's entire segment and replace it with something more in keeping with the films Sci-fi nature. It would have been a far far better thing to do than he had ever done before.

Q the Winged Serpent is basically a cheesy low-budget '50s monster movie updated to the blood & nudity era, still low on budget and high on cheese. The story has the Aztec flying serpent god Quetzalcoatl coming to modern-day New York and biting off heads and such. It's a pretty creative film, effectively written and directed by Cohen, with a good cast and shot on location in New York City. Michael Moriarty shines as a petty thief who stumbles upon the monster's nest and tries to use it to his advantage. His eccentric performance is a delight to watch as he never sits still and seems to be making his lines up as he goes along. David Carradine and Richard Roundtree are also good, albeit in more traditional ways, as the two detectives investigating the killings. Candy Clark has a small role as Moriarty's girlfriend but she makes the most of it. Everyone who shares scenes with Moriarty seems to be either amused or frustrated by his acting. We don't see the monster much but, when we do, the special effects used are solid if not overly impressive. The King Kong climax is great fun. It's my favorite Larry Cohen movie, a solid horror flick but with quirky humor that sets it apart from being just another monster movie.

When the Empire State Building was being constructed, another high-rise skyscraper, the Chrysler Building was its rival. As far as I know, this is the only film to pay homage to the Chrysler Building.

The Q stands for Quetzacoatl, a winged serpent from Aztec mythology. Outside of that, the Aztec connection isn't that great. But the idea of a monster living in seclusion in New York, feeding on sunbathers and the like, is rather bemusing.

The film is a rarity: a police-procedural monster film. The only other that comes to mind is Them!, with the giant ants. This one is truer to form, though not as taut.

Entertaining. A good rainy-day film.