“Q – The Winged Serpent” is the most ridiculous movie I’ve watched in some time.
Hamstrung by ancient special effects (it was released in 1982) and a boring narrative, the picture was written, co-produced and directed by Larry Cohen. Calling it a B tier film would be a gross exaggeration.
Old New York
The best thing going for the story is its setting. There’s something awe inspiring about 1970s and 1980s New York City that always makes me feel giddy. The skyline isn’t overrun. The streets aren’t friendly. The Twin Towers loom high.
A window washer on a skyscraper leers inside at a woman played by the gorgeous Nancy Stafford. He likes her and does this often. She pretends to ignore him. Boom! He’s decapitated by an unseen force from above. This is literally thirty seconds into the movie.
The cops are called in to investigate. We meet Detective Shepard (David Carradine) and Sergeant Powell (Richard Roundtree). The men discuss theories as to what could have happened, both seeming disinterested in solving the case.
Meanwhile, sheepish thief Jimmy Quinn (Michael Moriarty) and his bae (Candy Clark) are about to take part in a jewelry store heist. While fleeing the police, Jimmy hides out at the attic of the Chrysler Building, where he discovers a giant winged monster living there.
Yup.
Monster Cinema
Monster movies were made famous by the likes of King Kong and Godzilla. “Q” doesn’t have quite the same charisma.
The basic plot is that the creature is an Aztec God that is feeding off the residents of the city. The monster lives at the spire of the Chrysler Building, and filming took place on location in New York and inside the building itself, which is cool.
The special effects are laughable, and a bit gruesome. We get funny but sickening shots of blood and body parts raining down from the sky during various Q attacks. David Carradine and Richard Roundtree play New York cops well. And Michael Moriarty is pleasant to watch as the hyper criminal.
“Q – The Winged Serpent” is typical in that, the scenes with the monster are somewhat entertaining. But they are few and far between. The story around the monster explaining everything is dull. It’s a long 92 minutes.
“Q – The Winged Serpent” is an absurd movie. Watch it for a laugh, but don’t epect anything else.
