Q (1982)

An absolute waste of money

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Amen, brother. To me this movie is Larry Cohen's damn opus, I've always mainly loved it for the awesome monster which looks like a combination of both a dragon and a bird. The stop-motion animation of it is extremely well done, and I think it still looks pretty amazing to this day, particularly during the big money shot sequence of the movie where it's slowly brought down by the armed forces of the NYPD! I feel really sorry for the creature as it nears death and pathetically clings to another skyscraper that just happens to be very temple-like in design and it cries out in an almost beseeching manner. It's simply gotta die though, the monster always exists solely to be conquered... I also love the bit of stop-motion done as it plummets to the ground and its wings furl around it, making them appear like bat wings. I always remembered the monster's terrifying shrieking roar, it's scary the way the people stand as helpless as little bugs before it to be swept up and rained back down onto the city streets in showers of blood and bones! And while the appearances of the immense winged beast may be brief, they were at least smart enough to have it appear every ten minutes or so. I hate pictures where they never reveal the monster until the very end. I think they show just enough of it that it never loses its mystery or becomes tiresome. And yeah so it does look a tad rubbery at points if you look a little closer, so what? Some things are more important than perfect special effects, I loved this as a kid, it captured my imagination in a very special way and was one of the key monster movies that I grew up with and that formed a little movie-lovin' part of my soul, nothing would ever make me see it as anything less than excellent. You really can't truly love this flick without also getting a kick out of some of the characters though, as well as that classic gritty old New York atmosphere, and the strange sense of realism that comes with it that enormously works to the film's favour. I feel they blended all the street detective stuff with the more fantastical themes of the folklore and the monster exceptionally well. The 'aerial terror' angle is highly distinctive and is something that I've never seen done quite the same way in any other horror film. The ever-present imagery of the architecture and the 'forest' of skyscrapers, it's creepy! It's a whole other unknown wind-blasted alien realm way up there... And the haunting musical score is one of my favourites, it just perfectly complements the visuals and tone. "Jaws with wings" is a very apt description, but there's more to it than just that. There's a certain fine delicate kind of eeriness to certain parts of this film, despite the fact that it's a gigantic snake-bird we're talking about here! I find a lot of the humour to be on the low-key mean-spirited side, and most of it comes from Michael Moriarty who really is the heart of the movie and steals every scene he's in with his excellent portrayal of the loser Jimmy Quinn, a self-centred conniving little man who wants to capitalise on the monster by selling his knowledge of its hiding place for the hefty sum of a million dollars because the city of New York owes him one!!! He's empowered by his discovery and begins to take control of his life, at the expense of the only person who cares about him, his girlfriend, touchingly played by Candy Clark. What a jerk, people are getting killed and all he cares about is money. Jimmy wasn't just an asshole, but an occasionally sneaky and devious one as well. He lures the two ugliest grease-ball gang members you've ever seen to the top of the Chrysler building which is where the creature lives to find some stolen loot, and they get devoured. I love to hate this guy, but I'm glad he ends up getting screwed out of his money, he didn't deserve s**t! The sadly late David Carradine also put in a solid and charming performance as a good cop who delves into Aztec mythology in an attempt to find answers to the mystery. I also quite enjoyed the gleefully pompous performance of the heavyset Irish gentleman who played the police commissioner, why was it so important that any evidence connecting the creature with the ritual sacrifices be denied? The topless woman being eaten is the scariest most suspenseful kill for me. I love how blasé the cops are about the whole thing. They treat it like it's just another everyday national disaster. It's a real "meat 'n potatoes" kinda movie, and you can really tell that it was put together by folks who were enthusiastic about what they were doing, and I find the overall picture to be a very compelling and satisfying experience. And the cracking epilogue I still find chilling as hell! Such a freaking fun and brilliantly unique movie that I'll love forever. To Dave.

Q is your very typical 'B' movie, cheap thrills, cheap effects and corny, cheesy dialogue. If that is the sort of thing you enjoy than you will love this movie, if you don't then I think you should avoid this like the plague.The film begins when people are mysteriously killed and no one can fathom out how or why. Detective Shepard (David Carradine) is trying to work out how a window cleaner managed to be decapitated from forty stories high whilst his partner, Detective Powell (Richard Roundtree, better known as Shaft) is called to a murder where a man has been skinned alive, are they connected? After a while they work out that it is actually the work of a giant flying reptile that has been summoned to New York by a man who believes it is his God. He has been summoned by a hidden man offering human sacrifices. The decapitated man killed by the beast and the skinned man by the preacher. Meanwhile diamond thief Jimmy Quinn (Michael Moriarty) tries to hide from the police in the top of the Chrysler Building, why and how he got there I have no idea. Whilst he is up there he stumbles across the beast's nest and holds the police at ransom for his knowledge of the location. Once they give in they go in search of this beast and ultimately after the man who summoned it to New York in the first place. Will they get there in time to stop it killing again? And if he is an immortal God how will they stop it?I'm going to throw it out there, this film is poor. When the creature is flying over the city it looks so fake it is unbelievable and when its talons come down, nipping prey off of roof tops, it looks like someone playing the claw in an arcade, with a human being the prize. When someone is decapitated it is so obvious it is a dummy and the nest just looks pathetic. The film is just pure awful.Of course there will be people out there who like this sort of thing but for me it is just bad filmmaking with some bad scripts. The acting however is not half bad with Moriarty actually doing a pretty damn good job, especially in the scene where he tries to bribe the police force into telling them the location of the nest. Shaft, or Richard Roundtree although people will remember him as Shaft, has a very easy role with not really enough meat given to him and Carradine is just very average, also having a simple role. The problem with Carradine, although it could be the script, is that he never seems to be under any real threat from the creature. He isn't set aside in panic, nor is any of the police force. They still have time to sit around in the police station which doesn't seem to show any urgency in the people trying to put a stop to this 'terror'. Also why are the police handling the situation? Surely it would be the army with direct orders from the President or his government. I don't understand how a creature kills people and the police are the ones to bring it down with little help it. The plot just makes very little sense and has so many plot holes. Looking at the actors you will see notice them from recent films so I am so surprised to see them in a film like this. It is just so cheap and tacky and really not my thing.Some areas of it aren't too dreadful, which means they are still worse than bad, and ironically this is when the creature isn't actually on the screen. Funny how a film about a giant, flying reptile actually kept me more entertained when people were bargaining money over information or even auditioning for a job as a pianist in a bar.It started awful, it finished awful and unless you are a 'B' movie type of person you will find everything in between awful as well. Avoid like you would a giant, flying reptile in New York.

"Q: The Winged Serpent" is cheesy fun at it's finest. The plot: Oh No! Quetzlcoatl, A Winged Serpent is terrorizing New York City! Only one man can take him down: An Ex-Scat player named Jimmy Quinn (Moriarty). For 1982, the stop motion effects are decent. Moriarty is excellent as usual. He puts a lot of heart and soul into Jimmy. You want him to be safe from "Q". There's a scene where Jimmy plays a impromptu piano solo that's funny and brilliant at the same time. Only Larry Cohen can make this movie... and get away with it.Watch Q tonight! For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

'Q'uite possibly one of the worst movies I have ever seen, and I am not just referring to the fifty cent FX or the cornball acting – I can excuse those as it is supposed to be a B-movie, after all. And it actually started with promise: 'Q: The Winged Serpent' gets right to the point, well of plot A, that is, by showing several "attacks" on the New Yorkers by a large claymation serpent. Then it turns into the B-Movie who yearns to be so much more! Unfortunately, however, both plot B (Michael Moriarty's – who I actually enjoyed in 'The Stuff', but here he's an absolute clown –good-guy thief) and plot C (the sacrifice kings) really scream late 70's and early 80's TV cop drama (and speaking of cops – wow, NYC cops are the coolest! They drink beer on the job, shoot/kill and leave the bodies to the maid service and even wear sunglasses inside.) The movie could've benefited if it just stuck with the movie it was meant to be: a 'Monster attacks NYC' B-movie. It worked years later for 'Cloverfield.' (Spoiler alert – if it's supposed to be a "God" to be worshiped, how come: A. It's vulnerable and B. needs to have offspring?)