Q

Larry Cohen's movies are usually highly unusual and highly entertaining, and Q The Winged Serpent is no exception. Q is set in Manhattan in 1982. The cops are baffled about a series of ritualistic killings in which the victims skin is flayed off in some kind of ancient ceremony. Skinned men are turning up in fleabag hotel rooms all over the city.

The NYPD's finest are on the case though. Given that these are the days before David Caruso and Bruce Willis, New Yorkers have to settle for David Carradine and none other than Shaft himself , Richard Roundtree (without the cool theme music) to crack the case and bring these

Around the same time , a giant winged serpent materialises in the city, making its home in the top of the Chrysler building. It starts eating window washers , topless sunbathers, and construction workers all over the city. The creature is always careful to fly in the path of the sun so that noone on the ground can get a good look at it. Before long though, Michael Moriarty stumbles accross its nest in the Chrysler building whilst on the run from a bungled jewel heist. He was the bagman and lost $70 000 worth of stolen jewels.

He's soon arrested in connection with the robbery , but cuts a deal with the cops to show them where the creatures nest is in exchange for his freedom , a million dollars , and all media rights to the bullet riddled corpse of the creature. Since Q is killing more New Yorkers than muggers, the city agrees to pay , and Moriarty leads the cops to the top of the Chrysler building for a good old fashioned siege with the monster.

Although this movie is about a bloodthirsty Aztec god , Michael Moriarty steals the show as the nervous diamond thief Jimmy Quinn. The scene where he's having lunch with the rest of the gang and discussing the heist was uncannilly like the opening scene of Reservoir Dogs (perhaps another influence on Tarantino). I also got a few laughs out of the scene where he demanded to see Rupert Murdoch when negotiating a press deal. David Carradine seems to actually enjoy himself in the role of Detective Shephard, and even cracks a smile or two. The Harryhausen-style stop motion effects of the serpent while crude, are still effective. Cohen never really gives us a good look at the creature, and the movie benefits from it. This crime/monster movie has enough different sub-plots to keep any viewer entertained , and remains a classic of the eighties.