Detective Shepard - David Carradine! A New York police detective who's trying to find a connection between a slew recent rooftop disappearances and a series of ritualistic murders. After some research he decides that someone has resurrected an Aztec god and attempts to bring the creature and it's ressurector, Kahea, to justice.

Shot on a low budget in only eighteen days, and boasting and all-star b-movie cast, Q - The Winged Serpent manages to be a rather well made and enticing monster movie. The film opens abruptly with a window washer (played by Bruce Carradine) having his head bitten off by some unseen creature. On the case are the open-minded Detective Shepard and the tough-as-nails Sergeant Powell. Both men are extremely perplexed by the case, and fail to come up with a reason for the decapitation or the location of the head itself.

After this, we meet the film's unlikely hero, Jimmy Quinn. He's a quirky little guy who just can't seem to find a good honest job. Because of that, he's recruited to drive an escape car during a jewelry store robbery. He agrees to do his part in the heist but only if he is allowed to stay in the car and is not forced to carry a gun. (He hates guns and refuses to use them.) Everyone seems fine with these exceptions, but once the jewel heist is pulled off, Jimmy is forced to take a gun and is ushered into the store. The armed robbery is somehow botched and we soon see Jimmy running out of the store with a briefcase full of diamonds. During his frenzied escape, Jimmy is hit by a cab and ends up losing said briefcase.

Once he regains a little of his composure, Jimmy makes his way to his lawyer's office at the Chrysler Building. Rather than helping the down and out ex-con, the lawyer calls security instead. Jimmy then limps his way to the top of the building to escape the building's only security guard! This is where he makes an extremely important discovery (more on that later). In the meantime, Shepard and Powell are investigating a series of ritualistic murders (ranging from completely skinned human corpses to bodies missing vital organs) and strange rooftop disappearances which are reportedly the work of a giant bird. Shepard almost instantaneously makes a connection between the two separate cases. He begins interviewing several experts in the field of Aztec religion and mythology in order to flesh out his police report.

It is here that we learn a little about director Larry Cohen's views on religion. To paraphrase for one such expert in Aztec lore: "What is God but an invisible force that we love, fear, and worship." This guy even goes as far as to say that the human race is egotistical to the extreme for believing that God made us all in his own image. And if there actually is a giant creature plucking people off of rooftops in New York, it may eventually be regarded as a god if people come to fear it enough. As Shepard continues his investigation, the movie's resident monster makes a few appearances. The stop-motion animated creature, Quetzalcoatl, has somehow managed to elude authorities while catching a bite to eat on a regular basis. (Shepard tosses out the idea that it flies in line with the sun to avoid detection. Sure! If you say so!)

What the creature doesn't know is that its nest has been found by good ole Jimmy Quinn. And Quinn decides to use his newfound knowledge as a bargaining chip after he's picked up by the police. Apparently two of Jimmy's alleged friends, Doyle and Webb had ratted him out. That's no longer important though since both were served to Quetzalcoatl on a silver platter by Jimmy. In any case, Quinn decides to let the cops know where to find the monster's nest (and egg!!)... for a price. In return for saving the city and the people in it, he wants immunity for any criminal acts he had committed in the past (and any others that may pop up in the near future), a million dollars, and all the rights to any pictures and film taken of the creature after it's dead.

Once the contract is signed, Jimmy leads an army of officers to the spire of the Chrysler Building. Unfortunately Quetzalcoatl isn't home, so Shepard climbs above the nest and fires his machine-gun at the large egg. The hatchling inside pops out and screeches defiantly at its attacker. A few more officers join Shepard and riddle the defenseless creature with bullets until it ceases to move. Since the police failed to kill the mother, Jimmy Quinn loses his million bucks and he's none too happy about it. He throws a fit at his girlfriend's house and gets thrown out. Meanwhile, Sgt. Powell and a few other cops have tracked down their ritualistic murderer. They follow their suspect, Kahea, and actually catch him in the act of slicing a victim open.

Surprisingly, Kahea's victim/sacrifice stands up and charges at the police. They gun him down, allowing Kahea to escape to the rooftop. While pursuing the murder suspect, Powell is assaulted by a kite (which we saw in an earlier scene). This allows a brief little giggle for the audience just before Quetzalcoatl strikes! The "plumed serpent" grabs Powell and tosses him to the city streets below. Afterwards, the monster returns to its nest, only to find it infested with dozens of gun-toting lawmen. Though the mighty beast manages to put up a decent fight, it's no match for the intense barrage of bullets. Quetzalcoatl crashes into a building that very much resembles an Aztec temple and lets out a final roar before succumbing to its mortal wounds.

With the monster problem in New York taken care of (except for those pesky C.H.U.D.s), Shepard searches for Jimmy Quinn. Eventually Quinn is found, but not by Shepard. Kahea has sought out Jimmy and demands that he repent of his sins against Quetzalcoatl. If he does, then Kahea can sacrifice him and bring Quetzalcoatl back to life. Jimmy naturally refuses and argues with the religious zealot. This allows Shepard enough time to find Jimmy's whereabouts. As Kahea holds a rather nasty looking butcher knife to Jimmy's throat, Shepard bursts into Jimmy's motel room and guns down Kahea with five shots. No this isn't a case of police brutality or excessive force. It actually took five bullets from Shepard's .38 pistol to put Kahea down. So it would appear that everything's taken care of now; Jimmy's suddenly reformed his life, the monster and the man who prayed it into existence are both dead... but wait! It appears that Quetzalcoatl planned ahead and laid an egg elsewhere, leaving this film open for a non-existent sequel.

Over the past few years, I have found myself defending this film. Admittedly it has quite a few faults, but that stemmed from its origins. Larry Cohen was apparently fired as director of another film and quickly threw the production for Q together and shot it in three weeks. The main problem with this movie is the lack of character development. The only character to really be fleshed out at all is Jimmy Quinn. We get to know him pretty well by the end of the film, but we still don't know jack about Shepard, Powell, Kahea or anyone! What I really wanted to know is where QuetzalCoatl came from and if Kahea really did have anything to do with it. Did he really pray this creature into existence or is this all just one huge coincidence?! Another slight problem with the film is that its director didn't seem to know what he wanted to focus on. This is supposed to be a monster movie, but the plot focuses a lot on Jimmy Quinn, his short rise to power and wealth, and his sudden downfall. In fact, Quetzalcoatl's presence in this film feels tacked on.

The special effects in Q aren't the best in the world, but they suffice. The stop-motion effects are pretty decent, especially during close-ups, however, the clawed foot prop that's used in two scenes (the death of Sgt. Powell and the abduction of a rooftop swimmer) looks dreadfully fake. The casting for this flick is a b-movie lovers dream come true! David Carradine puts in a rather uninspired performance as Detective Shepard, but I have a feeling that he did the best he could with his character. Richard Roundtree is completely wasted as Sgt. Powell and doesn't get nearly enough screen time. Michael Moriarty shines out from the rest of the cast with his role as Jimmy Quinn. Though many have classified his performance as being extremely annoying, I think Moriarty was hilarious and did a great job with his part. Overall, I find this to be a fun and fairly entertaining monster movie that somehow manages to rise above its low budget, its technical problems, and plot contrivances.