SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Konterr Brilliant and touching

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

beetle-259-554148 In 1933, King Kong was the champion on the Empire State Building. In 1976, he was champion again, this time on the World Trade Center. In 1982, another monster took up residence on the Chrysler Building! This monster's name is Quetzalcoatl, but you should just call it Q because that's all you'll have time to say before it rips you apart...A very strong script, an anti-hero you hate so much you love him. and a strong cast; Michael Moriarty, Richard Roundtree, and David Carradine!!Not to mention the title monster, Quetzalcoatl! This was before CGI and the creature was too complex to be successfully pulled off with a rubber so what do we get? We get good old-fashioned King Kong-style, Ray Harryhausen-worthy stop motion animation for our title monster!! The stop-motion here is better that most other stop motion monsters, lacking the choppy movement of King Kong!Another welcome change is our main character, Jimmy Quinn who is played by Michael Moriarty. He's not a cliche monster movie main character who's a scientist or military personnel, no, no.... he is a small-time crook who is essentially just an average Joe like you and me, trying to make his way through life. The character has hardly any redeeming qualities but Moriarty's portrayal of him makes him a very likable character but you hate him first. He has some very hammy dialogue.So if you're looking for a break from the kaiju films from Japan and the cheesy black-and-white giant monster movies of the '50s, give this one a watch!

C.H Newell I must say, I wasn't expecting much when I finally got the chance to watch Q- it looked like a Z-grade monster flick. Not to say it was an epic, grand drama; it certainly wasn't. However, I really enjoyed the movie, not to mention some great performances from Michael Moriarty, David Carridine, and even some hard-nosed cop action from Richard Roundtree.Larry Cohen is not particularly one of my favourite directors, though I'm always interested in what he's doing for one reason or another. I wish he did more stuff like Q- an odd mix of a story about a cult reviving an ancient, flying monster (from the Mesoamerican legend of Quetzalcoatl), and a criminal (played extremely well by Moriarty) who stumbles upon the creature's nest, as well as its little baby in a big ol' egg. The crook decides instead of telling the authorities straight up, he's going to cook himself a little deal. Of course nothing goes as planned, really. I think it's a great mix. Some people are turned off by the stark difference in the two converging plots. Me? I dig it. I think it's a bit of a genre-bender, and I'm always a fan of that. Cohen wrote a bold script. The actors delivered on the characters. Moriarty perhaps gives one of his finest performances here, in my opinion.I recommend anybody seeing this film. Okay- the monster isn't a high budget creature, not in the slightest. Yet I still love some of those moments when it's flying around, swooping up prey, fighting off the police- INCREDIBLE! I don't care if it looks a bit cheesy. Most of the time it does; there are a few moments, particularly near the end, where it looks real good at times. I just think the film itself stands enough on its own two legs without having to worry about a creature budget. The acting, the script and its story, and YES, even the creature = a great way to spend your evening. I give it 8 out of 10, and I am definitely going to watch this again in the near future because I think it's a wonderful little creature feature!

Foreverisacastironmess 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.

Jim McCormick As I've said before, I'm a sucker for a monster movie, especially a giant monster movie! "Q: TheWinged Serpent," is such a giant monster movie, & a classic too! A Mexican Aztec winged serpent god is brought to life through ritual killings by an Aztec high priest, but the death count rises as people in New York City start getting decapitated, & are swept up in thin air. No one knows why, except Michael Moriarty, a small time con man who has seen the serpents nest & extorts NYC for $1,000,000 for it's hiding place, at the top of one of NYC's tallest buildings. A nod to "King Kong." Moriarty plays his part with the same offbeat manner he is famous for, & is quite enjoyable as the bumbling would be millionaire bum. David Carradine plays a good off beat role as a none traditional cop detective, who is going to outwit Moriarty in divulging the location of the serpent.What follows is a great little cat & mouse game between Moriarty & Carradine. Great flying sequences as the winged serpent attacks & kills it victims off of skyscrapers. The stop motion effects are superior for 1982, as the winged Serpent looks great! A foreboding reptilian bird like giant, that makes its victims know how it feels to be a worm plucked out of the ground by that pesky Robin, after a rainstorm in the morning.All this & more, make "Q: The Winged Serpent," a very enjoyable monster romp, for us giant monster fans! A cult classic!