Q (Larry Cohen, 1982)

I have very fond memories of seeing this as a teen, and rented it for the purpose of giving it another look though older eyes. Unfortunately, to say Q hasn't aged well is being quite kind.

Quetzalcoatl, the title character, is a very large bird/serpent who's flying around New York eating people who find themselves in high places. At least, he might be Quetzalcoatl (an Aztec god). Or he might just be a big mutant. No one knows. More to the point, no one seems to be overly surprised that there is a large flying serpent picking off New Yorkers. The cops assigned to the case, Shepard (David Carradine) and Powell (Richard Roundtree), certainly take things in stride. The Commissioner (Malachy McCourt, Frank's brother) is the only one who expresses any sort of normal reaction to the events-- disbelief.

While the big bird and the cops are the meat of the story, its actual core is Jimmy Quinn (a young Michael Moriarty), a small-time crook who's run afoul of some tough characters through no real fault of his own. Jimmy's odd relationship with the monster could have turned this into a wonderful psychological thriller, and there are glimmers of that sort of thing, but the script never follows through. Q has more the feel of a quickie monster flick-- none of the storylines is explored much beyond the surface, the special effects are alarmingly (and hysterically) low-budget, and the characters, were they to stand still, could often substitute for props.

But, hey, it's got a big flying lizard. That's something. **
Q (Larry Cohen, 1982)

I have very fond memories of seeing this as a teen, and rented it for the purpose of giving it another look though older eyes. Unfortunately, to say Q hasn't aged well is being quite kind. Quetzalcoatl, the title character, is a very large bird/serpent who's flying around New York eating people who find themselves in high places. At least, he might be Quetzalcoatl (an Aztec god). Or he might just be a big mutant. No one knows. More to the point, no one seems to be overly surprised that there is a large flying serpent picking off New Yorkers. The cops assigned to the case, Shepard (David Carradine) and Powell (Richard Roundtree), certainly take things in stride. The Commissioner (Malachy McCourt, Frank's brother) is the only one who expresses any sort of normal reaction to the events-- disbelief. While the big bird and the cops are the meat of the story, its actual core is Jimmy Quinn (a young Michael Moriarty), a small-time crook who's run afoul of some tough characters through no real fault of his own. Jimmy's odd relationship with the monster could have turned this into a wonderful psychological thriller, and there are glimmers of that sort of thing, but the script never follows through. Q has more the feel of a quickie monster flick-- none of the storylines is explored much beyond the surface, the special effects are alarmingly (and hysterically) low-budget, and the characters, were they to stand still, could often substitute for props. But, hey, it's got a big flying lizard. That's something. **