On the face of it, Q appears to tick all the boxes for classic monster movie fans, with a stop-motion flying serpent terrorising the citizens of New York, biting off heads and plucking victims from rooftop swimming pools while cop Shepard (David Carradine) runs around trying to solve the mystery. However, the film isn't quite the faultless homage to B-movie creature features of the '50s that many would have you believe: first and foremost, there isn't anywhere near enough of the monster, and what we do see isn't that well executed (Harryhausen certainly had nothing to worry about); and, monster aside, the plot leaves unanswered questions, the biggest one being 'How does a massive flying serpent get in and out of the Chrysler Building without being noticed?'.
Resurrected by an Aztec cult through ritual sacrifices, the creature, Quetzalcoatl, resides in the roof of New York's famous art-deco landmark, where it has built itself a nest. Small-time crook Jimmy Quinn (Michael Moriarty) discovers the whereabouts of the creature's hideaway and holds the city to ransom. Meanwhile, the cult continues with their grisly work, skinning and removing organs from willing victims.
With a fair amount of gore (spurting neck stumps, flayed bodies, gruesome remains) and some gratuitous nudity (a woman sunbathing on a roof rubs lotion into her breasts), director Larry Cohen is obviously aware of what is required in such fare, which makes it all the more of a shame that the bulk of his movie focuses not on the winged beastie, but instead on the activities of Moriarty's two-bit thief and all-round loser: he's simply not a character we can care about (in addition to his criminal activities, he smacks about his girlfriend and plays awful jazz piano).
The film picks up a bit towards the end, with the police launching an attack on Quetzalcoatl as it returns home: there's lots of frantic machine gun fire from marksmen in window cleaner cradles, some of whom are sent flying by the monster (badly animated figures thrown through the air). Richard Roundtree (the original Shaft) also gets carried away by Q and dropped from a height. The film is wrapped up with the monster dying of multiple bullet wounds, and Carradine's cop tracking down the murderous cultist and filling him full of lead.
As for those other unanswered questions: What happened to the jewellery from the heist? Why does Quinn go to the very top of the building in the first place? How has Q managed to lay fertile eggs without a mate? Wasn't it convenient of Q being at home when Quinn leads the gangsters to its nest? Who the hell is responsible for Carradine's hair?
5/10.
Resurrected by an Aztec cult through ritual sacrifices, the creature, Quetzalcoatl, resides in the roof of New York's famous art-deco landmark, where it has built itself a nest. Small-time crook Jimmy Quinn (Michael Moriarty) discovers the whereabouts of the creature's hideaway and holds the city to ransom. Meanwhile, the cult continues with their grisly work, skinning and removing organs from willing victims.
With a fair amount of gore (spurting neck stumps, flayed bodies, gruesome remains) and some gratuitous nudity (a woman sunbathing on a roof rubs lotion into her breasts), director Larry Cohen is obviously aware of what is required in such fare, which makes it all the more of a shame that the bulk of his movie focuses not on the winged beastie, but instead on the activities of Moriarty's two-bit thief and all-round loser: he's simply not a character we can care about (in addition to his criminal activities, he smacks about his girlfriend and plays awful jazz piano).
The film picks up a bit towards the end, with the police launching an attack on Quetzalcoatl as it returns home: there's lots of frantic machine gun fire from marksmen in window cleaner cradles, some of whom are sent flying by the monster (badly animated figures thrown through the air). Richard Roundtree (the original Shaft) also gets carried away by Q and dropped from a height. The film is wrapped up with the monster dying of multiple bullet wounds, and Carradine's cop tracking down the murderous cultist and filling him full of lead.
As for those other unanswered questions: What happened to the jewellery from the heist? Why does Quinn go to the very top of the building in the first place? How has Q managed to lay fertile eggs without a mate? Wasn't it convenient of Q being at home when Quinn leads the gangsters to its nest? Who the hell is responsible for Carradine's hair?
5/10.