Review of Q: The Winged Serpent (1982) by Brian R — 12 Feb 2011

"Q" is firmly in the "so bad it's good" category. The utterly bonkers plot concerns a smalltime crook Jimmy Quinn, who bungles his part in the robbery of "Neil Diamonds" (ha ha) and whilst on the run, stumbles across the nest of a half-bird, half-reptile Aztec God responsible for decapitating Manhattan citizens.

It's an unconventional film to say the least - appearing to eschew the usual concepts of believability, well-rounded characters and fluid narrative; but you do get ritual sacrifice, scat singing, topless sunbathing atop a skyscraper (bad idea when there's a winged serpent about), nice aerial shots of New York and David Carradine doing his best work outside of the Saturday teatime favourite of my youth, the TV series "Kung Fu".

He's brilliantly laid-back as Shephard the detective and delivers many of the funniest lines - when confronted with the mysterious death of a window cleaner, he reasons "maybe his head got loose and fell off".

At the opposite end of the spectrum there is Michael Moriarty as Quinn, the ex-junkie ne'er-do-well who becomes drunk on power, holding the police to ransom over the location of Q's nest. He gives an incredibly unrestrained performance! And Shaft (Richard Roundtree) is in it too! It's a film that really has to be seen to be truly appreciated.

Or believed.