Tasked with solving a series of bizarre murders, two police detectives (David Carridine and Richard Roundtree) found themselves on the trail of small-time crook Joseph Quinn (Michael Moriarity).
Quinn is happy to help the officers find their culprit - if the city is willing to pay him for it…
One of the best cheapie genre pictures, Q the Winged Serpent is a testament to creativity and sheer guts.
Technically it is a bit rough, but it adds to the movie, lending it a run-and-gun, guerrilla-style sense of realism.
In its extended, improvised scenes, it plays like a slightly fantastical cousin to John Cassavetes’ Gloria.
Michael Moriarty’s performance as Quinn, the ex-con /failed criminal who holds the city to ransom, is magnetic.
Quinn is a lifelong loser, and Moriarity, with his endless monologuing and constant grasp-ing for status, never seems to lose sight of that. He is not exactly sympathetic, but you cannot stop watching him.
It is hard to tell where truth ends and bullshit begins, but the fates of everyone on his chip-burdened shoulders.
There is a scene toward the middle of the film where Moriarity is on fire:
Finally given power and status, Quinn forces the city authorities to deal with him. Confronting police brutality, showing up the hypocrisy and horse-trading of politics, Quinn is the flop-sweating hero the city needs.
The stop-motion effects are a little shaky but they are still impressive in how they are spliced into the few attack sequences.
The chief reason the film works is because of the focus on character - the monster is just a catalyst.
Conjured up after Larry Cohen was kicked off the big-budget remake of Mickey Spillane’s I, The Jury, Q the Winged Serpent is a bit shaggy (every time I watch I completely forget about the subplot involving the murderous, Q-worshipping cult), but it has such a sense of forward momentum you cannot help buit get swept up in it (you cannot say the same for I, The Jury).
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