Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)

Q:  The Winged Serpent (1982)

Directed by:  Larry Cohen
Starring:  David Carradine, Michael Moriarty, Candy Clark, Richard Roundtree
Format:  Blu-Ray

            I have a strong love for giant monster movies and Q is no exception.  I never saw this movie until the late nineties when I really started collecting DVD's off ebay.  Being that the creature effects for the most part in this production are stop-motion special effects I definitely hold it in high regard because these kinds of fx are by far my favorite.  I don't know there is just something special about stop-motion for me.  Something I find more creative than a person in a rubber suit, cgi, etc.  David Allen and Randell Cook created the model effects for the film and would later go on to do the Puppetmaster films (Allen) and the Lord of the Rings trilogy (Cook).  While Q could have done more with the effects I loved all of what we got.  I mean it's definitely one of those, "don't get to see the monster till the end" movies but hey you can't have everything.

            David Carradine and Michael Moriarty were perfect together in this film.  Moriarty especially was fantastic and fond memories we have of him from It's Alive 3 (also directed by Cohen) and Troll.  David Carradine...well not so much for me I have never been a huge fan of this Carradine but he is a fine actor none the same.  Moriarty plays a conman/petty criminal who discovers the nest of an ancient bird-like god who has been prayed back into existence.  Several human sacrifices have been happening all around the city previous to the monster attacks and Detective Shepard (Carradine) is the only one who figures this out.  Of course like all movies of this kind no one wants to believe him including his police captain who outright tells him to bury the mythical god story.

            With any Larry Cohen film we have a nice amount of blood and gore thrown around including body parts falling from the sky.  For me this kind of monster movie has it all.  Decent actors, some gore, my favorite style of fx, cool monster, and last but never least the non-ending.  Won't go into here for anyone who hasn't seen it but by no means is it a bad thing.  Highly recommended for any fan of giant monster movies.