Search - Q: The Winged Serpent on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Graphic Violence, Nudity, Not For Children, Adult Language Movie Release: 1982 DVD Release: 07/28/1998 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 32 mins Studio: Anchor Bay Members Wishing: 5 Genres: Horror, Detective Film, Creature Film See Also: Q - The Winged Serpent

Genre pioneer Larry Cohen, who broke new horror ground with the killer-baby hit It's Alive!, takes a stab at the giant-monster scenario with this enjoyable low-budget exercise. The title refers to the winged Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, represented here as a dragon-like flying lizard (thanks to some quaint but amusing stop-motion animation from David Allen), who decides to take up residence in the art-deco spire of the Chrysler Building, taking frequent jaunts in the midday sun to nip the heads off various hapless New Yorkers. The resulting bloody mess confounds detectives Shepard (David Carradine) and Powell (Richard Roundtree), who are already scratching their heads over a series of bizarre ritual murders linked to a secret Aztec cult. Into the picture comes the film's protagonist -- neurotic, sweaty, paranoid crook Jimmy Quinn (Michael Moriarty, in a tour-de-force performance), a two-bit wheel-man with aspirations of becoming a jazz pianist. After a botched diamond heist leads Quinn to Q's lair, his attempts to go straight take a side-turn as he decides to extort from the city an enormous sum in exchange for directions to the monster's nest. A few sneaky deals later, the location falls into Shepard's hands, and he leads a paramilitary assault on the Chrysler Building, where the creature's humongous egg is about to hatch. Rude, edgy, fast-paced, and peppered with witty dialogue (most of which can't be repeated here), Cohen's script retains the spirit of classic monster movies like The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, injecting it with tough, gangster-movie moxie. Moriarty's unbelievable performance -- one of three collaborations with Cohen -- finds him chewing acres of scenery as a contemptible, loud-mouthed goon who's too funny to hate; Moriarty also composed and performed two schizophrenic piano numbers for the film. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Michael Moriarty - Jimmy Quinn
David Carradine - Detective Shepard
Candy Clark - Joan
Richard Roundtree - Sgt. Powell
Malachy McCourt - Police Commissioner
Lee Louis - Banyon

Making its way to DVD in an acceptable yet bare-bones package, Larry Cohen's cult classic Q: The Winged Serpent features a fairly decent presentation of the film, though sadly offers absolutely nothing more in the way of extras. Though the transfer, presented in the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, is notably aged and appears slightly washed out (especially in the monster's point-of-view cityscape scenes) the color is fairly well balanced and expressive in interior scenes. Michael Moriarty's curious barroom piano scene in particular features a playfully vivid color scheme that comes off attractive and appealing. Darker scenes (such as the pivotal Chrysler building scene in which Moriarty discovers Q's nest), feature notable dancing artifacting that becomes somewhat distracting, though the occurrences are few and far between (and brief). Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 and serves its purpose, with nothing in particular to praise or lament.
The menu screen is easy to navigate though it offers nothing more than quoted chapter stops and the option to start the movie. No subtitles or alternate language tracks are offered. Anchor Bay has done good by releasing the more obscure titles appealing to cult enthusiasts and it's hard to fault them for a decent presentation of a film that may otherwise have been neglected and resigned to obscurity. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide