Classic Horrors Club

Because there were so many unintentional connections and pairings in the #countdowntohalloween this year, I may have to write a summary post at the end. For example, I watched two Larry Cohen films simply because they were released on dates that fit within my theme. In and of itself, that’s nothing more than a coincidence. However, when you consider, working against preconceived notions, how much I liked them, I’m going to call it a happy accident,

Q: the Winged Serpent (1982) is the most recent watch, and, unlike Got Told Me To, it wasn’t the first. Therefore, I wasn’t working against preconceived notions, I was working against bad memories. I’ve said before that the blockbuster movies of the 1970s made many low budget films look cheap by comparison. At the time, I wasn’t impressed by the special effects of Q and didn’t appreciate the nuances of the story, if you admit that a Larry Cohen film can have nuances.

41 years later, it’s the special effects that impress me the most. The creature was created with stop-motion by David Allen and Randall William Cook. Their resumes indicate they played a part in many of the blockbuster movies I mentioned above. The half bird/half lizard Aztec god is seen minimally, mostly when snatching a victim with its beak/mouth. Mixed with spectacular POV aerial photography and shadows of the beast against New York City skyscrapers, its presence is felt more frequently. 

This was Cohen’s first collaboration with that acquired taste of an actor, Michael Moriarty, who I have to say I really like as Jimmy Quinn. He’s a not-so-lovable loser who’s trying to turn his life around when he stumbles upon the creature’s lair at the top of the Chrysler building and turns it into an opportunity to blackmail the city. The police have been investigating not only headless bodies falling from the sky, but also ritual killings that turn out to be related. Jimmy has information they need.

At first, putting all the pieces in place may feel a little disjointed. However, the scenes of creature attacks intercut with getting Jimmy from point A to point B keep the story moving; it never seems to drag. It’s an interesting focus for the film that Jimmy is the main character; you’d expect it to be one of the detectives, Shepard (David Carradine) or Powell (Richard Roundtree.) I suppose they’re hard at work on the case of the ritual killings until Jimmy brings them a connection to the creature.

Speaking of happy accidents, that’s what the very existence of Q may be. Cohen was reportedly directing I, The Jury when creative differences led him to be fired. Since he had already paid for a hotel room, he decided to make his own movie while he was there. It came together quickly, springing from an idea Cohen got while looking at the Chrysler Building, “That’d be the coolest place to have a nest.” Ironically, Q opened in theaters the same day a I, The Jury and beat it at the box office.