What I like about Q. You hold me tight, yeah. Never want to let you go girl you make me feel all....Sorry couldn't resist...Q dammit, Q. Larry Cohen, that Q. Michael Moriarty, that Q. Shaft and Kung Fu, that damn Q.

Okay, this a a switch-a-roo for me, not much plot synopsis, Q, you have to see it yourself. Q, short for Quetzalcoatl, is a big old prehistoric bird-type winged serpent thing that is actually an Aztec GOD. It is hovering around NYC, snapping head and not taking names. There is a rash of ritualistic killing going on around the same time, David Carradine and Richard Roundtree are on the case, by god. Michael Moriarty is a small time cracker hood with a old drug addiction that he has kicked who needs to score some dough so he hooks up with some ruffians as the driver during a diamond heist. At Neil Diamonds. No shit. There enough.

This is one of those reviews where I just lets you know why you have to see this thing.

First off Cohen's use of NYC as a character in the film. Yes, I mean it NYC is one of the best actors in a cast that has some good actors. How many piss-poor locations do you see for films produced on a meager budget? "Shot on location in Shitwa', Canada" "Filmed entirely in Piss Falls, Indiana." The cost of filming in NYC these days, fucking forget it. Cohen manages to add a dumptruck full of grit to this story, due the fact that Q is attacking victims in NYC. Cohen claims the main idea for the movie was the Chrysler Building, with its incredible architecture and big bird head appendages, consequently, Q nests there and is ultimately found by Moriarty's character Jimmy Quinn. NYC is seen in that "real" city way, crowded, bustling and when blood comes raining down on the heads and shoulders of folks on their way to do whatever, it seems, well, "real." I have seen reviews of Q where dumbasses always mention the special effects, and the cheesiness of these effects, fuck off, I don't have to see a CG (godammned Computer Generated) flying bird to enjoy the movie, Q does have the Harryhausen-look, it is stop-motion animated during the flying sequences, so the fuck what? Cohen utilizes the city for Q to cast giant shadows on, we see the city and Q's victims below through Q's POV in many instances and damn you, it is effective. So to summarize, give NYC best supporting actor on this one.

Michael Moriarty as Jimmy Quinn. As I ponder Moriarty's performance...I'd be hard pressed to think of a much better one in a so-called Bad Movie. As organic as a healthy shit but no where near as stinky, Moriarty IS Quinn, mumbled lines, impromptu piano noodlin' (Moriarty treats us to some scat, no not that kind, that Cohen threw in as a favor to Moriarty's jazz combo he was jamming with at the time), sweating and major pontification all make Jimmy Quinn one of the most lovable losers ever to grace some celluloid. When Quinn spouts "Right now, I am the most important man in New York City!" I want to stand up with tears in my eyes and clap til my palms bleed. Michael Moriarty, ladies and gentlemen..

Humor, yes that is right, although this is not a comedy it has some great lines courtesy of Larry Cohen. All of Cohen's film work has a satirical spin from the brilliant God Told Me To, to It's Alive and my favorite The Stuff, Cohen predates the trend to have the killer say something funny before or after killing and opts most of the time to have his characters make jokes that seem fairly, well, natural. David Carradine delivers most of the gems in Q. We are treated to lines about cantaloupes being dropped 40 stories, lines about willing sacrifice victims, lines butchering the pronunciation of the word Quetzalcoatl and lots more little humorous nuggets. And the whole notion of Carradine's detective character writing up a report blaming murders in New York on an Aztec GOD, shit, is it safe to say, less than conventional.

All along the way, we are treated to one original scene after another with much of the film playing like a Reservoir Dogs Meets Mothra during authentic Egyptian Feast ALA' Blood Feast. Steve Bushemi ain't got shit on Moriarty's performance and Tarantino's New York couldn't carry Cohen's New York's jock to the cock fight.

If you think you could possibly like a film that bashs religion, praises low-budget criminals, has a flying bird monster, shows pigeons eating human flesh, has both Kung Fu and Shaft in the cast, shows some awesome cult flayings and has the balls to sport dialogue like, "My God, with a wingspan like you're talking about here, that thing could fly miles into New York City every day. And it would do that of course, you know, because New York is famous for good eating." Then Q is be being for you. Q, you want fries with that?

The Chrysler Building, the inspiration for Q!

Another great Larry Cohen shot.

Okay, insert "head" joke here.

here's one for the ladies in the hizouse!