Q: The Winged Serpent

Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)

  • 63% of critics liked it
    (19 reviews)

  • 45% of users liked it
    (2,554 ratings)

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… More

R,
Directed By
Written By
Larry Cohen
Genres
Drama, Horror
In Theaters
Sep 8, 1982 Limited

Critic Reviews

  • Pat Graham, Chicago Reader

    Cohen's obviously having fun with the cheesy clay animation, and Michael Moriarty delivers an inspired, whacked-out performance as a small-time operater who tries to turn the monster into his own private bonanza, but the rest... is disengaged and sloppy.

  • , Time Out

    We have no hesitation in awarding Oscars all round.

  • Janet Maslin, New York Times

    The only movie in which you may ever see a gnawed, bloody skeleton wearing a gold charm bracelet.

  • Sarah Boslaugh, Playback:stl

    ...an inspired bit of madness from exploitation writer/director Larry Cohen...

  • Ian Berriman, SFX Magazine

    Q works because Larry Cohen plays it pretty straight. Guerrilla filming on the streets of NYC helps create a sense of verisimilitude, and the characterisation is both unusual and strong.

Read all 14 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Adam M


    About an hour in, Morarty goes off the rails and Cohen gives up on plotting and good dialogue. But until then, it's one of the most unique genre movies ever, taking a totally different angle of storytelling, in the plot, in the kind of dialogue that carries us from scene to… More

  • xGary X


    Amusingly ridiculous monster b-movie in which a giant dragon goes round lopping off heads in New York City, and yet the NYPD finds it inexplicably difficult to find. The effects are ropey and the whole thing is just daft, but it's tongue-in-cheek enough to be able to carry it… More

  • Steve K


    Not at all what I expected. The dragon portion of the film was the least interesting. Michael Moriarity's trippy, eccentric performance is the real reason to watch the film.

  • AJ V


    Now this is a modern dragon tale! It's got blood and gore and a giant dragon flying around a major city, I love it.

  • Ken S


    Richard Roundtree (Shaft of Shaft) and David Carradine (Bill of Kill Bill) fight a winged serpent in Manhattan with machine guns. That not awesome enough for you? Add boobs, decapitations, stop motion animation and a decent amount of gore, and you've got yourself a great Saturday… More

Read all 6 featured audience ratings

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Cast

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