“Q The Winged Serpent” Scare Daniel Review

By Daniel Barnes on October 13, 2020

Q: The Winged Serpent – Scare Daniel Podcast Episode 74

“Bad dream go away.”

Daniel and Corky kick off Scare Daniel 2020 with Larry Cohen’s Q, an old-fashioned monster movie with a New Hollywood twist. Q stands for Quetzalcoatl, the flying feathered serpent, an Aztec God who goes to Manhattan to brunch on Manhattanites. A mix of familiar schlock and unusual invention, Q gets a major boost from Michael Moriarity’s Method-style performance as the film’s scat-singing anti-hero.

Elsewhere, Daniel and Corky discuss bird reports, “Nixon-like” pardons, action scenes set to scat-singing, and undercover mimes.

NEW DARE

Friends With Kids (Colin Williams)

Q: THE WINGED SERPENT FACTS AND FIGURES

Daniel’s craft beer: Fieldwork Brewing’s Kaffe Latte espresso milk stout (5.8% ABV)

Corky’s craft beer: Silver Moon Brewing’s F*Cancer IPA (6.5% ABV)

Critic scores: 69 on Rotten Tomatoes

Theatrical release date: November 29, 1982

Domestic box office: $255,000 (production budget: $1.1 million)

This week’s darer: Heather Smith

Why did HOF Heather dare Daniel and Corky to watch Q – The Winged Serpent? “Deep down, I really have a love for trash cinema, so I am daring you to watch Q: The Winged Serpent. It’s great for its amazing 1982 special effects. You have a ghastly creature that chomps people like gummy bears, David Carradine, Mother Fucking Shaft, and yes, a boob or two. I recommend you have some drugs, lots of drugs, before watching this movie. It’s not the worst way to spend an hour and a half.”

IMDB synopsis: “NYPD detectives Shepard and Powell are working on a bizarre case of a ritualistic Aztec murder. Meanwhile, something big is attacking people of New York, and only greedy small time crook Jimmy Quinn knows where its lair is.”

This week’s referenced movies: 365 Days; Beyond the Seventh Door; Shaft; Black Caesar; Hell Up in Harlem; the It’s Alive films; Think Big; Megaforce; Backdraft 2; Reservoir Dogs; Dolittle; G.I. Jane; Boogie Nights; Chinatown; Fathers’ Day; Midnight Cowboy