Larry Cohen’s tale of a religious bird of prey terrorizing New York City has wit, style and an above average script for the genre.
Story centers on Michael Moriarty, an ex-junkie who drives getaway cars for the mob. He takes refuge in the Chrysler Building’s summit, where he stumbles onto the title character’s lair complete with a large unhatched egg.
In the meantime, the green bird has been having a merry feed of workmen and apartment dwellers in the city’s high rises. Policeman David Carradine links the arrival of the monster to a series of bizarre ritual killings where the victims are literally skinned alive.
Q has great fun mixing realistic settings with political satire and a wild yarn. Writer-director Cohen has a bagful of tricks and a wild sense of the bizarre to lend the project.
The picture belongs to the bird and Moriarty, and the latter assays his loser with relish.
