Director: Larry Cohen
Writer: Larry Cohen
Producers: Samuel Z. Arkoff, Larry Cohen
Cast: Michael Moriarty, Candy Clark, David Carradine, Richard Roundtree, James Dixon, Fred J. Scollay, Malachy McCourt, Ron Cey, Peter Hock, Mary Louise Weller, Tony Page, Shelly Desai, John Capodice, Lee Louis, Bobbi Burns, Larry Pine, Larkin Ford, Eddie Jones, Fred Morsell, Ed Kovens, Linda Gilbert, Richard Duggan
In New York City, people that venture out onto exposed places atop tall buildings are being attacked and eaten by an enormous flying creature. Small-time crook Jimmy Quinn (Michael Moriarty) discovers a gigantic nest inside the peak of the Chrysler Building. The perennial loser realizes that he has found the lair of the menace terrorizing the city. Quinn relishes his secret, which he will only share with the authorities for a steep price.
The Flashback Fanatic movie review
Maverick filmmaker Larry Cohen made some very distinctive horror movies. As he would often write, direct, and produce his own films, Cohen would not have to compromise and could deliver movies that were unique. He would use outrageous menaces to deal with uncomfortable themes and contemporary concerns that both unsettle and amuse the audience.
Q seems like Cohen’s take on King Kong (1933), another movie about a giant monster loose in New York City. In King Kong, showman Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) is responsible for the widespread death and destruction his exploited monster deals to New York City, but that aspect is not explored. Q also shares with that earlier classic a protagonist exploiting the creature he discovers to make a profit. However, in Cohen’s story, his hustler Jimmy Quinn is not a globetrotting adventurer and showman, just an insecure nobody incapable of making an honest living. In the process of using this sort of a character for his protagonist, Cohen deals with the morality and conflicts involved with his anti-hero exploiting such a situation while a menace to his fellow citizens is at large. In Q, there is a lot of time spent with the selfish Jimmy Quinn and it is shown that he could promptly reveal information to put an end to the danger facing the city.
We can appreciate Quinn’s plight of being a nobody who wants success and respect. However, we should also realize that withholding life-saving knowledge until a lucrative deal is struck is wrong. The real dynamic in this story is waiting to see how soon our flawed hero will do the right thing and if it is done for the right reason.
Cohen also returns to a theme that he dealt with earlier in God Told Me To (1976). In that film he was exploring man’s relationship to faith in the Christian God. In Q, Cohen’s take on faith is that the title monster may be the ancient Aztec god Quetzalcoatl. It may have been summoned through a series of sacrificial rituals or could even have been prayed into existence. Both films deal with the same conundrum: Do the gods man worships actually exist or does man simply assign divinity to inhuman beings because he can’t fully comprehend them?
Michael Moriarty delivers an eccentric performance as the pathetic Jimmy Quinn. He holds our attention in every scene despite Quinn being the kind of person that is usually beneath everyone’s notice. He is the loser we can pity till he shows how selfish he becomes with an opportunity for fame and fortune. Later we learn of the grievances he has due to previously being framed by law enforcement for his first arrest and conviction. Jimmy Quinn is a flawed character with a questionable set of values that challenges us to decide if we should root for him. Whether he is hero, villain, or loser, Moriarty’s Quinn is always an interesting character.
Candy Clark, as Quinn’s girlfriend Joan, is that anchor of morality and common sense in Quinn’s empty life that he really does not seem to deserve. She must be just as quirky as Quinn to put up with this self-absorbed and dysfunctional individual. You really have to love Joan when she tries to see the good in him and stands by him when he is at his most neurotic. This is actually another pretty gutsy way of writer-director Cohen demonstrating that this story’s hero is challenging our acceptance of him. Cohen has the daring to keep presenting a character as pathetic as Quinn as the protagonist and still maintain our interest in him.
This movie gives David Carradine the closest thing to a “regular guy” role I had ever seen him play. His Detective Shepard expresses humor and exasperation, and he even patronizes Quinn at one point trying to get his cooperation. Carradine is not just stoic or enigmatic in this film; he is actually quite amusing and likable.
Richard Roundtree’s Sgt. Powell provides an antagonistic foil to both Jimmy Quinn and Detective Shepard. Initially, we think that Powell and Shepard will be partners that are always on the same page, but Powell’s friction with Shepard is another quirk in this film’s character interactions. This friction also demonstrates the workaday stress in big city law enforcement that is bound to affect those working relationships. This friction is not a gimmick used to develop character or plot; it just enlivens the police procedural scenes with a bit of emotional authenticity to keep them from seeming like scripted plot points.
It is Cohen’s characters, their conflicts, and their eccentricities that make Q an involving film and not just a monster movie. It also creates interest that allows more screen time to be spent on the personal interactions of the characters rather than devoting extra time to monster action. This is not only a budget-conscious strategy (more effects cost more money), it also prevents us from becoming all too familiar with the creature so that it will still have some impact when it really lets loose.
This movie’s menace is referenced as “Q” in the title. However, that initial actually references two menaces in this story: the mythical god of ancient Aztec culture Quetzalcoatl and the dangerously selfish Jimmy Quinn. This is an indication of how Larry Cohen’s horror films give the audience more than one thing to ponder about morality and culture along with plenty of dark humor. These qualities make Q a far more satisfying experience than many of the effects-driven fantasy films that were becoming evermore frequent in the ’80s.
This is a film I've never seen. I checked Larry Cohen's filmography and it turns out I've only seen one of his films: The Stuff, which I like. I admit to being severely cinematically challenged. You make this sound like a worthwhile film for its character development as much as for the monster. It certainly has a good cast of actors. Interesting comparison to King Kong. What you said about the inclusion of character driven drama instead of just showing the monster and being loaded with special effects reminded me of a recent exchange in a Youtube video. A young guy was comparing the original The Thing From Another World (1951) to the John Carpenter remake. he felt the original was too much talk, too little action and felt the effects-laden remake was better for all of the visual thrills. I responded that many of the 1950's sci-fi flicks were big on talk, but when the monsters did appear, it was always thrilling. Another great review! I continue to enjoy and appreciate your excellent writing.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for the kind words. High praise indeed from a much more seasoned blogger. Regarding the merits an old sci-fi horror flick compared to a remake, I liken the special effects and action overkill in so many newer movies to fireworks. I can enjoy fireworks for 15 minutes. After two hours of them, I am no longer awed. Once something becomes monotonous, it no longer has any impact. In the case of 1951's THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD compared to Carpenter's 1982 remake THE THING (which by now is an old classic, as well), I enjoy them both. The original has more appealing characters and the conflict of scientific discovery vs. military protocol and security. That discovery of the saucer scene can't be topped! The remake achieves an incredibly bleak, paranoid tone that I can appreciate and depicts the alien menace as it was portrayed in the original 1938 John W. Campbell story "Who Goes There?" To Carpenter's credit he did not just re-film the original movie; he had a different approach which takes the story in a much different direction; effects-heavy to be sure, but effective. Which version is best? Tough call, but I probably lean toward the original which introduced the John Wayne of sci-fi horror: Kenneth Tobey.
ReplyDeleteWell, thank you for calling me a seasoned blogger. But right now, I seem to be having a very dry season! I have several ideas and a couple of drafts but can't seem to follow through with anything I would feel good about posting. It's kind of frustrating. Kenneth Tobey is a true genre hero. I looked up his filmography and the man certainly worked hard in his long career.
ReplyDeleteYup, Tobey kept plugging away. It's fun to see his cameos in later films like AIRPLANE! (1980) and THE HOWLING (1981). Don't sweat over your blogger's block; it'll pass. You still have a lot of cool posts to browse. My motto is: Quality over quantity. I figure that gets me off the hook from doing all kinds of stuff!
ReplyDeleteGreat review of one of Larry Cohen's best films! I love Larry's hapless anti-heroes and his ability to get us to identify with them even as we're tempted to look away in pity or disgust. Moriarty and Clark alone are worth the price of admission, and you're right, Carradine is very engaging in this one as well -- and he gets to eat his cake too as he goes Rambo at the climax. Cohen was better than even Roger Corman at squeezing the most out of limited resources and using guerilla moviemaking tricks to make his productions look far more lavish than they were - Q is exhibit A.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliment. Guerilla moviemaking is right. Something that helped to make Cohen's films so interesting is his ability to improvise. That whole bit with Michael Moriarty's character Quinn trying to get a job playing piano in a bar was added to the story when Cohen found out that Moriarty played piano and had composed that "Evil Dream" song. It makes us sympathize with the Quinn character a bit more when we realize that he tries to do better than just being a small-time criminal.
ReplyDeleteHey, I just watched this flick on the Criterion Channel! I didn't even know they had it. I loved it!! Well, I could have done without the severed heads, etc. But it is definitely a very cool movie. Very funny. And Michael Moriarty is fantastic. The movie had just the right amount of quirky humor mixed with enough "seriousness" to make it much funnier than the self-conscious parody movies like Lost Skeleton of Cadavra or the movies of Christopher R. Mihm. Don't get me wrong. I love those movies. But this was so much better, and the monster wasn't bad either! Perfect balance of horror and humor.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it. Moriarty's character and performance really makes this thing click. I agree about the horror and humor balance. Movie characters and situations can be funny without violating our suspension of disbelief. If a filmmaker can manage that balancing act, it just adds an extra layer of interest to the film and does not have to diminish the horror. Bob Clark's BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974) is a prime example. It has a lot of funny bits while still being one of the creepiest movies ever.
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