Q: The Winged Serpent Details

Cult director Larry Cohen can work wonders with the tiniest of budgets and this typically offbeat offering is one of his best. The ancient Aztec god Quetzacoatl, a giant flying serpent-bird, is reincarnated by a Manhattan cult and decapitates New Yorkers from its nest atop the Chrysler Building. As detectives David Carradine and Richard Roundtree try to make sense of the myth, petty crook Michael Moriarty holds the Big Apple to ransom in exchange for Q's hiding place. Part wonderfully entertaining cop thriller, part old-fashioned monster movie, Cohen's classic B picture sports great all-round performances and nifty stop-motion animation effects by David Allen. It sounds silly on paper, but Cohen keeps the laughs and frights flowing in equal measure, and he draws a nicely sleazy performance from his leading man.

A plumed serpent ('Whaddya mean? That fuckin' bird?') is nesting in the top of the Chrysler Building, from where it... read more on Time Out