Q: The Winged Serpent

Let me lead by trying to say something nice. I liked the animated flying lizard. It was cute. Some of the chopper shots of the rooftops of NYC in the early 80s were kinda cool. I also liked the interiors of the top of the Chrysler Building. I always wondered what was up there. Beyond that, however, this is one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. The script and editing are on par with what one might expect from someone who’s never even seen a movie, let alone tried to produce one. The concept had potential, but it’s ruined by the bad execution. Even the casting could have done wonders – David Carradine and Richard Roundtree have certainly done good work elsewhere – but all the performances end up buried beneath mounds of bad editing and even worse writing. Michael Moriarty deserves special recognition for his performance as the movie’s ne’er-do-well co-protagonist. He turns in what is either the best performance ever as a hateful character or the most hateful portrayal ever of a guy with whom the audience is supposed to sympathize. Overall this is the sort of picture that unfortunately might encourage low-budget film-makers to think about going into the insurance business instead. Wish I’d skipped it

Genre: Horror

Subgenre: Monster

Date reviewed: 11/4/2007