Seen at the LA premiere at Beyond Fest at American Cinematheque, there are lots of things I quite enjoyed about the delightfully colorful and campy Queens of the Dead. In addition to some of the more obvious praiseworthy elements, such as its high-energy cast and queer-friendly atmosphere, I was particularly fond of how much it felt like director Tina Romero was picking up where her father, the zombie godfather George A. Romero, left off. While making a zombie film featuring drag queens, lesbian couples, multiple trans characters, and other members of the LGBTQIA+ community as the leads of a feature is not exactly what I’m saying George would have done, the notion of seeing Tina go this route speaks to the feel of the Romero Dead films. It’s another instance of seeing how this genre can address relevant social themes of the day and place the protagonists’ perspective among those closest to the issue, aiming to defend what should be seen as the right side of the conversation. Having to do so on a relatively low budget only underscores the challenges of conveying such messages. But yes, the film is also full of jokes, gore, and characters who know how to werk.
Set in Brooklyn, New York (though there are plenty of shoutouts to Pittsburgh, a Romero-favorite location), we follow a handful of characters, made up largely of drag queens and club kids, who eventually find themselves contending with a zombie outbreak during their drag show. This means having to deal with personal conflicts and other escalating tensions while figuring out a survival plan.
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There’s actually not much plot here, which means the film places a significant emphasis on character. I tend to find that this approach works out better for the Dead films, as the richer the character, the more endearing the film tends to be. Sure, that perhaps sounds obvious, but I look at a movie like Dawn of the Dead, which spends a lengthy middle section focused purely on characters surviving in a mall that they’ve turned into a safe haven. It speaks to why that film feels like George A. Romero’s masterpiece. Meanwhile, a more plot-driven effort like Survival of the Dead pales, not only because of its limited budget or even the actors, but because I have so little to latch onto.
In Queens of the Dead, to say we have a colorful cast is an understatement. Even if mileage may vary on how humorous some find this eclectic group, there’s a real team of fun players here, including Katy O’Brian, Jaquel Spivey, Jack Haven, Riki Lindhome, Margaret Cho, Nina West, Eve Lindley, and Cheyenne Jackson, among others. With each of them being either a part of the queer community or an ally, there’s a clear personal investment to a degree that can be seen in all of these characters, even if the film only offers so many of them a chance to convey something outside of the comedic bent this film largely runs on. That said, there’s no room for any sense of criticism about who these characters are, which I wouldn’t expect, but is still worth mentioning.
The script by Romero and Erin Judge allows for a lot of room to play, but does have to make choices regarding how hard the horror element goes. I would say the film is in line with something like a Shaun of the Dead in that regard, where the scare factor is clearly at a low, but it’s not without some mild attempts to elicit frights. That said, as far as the zombies go, we are in full Romero land, specifically the aforementioned Dawn of the Dead, and I’m all for it.
With ‘Dawn,’ while I appreciate the sincerity at play, I also love how much it feels like Romero’s version of a comic book movie, thanks to the heightened look of the ghouls. With Queens of the Dead, while a similar visual choice didn’t need to be made due to budget necessity, I enjoyed all the same the fact that these dead creatures were painted to seem almost otherworldly. Life has left their bodies, and now they are these blueish/greenish/greyish shambling foes bent on biting other humans. Given the colorful nature of a drag show and other notable settings that rely on the flashy looks of our characters, it creates a fun contrast.
Getting back to the satire of it all, yes, in addition to giving us slow-moving Romero zombies, old-fashioned makeup choices (and a Tom Savini cameo, of course, to go along with it), it only makes sense to see this film tackle issues of the day. All of George A. Romero’s films had something to say about the times, and Queens of the Dead is no different. Coming at a time when the rights of people in the queer community have come under fire, and various groups have chosen to make them the scapegoats, having a zombie movie that allows them to exist purely as people (eccentric or otherwise), and show them contending with a near-impossible situation concerning survival, doesn’t happen without understanding further layers. And that’s not even all the film is looking at, but enough for me to mention at this time.
I will say it didn’t all necessarily work for me. Yes, the budget constraints are evident, and while I’m willing to accept that information, it is unfortunate to know that the scale is just not there when you’d like it to be. On top of that, there are a few too many cute shoutouts to the older films for my liking, let alone some jokes, in general, that fall flat. However, the give-and-take also comes from seeing some strong work from folks like O’Brian, Lindley, and Haven, among others.
While there’s nothing to suggest any shared continuity with the other ‘Dead’ films, it is nice to be back in a world that feels both familiar and refreshingly different. Queens of the Dead is a stylized piece of work that does all it can with the means it had to work with, and fortunately, the film does plenty to entertain, warts, zombie bites, and all. Having the requisite messaging I expect from a Romero zombie film certainly goes a long way for me, too, so I can only hope this isn’t the last we hear from what this family has to offer when it comes to the ghouls coming to get us all.
Queens of the Dead opens in theaters on October 24, 2025.
Beyond Fest at American Cinematheque takes place from September 23 to October 8, 2025.
For the full lineup, tickets, and more information, check out the Website.
