If you have a zombie movie and your last name is Romero, there’s going to be some hype and anticipation through and through and no matter what it is, we’re going to want a fantastic zombie movie. Thankfully Tina Romero directing and co-writing with Erin Judge brings a LGTBQ+ friendly zombie comedy that can simply be described as Shaun of the Dead in drag, which fittingly was heavily inspired by Night of the Living Dead. Tina Romero pays respect, homage, and new direction for a genre her father birthed with her feature debut, Queens of the Dead and zombie and horror fans are sure to be delighted with this campy, fun zombie flick.
Similarly to her fathers tactics, Tina decides to a story that is focused on social commentary, with a LGBTQ story set around a drag show, but does so in a very smart way that takes the premise of the dead – to new meanings as it continuously proves it has a beating heart. While the movie finds itself incredibly New York/Brooklyn coded, the entire movie takes place in Brooklyn but also starts off in a church, which immediately contrasts Christianity and drag – furthering the social commentary that Tina Romero successfully conveys throughout her feature debut. Dre (Katy O’Brian) is running the club whose set to put on their annual drag show, is stressed more often than usual as performers are dropping out at an alarming rate. Struggling to make this show finally happen, we pivot to the hospital where we meet Sam and Lizzy (Jaquel Spivey and Riki Lindhome respectfully) as they find themselves busy with a zombie outbreak on their floor. They flee the hospital and end up at the club, where Lizzy used to perform at and Sam can be with her wife, Dre and feel safe and figure out the unfolding situation with her loved one. With the zombie mass slowly making its way to the club, interrupting the Glitter Bitch vodka party, Dre, Sam and Lizzy have their hands full with a few other appearances from Romero frequent colleagues, making Queens of the Dead a rich feature debut that is a fast paced movie, filled to the brim with slow moving zombies.
When it comes to the performances in Queens of the Dead, there should be no shock by now that Katy O’Brian is the clear standout here commanding every scene and second of screentime she has. However, it is also Jaquel Spivey who packs a heavy punch of laughter and heart, and Riki Lindhome that balances out this cast that brings it to be a fully balanced between chaos and control with some hearty laughter and zombie exploits that brings Queens of the Dead to new heights of enjoyment and creation that solidifies Tina Romero as a standout new director whose certainly one to be watched.
