QUEENS OF THE DEAD (2025)

Studio:   IFC/Shudder
Director: Tina Romero
Writer:   Tina Romero, Erin Judge
Producer: Matthew Lee Miller, Natalie Metzger
Stars:    Katy O’Brian, Jaquel Spivey, Quincy Dunn-Baker, Margaret Cho, Riki Lindhome, Tomas Matos, Nina West, Jack Haven, Cheyenne Jackson, Dominique Jackson, Tom Savini

Review Score:

Summary:

As a zombie outbreak unfolds outside, chaos consumes a New York nightclub where drag queens with clashing personalities have been forced to shelter together.

Synopsis:     

Review:

“Queens of the Dead” isn’t afraid to express its identity. Why would it be? Confidently surfing a tidal wave of brazen gags that are both clever and crass, Tina Romero’s horror-comedy serves as an open-armed celebration of LGBTQ+ culture by creating a partygoer personality as chic as its colorful characters: a ragtag roster of drama-drenched drag performers, wannabe influencers, one or two straight people, and a rainbow of fashionable clubbers and who get caught up in an undead outbreak besieging a New York bar.

From the one-line summary alone, it should be obvious “Queens of the Dead” sports a fragrance whose quirky scent won’t be welcome in everyone’s nostrils. In particular, anyone who insists biological men in women’s clothing reading storybooks to children are evil, or who believe in bizarre pizza parlor conspiracies, should know not to press Play in the first place. If they choose to risk irritating an irrational phobia anyway, “Queens of the Dead” uses its first four minutes to issue one last warning that this movie doesn’t intend to entertain them.

Sashaying down a sidewalk in sequined heels whose height rivals the length of her fingernails, a drag queen struts into a church when she receives a “Skinz” app notification from “ChoirDaddy69,” a potential hookup posing as a priest. “I’m about to get man-laid from a layman,” she muses. Only ChoirDaddy29 isn’t a man of the cloth. He’s an undead zombie whose infectious bite transforms his target into “ZombiQueen,” a bedazzled stand-in for “Land of the Dead’s” Big Daddy.

There’s no excuse for not knowing what style of irreverent wildness “Queens of the Dead” plans on getting into now. Performative outragers would only progress past this point under a disingenuous intention to pillory the movie because it doesn’t conform to personal politics about sexuality or religion. Wait until 15 minutes later when a drag show host mentions her crush on the crucified Christ by saying, “He was half-dead, but he was well hung!”

Those lines aren’t recounted as examples of the best jokes “Queens of the Dead” has to offer, merely examples of how ready the movie is to ride the line of being risqué. Rapid-fire quips are the film’s primary stock, trading fast and furious in snarky barbs or frenzied setups whose context smartly incorporates drag-related humor. Whether it’s someone saved from a zombie bite because the creature chewed on ass padding, or an eager makeover to get glamour-ready for an attacking horde with jeweled weapons, “Queens of the Dead” runs through a long gauntlet of karaoke, catty comments, and other RuPaul fixtures to fuel the comedy and the horror.

Even the film’s biggest fans aren’t going to laugh at every penis-shaped pastry oozing cream, appropriately placed Kesha needle drop, or umpteenth use of “gurl” to open an insult. “Queens of the Dead” still maximizes even low-mileage asides by being well cast and well characterized. From the gold-hearted queen afflicted with paralyzing stage fright to the jittery intern who suffers an “ax wound” in her leg, the actors fit so snugly into their roles, it’s difficult to imagine any of them playing a part other than the right one they already have.

“Queens of the Dead” of course intends to be somewhat silly, yet the tone dexterously avoids teetering over the top into excessive campiness. Actors exaggerate deliveries when a moment calls for extra craziness, but Romero then reigns them in with heartfelt themes about being the person you strive to be, or relying on friendship to dig out of darkness, so no one spends too much time in cartoon mode.

Even Barry, the seemingly one-note “youse guys” plumber who lives according to the gospel of his podcast idol and inadvertently begins a “Who’s on First” bit when he tries processing someone’s preferred pronouns, isn’t presented as excessively dumb or a boorish bigot. He’s more goofily oblivious yet genuinely open to having his worldview expanded by seeing the non-binary side of life in action.

While it would have been preferable to go without acknowledging the Living Dead-sized elephant in the room, given “Queens of the Dead’s” content, it’s arguably negligent not to mention co-writer/director Tina Romero’s link to her famous father. Rest assured, Romero respects the zombie godfather’s legacy with loving homages and cheeky winks while ensuring her own voice shouts loudest without being compromised. Cameos include Tom Savini, “Dawn of the Dead’s” Gaylen Ross, and music cues from “Day of the Dead.” The film takes place in Bushwick, but Romero salutes her family’s Pittsburgh roots with a nod to the Steelers and a jab at Iron City beer too.

The movie mostly maintains a vibrant pace thanks to constantly energetic exchanges, though some steam seeps out the sides in quieter moments, usually when the ensemble slims down to just two or three people engaging in a private conversation. Saturated in candy-colored lights, there’s also a low-budget vibe that comes from being a single-location feature tinted by an unmistakable hue of digital economics.

In addition to spotlighting underrepresented demographics not often showcased in horror, “Queens of the Dead” slyly slips in a little commentary about modern zombies being slaves to their cellphones the way “Dawn of the Dead” depicted an undead obsession with shopping malls. For whatever flaws it has, both reasonable and entirely imagined by close-minded people who wouldn’t watch in good faith anyway, “Queens of the Dead” sands down rough edges with a high-spirited effort that puts the focus firmly on “fun” above almost everything else. What’s not to admire about that?

Review Score: 70