Queens Of The Dead

Bluesky

The tide of zombie films has ebbed somewhat today. There was a time when, as a genre-friendly critic, I was invited to review around four per week. Most of them had the same basic story, and it reached the point where – like many members of the public – I just wouldn’t touch them anymore, with three exceptions: if they already had great word of mouth, if they were by George Romero, or if they were really about something else.

At the time of writing, Queens Of The Dead is still fairly new, popping up on the festival circuit at the likes of BeyondFest and Newfest, but the great word of mouth is building fast. It’s not by George Romero, who sadly left us in 2017, but is instead by his daughter, Tina Romero, who namechecks him along the way but makes it very much her own. As for its themes, it does something that others have been trying to pull off for quite a while now – combining the zombie film with queer culture or club culture – but it’s the first to really pull this off, perhaps because it speaks, throughout, with an insider’s voice.

Very much an ensemble piece, the film revolves around a queer nightclub preparing for a very special drag show, and a threat which comes from the Church – or, at any rate, one particular church. Popping in to light a candle, a drag queen gets a surprise when the Grindr clone app on her phone starts beeping frantically – a device we’ll later see used like the motion detectors in Aliens – but is still more surprised by the distinctly unhealthy-looking condition of the man of the cloth it leads her to. A bit of necking later and she’s on her way – like Romero Snr’s zombies, following the same familiar routines as she did in life, finding her way to a dancefloor where she lurches this way and that, confused by the noise and then the lights. Nobody notices that there’s anything wrong with her until, finally, her teeth latch on to something solid.

This is just one of a string of things that have already gone wrong with the night’s event, from high profile, glamorous star Yasmine (Dominique Jackson) pulling out, to potential replacement Sam (Jaquel Spivey) – aka Samoncé – getting the jitters due to a past experience of stage fright. By way of a day job, Sam works as a nurse alongside Lizzy (Riki Lindhome), who happens to be the pregnant girlfriend of DJ Dre (Katy O’Brian); the two bond that evening whilst supporting Jane (Eve Lindley), a young trans woman from out of town, who will help Lizzy try to reach the others after everything goes gorily awry.

If this already sounds like a lot of characters to keep track of, brace yourself, because it barely scratches the surface. Other noteable figures include insecure performer Nico (Tomás Matos); hapless intern Kelsey (Jack Haven) who gets an axe wound early on, to the delight of punsters everywhere; Kelsey’s butch dyke partner Pops (Margaret Cho), the only one with traditional zombie apocalypse survival skills, who does things with a drill that would have made George Romero proud; and Dre’s security guard cousin Barry (Quincy Dunn-Baker), a cishet guy so far from woke that he’s practically comatose and yet keeps talking, even when his mouth is full of foot. Far from a villain, Barry is quite sweet in his confusion, providing a way in for viewers unfamiliar with the setting. His awkwardnness emphasises the normality of the others, comfortable in their own space, and over time he becomes very much a part of the family.

Family is very much at the heart of the thing. There are a lot of characters because this is a busy, gregarious world. The panic and self-centredness found in many a zombie film don’t play out the same way because these are people for whom watching for danger and being ready to fight or flee is not a new experience. They are people with a strong ethic of care which even extends to zombies. Furthermore, for the older characters, this is not the first experience of having to deal with a plague, and they are not going to jump to conclusions just because of the advice that comes from the media.

If you enjoy drag shows, even just on the television, you’ll also be pleased to know that the stars here (all of whom can also act) have plenty of swagger, that there are some deliciously catty lines (often followed by warm hugs), and that the film delivers on key moments like the make-over. Zombie film traditionalists will find a good supply of gore and enjoy set pieces like the photo booth zombie attack, the mass of zombies wandering the streets looking at their phones, and how our heroes reimagine cage dancers. There’s even a cameo for Romero make-up design stalwart Tom Savini, greeted with cries of “Hey, look! It’s that guy!” There is never any sense of an inexperienced director imitating her famous father just for the sake of it. Tina Romero is in her element here, and it’s a long time since the zombie film has felt so alive.

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