A zombie epidemic taking place in the LGBTQ+ warehouse party scene is the fun premise of this wobbly but often endearing comedy-horror. The film’s biggest ace is its cast, with charismatic screen presences such as Katy M O’Brian (Love Lies Bleeding) and Cheyenne Jackson (30 Rock) sparking off larger-than-life comedy types including Nina West (RuPaul’s Drag Race) and Jaquel Spivey (2024’s Mean Girls). Slay, queen, boots the house down, etc.
Meanwhile, director Tina Romero has some large boots to fill: she’s the daughter of George A Romero, the man who more or less created the zombie movie as we know it. In some ways that’s unfortunate: it’s difficult to watch Queens of the Dead without thinking about the seminal 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead and its variable sequels and imitators. To its credit, QOTD realises that it would be futile to deny its House of Romero heritage; instead, the script calls attention to its venerable ancestor with that film’s most famous quote repurposed as a sassy catcall: “They’re coming to get you Barbara!” It’s a moment that works pretty well.
Indeed, there are many moments scattered throughout the film – one-liners, set-pieces, character intros, dance-offs – that would work nicely in a skit in a nightclub show or on TikTok. There’s a lack of overall storytelling momentum, though: like the zombies themselves, events mostly just kind of shuffle along. The production values are a bit of a letdown, too: visually, Queens of the Dead has a cheap, bright, flat quality.
Notable exceptions are the clothes and makeup department (of course) and the gore effects, which are nicely squishy, but the script doesn’t give the practical effects team anything memorably horrible to get their teeth into – hardened gorehounds may leave feeling short-changed. The target audience is probably more Drag Race with a soft spot for silly horror than horror aficionados per se, so those fans should have a good time.
• Queens of the Dead is on Shudder and AMC from 7 August.
