Tina Romero, the daughter of the late filmmaker and creator of the modern zombie, George A. Romero, is making her directorial debut with, appropriately enough, a movie all about an invasion of the undead. But Queens of the Dead shakes up the formula by having the zombies attack an NYC party featuring drag queen performers and their friends.
Queens of the Dead is a new horror comedy mixing together drag queens and zombies, and it’s set to hit theaters in October. The first look at this upcoming flick is out now, and the movie looks fun. It also looks like a movie that might greatly upset and confuse your conservative grandpa, who loves Fox News. Here’s the trailer:
The new movie stars the always excellent Katy O’Brian, Nina West, Jack Haven, and others, and looks to split its action between a group of clubgoers and drag queens stuck in a warehouse party, and the happenings at a hospital in New York City during the zombie uprising. After watching this trailer, I’m on board for this spin on the classic zombie movie. It’s also great to see Romero continuing her father’s legacy of making zombie movies that aren’t just gory and scary, but also filled with characters and ideas that feel extremely relevant. Romero’s iconic horror movie, Night of the Living Dead, essentially created modern-day zombies, or ghouls as he often called them, and laid out the basic framework most zombie movies follow: People stuck in a place fight back the dead while dealing with each other.
Here’s the official description for the film courtesy of IFC Films:
When a zombie apocalypse breaks out in Brooklyn on the night of a giant warehouse party, an eclectic group of drag queens, club kids, & frenemies must put aside their drama and use their unique skills to fight against the brain-thirsty, scrolling undead.
In 2025, with President Trump and other Republicans cracking down on LGBTQ people and anything they deem “different,” a movie about a horde of nasty zombies trying to destroy a safe place for drag queens and queer folk seems pretty dang perfect. I’d bet George would be proud of his daughter’s first theatrical film. Before this, she had done TV and smaller projects. I’m excited to check out Queens of the Dead when it arrives in theaters on October 24. Just in time for Halloween.