By: Lotti Pharriss Knowles
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 10/23/2025 – Queens of the Dead has been getting a lot of buzz ahead of its release and, in the eyes of horror fans, for good reason: Tina Romero, daughter of the late Master of Horror himself, George A. Romero, has followed in her father’s footsteps by directing a zombie movie as her first feature film. And much like the iconic 1968 release Night of the Living Dead, Queens filters abundant social commentary through the lens of that genre.
That headline alone was certainly enough for me to want to watch and review this film. Aren’t many of us fascinated to see what the scion of a beloved filmmaker will produce, and whether the offspring has inherited some of the parent’s magic touch? But unlike, say, Brandon Cronenberg, whose artistic sensibility feels directly related to that of his father (David Cronenberg), Tina Romero’s style mostly diverges from her dad’s.
Unlike the brooding and often cynical tone of much of George Romero’s work, Queens is a glittery, campy and ultimately hopeful horror-comedy. It plays like an extended “RuPaul’s Drag Race zombie movie challenge,” with the requisite broad humor, over-the-top musical sequences, morals-of-our-story, and throwing of shade at anti-LGBT conservatives. If that sounds like your cup of (spilled) tea, you’ll likely enjoy this movie.
The zombie outbreak of this tale begins in hipster Brooklyn (wouldn’t Queens have been more apt??), on opening night of a dance party and drag show produced by DJ Dre (Katy O’Brian). Dre has her hands full before the undead even arrive, as performers drop out for better-paying gigs and a rat infestation is discovered in the bar’s bathroom. Just when it seems like the event might finally be coming together, flesh-eating gate crashers force Dre and a rag-tag group of drag performers, co-workers, extended family and even (gasp!) an insensitive straight man to band together to survive.
Tina Romero based Queens not just on her father’s zombie legacy, but also on her experiences in the DJ booth of the New York City party scene – which she describes as her “courtside season pass to the evolution of the LGBTQ+ community.” Her debut certainly boasts a talented cast of established and next-gen queer icons: O’Brian (Love Lies Bleeding), Jaquel Spivey (Mean Girls), Dominique Jackson (Pose), Cheyenne Jackson (American Horror Story), Tomas Matos (Fire Island), Nina West (Drag Race Season 11’s “Miss Congeniality”), and the inimitable Margaret Cho. For horror mavens, there’s also a cameo by makeup FX legend Tom Savini (who worked with George Romero on Martin, Dawn of the Dead and Two Evil Eyes).
Queens of the Dead may not be a cinematic triumph that will be studied by future generations of film school students, but it’s a fun movie that wears its big heart on its bedazzled sleeve. Sweet-natured though it is, it’s likely to be hated by the “anti-woke” crowd currently trying to roll back the clock on hard-won progress for equal rights and human dignity. That’s enough for a thumbs up from me.
Queens of the Dead, presented by IFC and Shudder, opens in limited theatrical release on October 24; details on its streaming premiere will be forthcoming.
