Queens of the Dead
The pedigree of this film made me really, really want to see it in the theater last fall, but it never came to my town. I’m not sure I’ll ever really get over that. I paid money online to see it and now I have an earworm (I Got an Axe Wound) and a new top ten favorite of all time zombie film. The maker of this movie, Tina Romero, is the daughter of famed zombie movie creator George Romero, of Night of the Living Dead. She pays homage to her father’s legacy but has made a really fun piece of gory camp. There are zombies, too.
It’s a simple, standard zombie plot. A group of vaguely related people are stuck together in a place while zombies take over New York City. Dre (Katy O’Brien, Love Lies Bleeding) owns the bar that is supposed to have a big party that night, but her most famous drag queen bails at the last moment. It’s only one of many things that go wrong even before a seven foot zombie drag queen drags herself onto the dance floor looking for love and some bites. Glittery chaos ensues.
From the first few seconds of the film I figured I would be laughing a lot and I was right. The dialogue is fantastic all the way through, from the opening cell phone conversation loaded with queenly foreshadowing of undead mayhem to come. Makeup and costuming are also amazing all the way through, getting just the right blend of queer professional that isn’t quite the same as Hollywood. The viewer is also treated to a terrific drag show and a fun soundtrack. (earworm is still there) An update on the social media is of course many, many bejeweled cell phones. Train to Busan used them well, too, but Romero has taken it to a hilarious extreme here.
Another thing Romero blended well was updating the tried and true, now de rigueur thanks to her dad, zombie tropes. There is the tiny tv planted on top of furniture to show the requisite news flash, some survivors being thieving shits, and a zombie hand splayed out on a door – this time with two inch glitter nails and beautifully painted hands. The load of callbacks worked seamlessly into the movie made me very happy. The zombies moved at a very slow pace, about a 1.5 Romero (yes, there are zombie speeds, thanks to a scholarly paper from Dr. Jack Raglin), which is very slow but they were tottering along on six inch heels. She worked in the most famous line from Night of the Living Dead “They’re coming to get you, Barbara.” and from Dawn of the Dead “When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth.” Tom Savini, who first appeared in a Romero film as the hammer wielding biker in Dawn of the Dead has a cameo. Non-George names include Margaret Cho in a small, funny role and I was pleased to see George Nicotero in the credits for making zombie parts. Think The Walking Dead.
My wife, who does NOT watch zombie films, even funny ones, got a little cranky at how often Iaughed out loud at some seriously silly stuff, like the password to get onto the rescue boat (excuse me while I laugh again), which in normal times is an Olivia Cruise Ship. IYKYK. A lot of the jokes will probably go over your head unless you’re into queer culture, like the running gag of lesbians calling out the sport they used to play, but there’s a lot of funny for everyone here and good zombie gore. One of the best characters is a kinda sorta Trumper who “doesn’t get it” but this bear is a pretty good guy. I did shake my head at the inept and, well, sometimes fabulous means of zombie killing. That’s another zombie trope, but I was happy not to see any chainsaws. I hate those for zombie killing.
I’m really unhappy that the DVD is somewhat difficult to find because I really want to put this next to all the other Romero zombie films I own. This is a must watch if you like funny, colorful zombies set against a wonderful cast of real life drag queens who Bring It in this movie. It’s been a long time since I’ve laughed this much at a zombie film, and I’m so happy I finally got to watch it.
Triggers: zombie kills with some good prosthetics
Available on: AMC+, Sling TV, Amazon Prime, Philo, Fandango at Home, YouTube (prime time), The Roku Channel (subscription), Apple TV, Google Play
LINKS:
CFR: In Addition
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa.
This review is a day late due to my work and the overload of tasks I had to accomplish. I am grievously sorry this did not go out sooner as this is a great review and I really, really, really am looking forward to watching a legacy movie.
After watching the preview I know I will love it. Also below are some interviews I found of Tina Romero on YouTube.
Tina Romero Interviews:
Tina Romero. Interview on the film: Queens of the Dead
Tina Romero: The Untold Story of Hollywood’s Most Notorious Family
And remember: Aim for the head.
Chick Flicking Reviews 