Tina Romero is proud to be carrying on a family tradition with her latest movie, which she describes as “a fun ride packed with laughs, jump-scares, fun characters and love.”
“Queens of the Dead,” which opens in theaters Friday, follows a diverse group of New York City drag queens and club kids as they fight to survive a zombie apocalypse on the eve of a Brooklyn warehouse party.
HuffPost caught a sneak peek at the horror-comedy ― which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June and was screened at NewFest, New York’s LGBTQ+ Film Festival, earlier this month ― via the below clip. In it, event organizer Dre (played by Katy O’Brian) is thrust into full-on crisis mode when her forthcoming party headliner, Yasmine (Dominique Jackson of “Pose”), calls out sick.
Catch a sneak peek at “Queens of the Dead” below.
“Queens of the Dead” is Tina Romero’s feature directorial debut. The New York writer-director is the daughter of late horror icon George A. Romero, whose credits include the “Night of the Living Dead” series as well as “Creepshow” and “Tales from the Darkside,” among other creepy classics.
In an interview with HuffPost, Tina Romero said O’Brian and Jackson were the two actors in the cast she was “most nervous to work with,” a profound statement given that the film also features appearances by Margaret Cho and “A Strange Loop” actor Jaquel Spivel as well as another horror icon, Tom Savini.
“In our early conversations, Katy ― more than anyone ― asked me incisive questions about the script, and I knew she did not come to play,” she said. As for Jackson, she added, “For me, she’s a larger-than-life legend, and I was worried our scrappy set wouldn’t be fit for a true queen.”
Dominique Jackson and Tomás Matos star in “Queens of the Dead,” due out Oct. 24.
Shannon Madden/An Independent Film Company and Shudder
Fortunately, she added, “Each of them made me feel comfortable right away, and working with them was collaborative, delightful and so fun. They’re both down-to-earth, smart as hell, naturally comedic and incredibly talented. They made my job easy.”
Like her dad, Tina Romero could have a potential franchise in the making if “Queens of the Dead” succeeds. Early reviews have been mostly positive, with Variety describing the film as “a zombie farce that wears its bedazzled heart on its sleeve” while praising its “remarkably well-formed characters.”
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While The New York Times offered a more mixed take on the movie as a whole, it nonetheless emphasized the story’s relevance in the current sociopolitical climate, noting “the apocalypse outside might be seen as a story of queer life under assault.”
Katy O’Brian (center) “asked me incisive questions about the script” and “did not come to play,” said filmmaker Tina Romero.
Courtesy of Shannon Madden/An Independent Film Company and Shudder release