Brooklyn Horror 2025: ‘Queens of the Dead’ is what camp is made of

In 2025, we need as many unapologetically queer films as possible. With her debut directorial feature film, Tina Romero (yes, the daughter of the George A. Romero!) makes an impressive splash. Playing this year’s Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, Queens of the Dead adheres to the zombie lore her father perfected while tossing in some necessary, very queer razzle-dazzle for good measure. Tina, who co-wrote the script with Erin Judge, navigates the tumultuous waters of the queer drag scene, anchoring the story with real people with real problems. The film presents a powerful, timely message about queer folx banding together in times of trouble to fight a common enemy and echoes a similar sentiment put forth in Jem Garrard’s Slay, which coincidentally shares a story structure and setup but with vampires.

Sam (Jaquel Spivey) was once a drag queen on the rise. But an important performance went down in flames when Sam was overcome with anxiety so bad he ditched the event. Years later, things come full circle when he’s asked to perform when hot commodity Yasmine (Dominique Jackson) feigns being sick. Sam sees Dre (Katy O’Brian) for the first time since that ill-fated performance. Dre still carries the pain of that day, unable to forgive Sam for what he did – abandoning her in a time of need. But Dre needs him now. And perhaps Sam needs Dre, too. When the show is about to go on, a zombie wanders onto the dance floor and causes utter bedlam.

Dre’s fiancée’s brother Barry (Quincy Dunn-Baker) is a real piece of work, the kind of person who says homophobic or transphobic nonsense under his breath. As chaos worsens, he must set aside his bigotry and work with Dre and the drag queens to conquer an army of zombies that descends upon the dance club. With a cameo by none other than Tom Savini, the film doesn’t fall prey to treating queer characters as jokes or punchlines. They simply exist in this apocalyptic world as human beings facing a world full of drooling flesh-eaters. The script allows a delicious level of camp, from exaggerated performances to a lip-synced Kesha moment. It’s a film we need right now.

Like her father, Tina comments on the stagnant state of current society. When we witness shots of zombies lumbering down grimy city streets, they hold their phones up to their faces, as though they can’t stop scrolling even in death. Brain rot consumes them from the inside out, contaminating every single cell and frayed nerve ending. With cinematographer Shannon Madden, Tina constructs a neon-doused hellscape that seeks to rip everyone to shreds. Unlike many popular zombie media, such as The Walking Dead, no one is safe in Queens of the Dead. Tina pulls no punches when it comes to killing off characters; a few may even surprise you.

Zombie films are a dime a dozen, but Tina Romero’s Queens of the Dead pierces through the static. It’s campy, funny, gory, and heartfelt. When you gaze around and see the world burning to the ground, this film serves as a reminder that it doesn’t always have to be this way. We can still turn back.