Queens of the Dead

Premise

The film follows a group of drag queens, club kids, and frenemies who must put aside their personal dramas and use their unique skills to fight the flesh-thirsty undead when a zombie apocalypse breaks out on the night of a giant warehouse party.

Cast

Katy O'Brian as Dre

Jaquel Spivey as Sam

Riki Lindhome as Lizzy

Jack Haven as Kelsey

Cheyenne Jackson as Jimmy

Margaret Cho as Pops

Shaunette Renée Wilson as Tiger

Eve Lindley as Jane

Karan Brar as Officer Trayvis

Nina West as Ginsey

Tomas Matos as Nico

Quincy Dunn-Baker as Barry

Becca Blackwell as Twiz

Dominique Jackson as Yasmine

Tom Savini as Mayor

Production

Deadline reported in July 2024 that the film was in the works from a script by director Tina Romero as well as Erin Judge, with Jaquel Spivey, Katy O’Brian, Margaret Cho, Jack Haven, and Cheyenne Jackson set to star. The film was also reported to feature Nina West, Tomas Matos, Quincy Dunn-Baker, Becca Blackwell, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Dominique Jackson, Riki Lindhome, and Eve Lindley. It was produced by Natalie Metzger and Matthew Lee Miller for Vanishing Angle and financed by Creativity Capital. It was later reported that IFC Films, Shudder, and Flexibon Films would also help produce the film, with Charades acquiring the international sales rights to the film and filming had taken place on October 25, 2024, with a first-look image being released.

Release

The film premiered at the Tribeca Festival on June 7, 2025.

In July 2025, Independent Film Company and Shudder, both of which helped co-finance the film, acquired North American distribution rights to it. The film was released in the United States on October 24, 2025.

The film was screened in non-competitive section 'Freestyle' of the 20th Rome Film Festival in October 2025.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 84% of 56 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Setting the stage to slay all day, Tina Romero's feature debut is a glowing zombie-fest filled with humor and heart, proving that there's more than enough room in the genre for these Queens of the Dead." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 68 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.