Filmmaker and writer George A. Romero blessed the cinematic world with his iconic film “Night of the Living Dead.” The film is a complete package of its own, as it not only impacted the horror genre but also left an indelible mark on cinema as a whole. Released in 1968, the film introduced audiences to the modern zombie as we know it. Now Romero’s daughter, Tina Romero, has taken the baton to carry forward her father’s legacy with her new film, “Queens of the Dead,” which is slated to go into production this month.
What can be expected from Tina Romero’s debut film?
Being the daughter of the legendary filmmaker George Romero comes with the responsibility of upholding his name in the industry. But for Tina Romero, it’s no big task, as she is now following in his footsteps. Speaking with Fangoria, Tina Romero gave viewers a glimpse of what they can expect from her upcoming film, “Queens of the Dead.”
The movie will resemble her late father’s iconic film, “Night of the Living Dead.” While George’s film reflected a society that was (and still is) simmering with racial tensions and political divide, Queens looks to deliver a film that’s, in addition to the times we live in, reflective of the filmmaker herself. Tina describes “Queens of the Dead” as a “glam gore zom-com.” She said, “My perspective on the world is female, it’s queer, and it’s very dance-y. And I describe what I’m going for as a ‘glam gore zom-com.’ There… might be some glitter in the blood.”
“Queens of the Dead” will also adhere to the classic Romero zombie formula by featuring zombies she describes as “slow-moving, one bite turns you, got to take out the brain, a little lingering sense of humanity.” While Tina serves as the director of the film, comedian and novelist Erin Judge has co-written the screenplay.
Further elaborating on the premise of the film, Tina shared that the film,
“takes place over one night, at the beginning of the dead rising. We find ourselves at a big warehouse party in Bushwick. We’ve got a party promoter for whom everything’s going wrong, and her lead act has dropped out, so she needs to call upon a friend — a retired drag queen — to resurrect his drag, to come and save the night. And it turns out to be a night of many resurrections. And our motley crew of characters find themselves holed up in a Bushwick nightclub, having to decide ‘do we get out of here or ‘do we board the place up?’ And they’ve got to survive the night. It’s about a group of non-fighters finding the survival skills deep within.”
While the premise of the film seems promising, how Tina came up with the idea for the film has a story of its own. The idea came to her when she was a DJ for a regular weekend party, and the co-promoter branched off to start his own rival affair on the same night, leading to the promoter for Romero’s bash asking the question, “When will the queer community stop devouring its own?” She says the idea hit her “like a bolt of lightning.” Tina said, “I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is the way into the genre for me.’ I want to look at zombies through the lens of going out, and specifically within this community.”
Queens of the Dead is set to premiere in 2025.
