Tina Romero revives zombie legacy with "Queens of the Dead"
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Filmmaker and Pittsburgh native Tina Romero, daughter of the late George Romero, is reimagining the genre her father helped make famous with her debut feature film, "Queens of the Dead."
The big picture: Decades after George Romero's Western Pennsylvania-filmed "Night of the Living Dead" and "Dawn of the Dead" made Pittsburgh the heart of zombie cinema, "Queens of the Dead" revives his universe through the glitter-soaked, synth-heavy lens of queer nightlife.
- Eight years in the making, the horror-comedy tracks a circle of squabbling Brooklyn drag queens and club kids as they fight to survive a zombie outbreak.
Driving the news: Now based in New York, Tina Romero returned to Pittsburgh on Sunday for a "Queens of the Dead" screening and a director Q&A at Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville.
Zoom in: Just as George Romero reflected America's anxieties in malls and graveyards, Tina does the same in a world she knows well as a longtime New York DJ.
- Her years working in the club scene inspired the film — during one bout of promoter drama, she came across an online comment asking, "When will the queer community stop devouring itself?" The line sparked the idea for a flesh-eating romp, she said.
Flashback: She pitched the idea to her father before he died in 2017, she said, and he was all in.
- "I wanted it to exist in his universe," she said. "I kept the traditional Romero slow, sympathetic, silly zombies. One bite turns you, a shot to the brain kills you, but I added a twist where they're still answering their devices as zombies. I think he would've approved."
Between the lines: The film leans into its campy, tongue-in-cheek spirit to explore messy dynamics within the LGBTQ+ community and humanity's growing dependence on technology.
What they're saying: "It feels extra important right now to not only have visibility on screen, but something joyous and uplifting," she said at her Sunday Q&A. "I also wanted to put the queer community in the role of heroism."
The intrigue: The movie pays homage to her father's films and her hometown — from her own cameo in a Steelers jacket to a brief appearance by Bloomfield-based special effects artist and longtime George Romero collaborator Tom Savini as the city's mayor, joking, "This is not a George Romero movie."
What's next: "Queens of the Dead" is in limited release, aiming to build momentum and expand into more theaters, including in Pittsburgh, as audience interest grows, she said.