How to survive the apocalypse, according to Margaret Cho & her Queens Of The Dead co-stars
"In a way, a metaphorical zombie apocalypse is happening right now, and we're trying to stay above it—and not get bit!" - Margaret Cho
Mark
It’s the end of the world as we know it and we feel… well, we’re kind of feeling ourselves, to be honest!
Though it’s hard to ignore the downright apocalyptic experience of living in America these days, the queer horror-comedy Queens Of The Dead has arrived right on time to remind us that, no matter what’s thrown our way—flesh-hungry zombies, power-mad politicians, etc…—at least we have each other.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Because how can a horde of brainless, heartless ghouls (were talking about the ones in the movie and the ones in office) stand a chance against the strength and resilience of a queer community united?
Following in the footsteps of her filmmaker father George A. Romero—the godfather of zombie movies—Tina Romero uses the undead as a metaphor for the fears of modern society, this time descending on a Brooklyn queer bar filled with drag queens, club kids, and a few unwitting allies who realize they’re going to have to band together and fight back if they’re going to make it ’til dawn.
To bring her ghoulishly fun vision to life, Romero’s assembled an all-star queer cast that includes Love Lies Bleeding‘s Katy O’Brien, Mean Girls‘ Jaquel Spivey, Fire Island‘s Tomás Matos, I Saw The TV Glow‘s Jack Haven, American Horror Story’s Cheyenne Jackson, Pose‘s Dominique Jackson, Drag Race‘s Nina West National Anthem‘s Eve Lindley, and comedy legend Margaret Cho, just to name a few.
With Queens Of The Dead now playing in select theaters, we brought together a few from its iconic ensemble to asses just how ready they are for a zombie outbreak, and reflect on what lessons the film can teach us about how to survive our present-day apocalypse.
Scroll down below to see what Margaret Cho, Jack Haven, Tomás Matos & Nina West have to say:
In this moment, how prepared would you say you feel for a zombie apocalypse? Do you think you’d have good survival skills in that type of extreme scenario?
TOMÁS MATOS: I feel like, if the zombie apocalypse would happen right now, I think I could go far. I could survive!
NINA WEST: I think you would! I think you would lead the charge. For me I’d be like, “Um… go without me!” [Laughs.] I’m dead weight!
MATOS: I feel like I would probably try to run away, but in the process of trying to run away, I probably would accrue a gaggle.
JACK HAVEN: I feel prepared, in a way. I feel like we’re preparing, we’re learning. I wish I was better at, like, martial arts or something, and I’ve never shot a gun, so I feel like in that department I’m lacking, but in intellectual finesse— you know, finding a place to hide—I think I could do that.
MARGARET CHO: We’re kind of in one now! I mean, if you think about it, somebody had said—I didn’t say this, I wish I had said this—that Kash Patel always looks like he’s hiding a zombie bite. It’s so true! I feel like there is, in a way, a metaphorical zombie apocalypse is happening right now, and we’re trying to stay above it, and not get bit!
To Margaret’s point, the world we’re all living in right now feels pretty damn apocalyptic, so what lessons can we learn from Queens Of The Dead? For all the fun of it, is there anything you hope queer audiences might be able to take away from the film?
MATOS: You can replace the word “zombie” with bigotry, you can replace the word with our oppressors, you can replace it with this current administration. Like this film could easily be a catalyst for the queer community to see what could happen when we do stand up and and actually fight for our rights and try to survive. Because it really is what’s happening to us right now. So I hope that people who are watching this film not only get a sense of joy and laughter in how excitingly c*nt we are during a zombie apocalypse, but also see the possibility of what happens when, one, we stand together, and two, we stick up for our rights.
HAVEN: I think solidarity and the power of friendship is not to be underestimated. The families that we connect, and the networks of power that we weave with each other are all we have, really. And I think there’s something really beautiful about the theme of sacrifice in the film—sacrificing for the opportunity of your loved one—that I think is a good takeaway.
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CHO: I think it also it really underlines the need for how masculinity can save the day, and that masculinity can come in any form, like masculinity that can come from a lesbian, that can come from a trans person, that can come from a nonbinary person—it doesn’t necessarily have to come from a cisgendered man. We can save ourselves with masculinity, you know? And I love that! And I love my line in the movie, “femmes and enby only!” because that’s the role of the butch, right? To save the femmes, save the enby. It’s sort of like lesbian patriarchy, which I think is super cool. I love that resilience, I love that resourcefulness.
WEST: Well, we’re stronger together, you know? Our joy matters, how we celebrate matters. There’s that pivotal scene in the movie where Katy turns on the music and says, “”We’re going to do exactly what we know how to do!” I’ve seen the movie a few times in front of an audience, and last time it, that really impacted me in a very different way than it had previously And I think that’s a reminder: like, we should continue to dance, we should continue to hold each other, we should continue to tell our stories, we should continue to be queer—outwardly, openly, loudly queer, I mean, that’s what that scene to me is, like that music is pumping and it’s pulsing, and it’s attracting all those people to it. And we can’t stop! That is such a personification of what we need to do right now.
And lastly, this is such an incredibly iconic cast, but which co-star would you most want to have by your side in a zombie apocalypse and why?
WEST: Dominique Jackson and Riki Lindhome, those are my two. I would not mess with either of them, period!
MATOS: I would say Margaret Cho, of course, because I feel like she would help me survive, but then also Katy O’Brian and Jacquel. No shade to Dominique, but I’m gonne be like, “Die Dominique, it’s so nice to have you have a friend!’ [Laughs.] Like, what’s she gonna do?
HAVEN: It might be Tomás. It’s Tomás for me; Tomás has a huge place in my heart.
CHO: Yeah, Tomás, I just want to play with them in every way, I just want them along. Because they’re always up for anything, they’re always really supportive, and they’re always going to have a really good time, you know? I mean, if we wanted to survive though, we would probably do better to have Katy O’Brian. She’s got the muscular strength, the strategic mind—she is just steel and vigor and everything that you need in a war. But also to have fun, we need a bit of Tomas.
HAVEN: And then Jaquel just for the runs, the voice. I want Jaquel just singing the whole time! It should’ve been a musical…
CHO: I think that it actually will become one. You know, you look at the trajectory of something like Kinky Boots—I think this will be a musical. This has got Hairspray vibes, it’s giving Kiss Of The Spider Woman, it’s giving.. it’s giving! I love it.
WEST: And are you aware that the first time I was exposed to Tomás was in Diana: The Musical? I mean, this queen has the chops to help bring it to life. So I think that we need a big 11th hour number for her!
MATOS: Diana: The Musical being mentioned is literally the last thing I thought would happen today. [Laughs.]
Queens Of The Dead is now playing in select theaters—find tickets & more info here.
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