Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Queens of the Dead Review: Zombies, Drag Queens & Mayhem | Streamin’ Demons
11 Plays3 days ago
In this episode of Streamin’ Demons, Jo and Amelie sink their perfectly painted claws into Queens of the Dead, the buzzy new horror-comedy from Tina Romero — yes, that Romero family. Set in a Brooklyn nightclub during a zombie outbreak, this film brings together drag queens, club kids, influencers, and more to fight back against the undead… all while navigating real friendships, fierce costuming, and a whole lot of high heels.
But don’t get it twisted — this isn’t your basic zombie flick. Jo draws the Romero lineage back to Night of the Living Dead, while Amelie hones in on the movie’s emotional core. Together, they rave about the color palette, makeup precision, queer representation, and yes — the power of found family. From disco-ball stilettos to heartfelt monologues, Queens of the Dead balances camp, satire, and sincerity with glitter-drenched flair.
Plus: memories of gay club culture, commentary on influencer excess, and the wild world of soup at strip clubs. (You had to be there.)
It’s horror, it’s heart, and it’s high camp — and Jo and Amelie are here for all of it. Check it out in theaters Oct 24.
Key Moments:
- Opening riff – Jo & Amelie kick off the show, fresh from watching the screener, talking lineage of zombie films and how this one ties in.
- Guest’s big insight or quote – Amelie: “There is moment of tenderness… I have your back, you have my back… friendship is trust.”
- Behind‑the‑scenes moment – Discussion about the poster and colour design: green zombies, purple partygirls, how the film uses colour so smartly.
- Personal story – Jo’s nightclub doorman anecdote and how club safety culture links into the film’s found‑family vibe.
- Why it matters – They emphasise how Queens of the Dead isn’t “just another zombie movie”: it reflects queer culture, friendship, identity, and the modern club scene with commentary on phones/influencers.
🎧 Link up with us: https://linktr.ee/Emptyhell
🛒 We’re Amazon Affiliates — if you click on an Amazon link, we may earn a commission.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Movie Focus
00:00:07
Jo
Everyone, Joe and Amelie here for another edition of Streaming Demons. Hello everyone. How you doing, by the way? i mean, yeah.
00:00:17
Amelie
Good, good. All good.
00:00:19
Jo
Yeah, we just watched a screener and we were like, how are you doing now? Like we just watched, we've been together like two hours.
About Queens of the Dead and Tina Romero
00:00:25
Jo
So today's episode is on Queens of the Dead.
00:00:30
Jo
And if you're wondering that that Queens of the Dead might sound familiar, It's because it's been winning a few awards lately and it's coming to a theater near you in October.
00:00:41
Jo
It is directed by written by Tina Romero. And you might know Tina Romero's name in this genre. Because just maybe, maybe you've seen something that kind of, you know, maybe her family's been in.
00:01:01
Jo
Just saying. Maybe her family's done. Just saying. If you're new to horror and you have no idea who Tina Romero is, it's not the Mexican-American actress born in 1920. No, it is the
00:01:22
Jo
well lineage of George Romero. So if you're wondering... If the genes do run in the family, maybe, maybe not. Maybe ah the zombie movie homage is something else.
00:01:36
Jo
And today's movie is definitely a zombie flick that has its own lineage and not just in George Romero stuff either.
George Romero's Influence on Zombie Films
00:01:44
Jo
So before we start talking about the movie, I'm going ask you a few questions.
00:01:48
Jo
If you don't mind.
00:01:49
Amelie
okay
00:01:50
Jo
Question number one, what is your social insurance number? No kidding. No, no, no, no. Question number one. Have you seen the rest of the zombie movies of that George Romero did? Like the Day Living Dead, the Night of the Dead, you know, Dawn of the Dead, 2, 3, 4, whatever it is.
00:02:06
Jo
Have you seen the other zombie movies in this franchise?
00:02:08
Amelie
some of some of
00:02:10
Jo
Some of, okay. Have you seen the original black and white one? Or even the color remake of it?
00:02:20
Jo
Of Night of Living Dead. Okay.
00:02:22
Amelie
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
00:02:25
Jo
So did you watch the one where they were in a mall?
00:02:29
Amelie
Yes.
00:02:30
Jo
Okay. Did you watch the one where they're like in the military complex?
00:02:35
Amelie
No.
00:02:36
Jo
Okay. And here's the thing. It's like, as we go through the zombie movies and we are going to talk about Queens of the Dead on and its own right, but I want to show some lineage first. You're going to see a little bit of a callback to George A. Romero's stuff.
00:02:53
Jo
And what Romero did with the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead and Land of the Dead and Survival and the whatever the dead and the Creepshow dead and all the other dead of the dead are the dead of the dead.
00:03:08
Jo
right All these dead things. All these dead heads, as they say. you You have this remarkable commentary on human life.
00:03:20
Jo
They're not... zombie movie you know they're not horror movies as people say well they're just horror movies they're not no movie is just a movie there is social commentary that goes on and this is definitely within Romero's work now I will say I'm not going to go through every of them but some are quite obvious And sometimes they're meant to be obvious. And sometimes it's reflection that's like, oh, yeah, I guess that's how been taken, you know, like, if you look at my book, like, oh, I guess you can take it this way. i'm like, sure, you you interpret the art however you want.
00:03:58
Jo
And so when you're looking at these horror movies, they're more than just something of, yeah, yeah, we it's frights and scares that they mean something to people.
Visual and Artistic Praise
00:04:08
Jo
With Queens of the Dead, 2025 by Tina Romero, we have that lineage as well.
00:04:17
Jo
But not just the zombie movie, which is the obvious lineage. And that's just the poster work, which is amazing, by the way. The colors. If you haven't seen the poster, check out the posters. The Queens of the Dead poster, amazing. A lot of the video typography and a lot of the colors, use i mean it's just we talked about it through the film on how well it's done. and we're not going to spoil it for you, but...
00:04:38
Jo
just how well the coloring's done, how well the sound's done. You mentioned about the coloring, like the zombies in the scene, and it says green, and the party girls are in purple. All these things are popping out. at us So you can watch this movie on multiple fronts, but one I want to hit down is the lineage.
00:04:54
Jo
And one of the movies that came to my mind Because I made the comment of like when they first started out, you see these two high heels sparkly.
00:05:05
Jo
bidas I mean, the costuming is amazing. The makeup jobs are amazing too, right? You see these these heels are just like disco ball heels walking into a church. And I made a comment about the former co-host for Streaming Demons, Box Human, who may or may not be doing an episode with me later on.
00:05:25
Jo
But they love those ankle shots to the point where animals I got a girl breaking up with me with that before. They love the ankle shots. I'm like, oh my God, the ankle shots. And the last movie I saw a big ankle shot was ticked off trannies with knives.
00:05:41
Jo
Yes, I know. oh my God, he said the bad word. like It's the name of the fucking movie. what do you want? What do you want? not censoring movie names now. I'm not a child.
00:05:51
Jo
So you have that movie that was based upon drag queens who then bad things happen to them and then have to fight back, right? And we have this one where we have the the queen, the great, of the drag queen show where bad things happen and they fight back. So there's a little bit of lineage there.
00:06:11
Jo
And I'm not saying this movie is anything much like other than that for tick off trainings with knives. But the lineage is there. Did you ever watch that movie? I don't think.
00:06:23
Jo
No, I don't think it's.
00:06:23
Amelie
no
00:06:25
Jo
The movie was fun. it was long. It was ambitious. They literally had no third acts. They just cut. They but just put that act three right here and they kept going. But this movie with Romero is.
00:06:41
Jo
It's hooking. It hooks you from the first.
Diversity and Representation
00:06:45
Jo
you know where you What you expecting when I said, like we got a movie to watch? It's almost like MSG3K. We got a movie. No.
00:06:51
Amelie
That's an excellent question.
00:06:52
Jo
Yeah.
00:06:52
Amelie
i was expecting, like for example, something very typical like a bad clown or ah vampire or zombie or something like that.
00:07:00
Jo
Yeah.
00:07:02
Amelie
I knew it was horror movie, but I didn't know the synopsis. I didn't know what kind of bad movie.
00:07:08
Jo
yeah
00:07:09
Amelie
like And I liked it immediately. like It's very cool. It's very well done. The costume is fantastic.
00:07:15
Jo
It's well done.
00:07:16
Amelie
like you not get You don't get bored.
00:07:16
Jo
It is.
00:07:17
Amelie
You laugh. And you have different kind of characters.
00:07:18
Jo
Yeah.
00:07:21
Jo
yeah
00:07:21
Amelie
what I really like about this movie is you have different kind of character and there is everyone present. Lesbian, binary, a guy who is completely heterosexual and he's completely lost and confused. um The people who are here just to take beautiful selfie, you know, that's really, really cool.
00:07:41
Amelie
And I like it because even if it's funny and there is a little bit of caricature, play for the movie, play for the fun.
00:07:46
Jo
Yeah.
00:07:49
Amelie
There is moment of tenderness. Like I was watching the movie and I say to you, oh, that scene, that's real. That's something ah I feel in my heart. The situation when you have a friend and you need to talk and talking make you feel good.
00:07:59
Jo
yeah
00:08:05
Amelie
But at the same time, you feel bad. You see what I mean?
00:08:09
Amelie
Because most of the movie is like, oh, I love you. I love you too. ni yan yany yan yeah But friendships. Friendship is a different love. Friendship is trust. It's not based on sex, etc. It's based on we are going to start a company together or you and I, we're going to move in a different country or for the better and the worse, we're friends.
00:08:09
Jo
Yeah. And this is.
00:08:29
Amelie
I have your back, you have my back, etc.
00:08:30
Jo
yeah
00:08:31
Amelie
And seeing it in this kind of movie, it's interesting and I liked it.
00:08:37
Jo
I think you hit it on the head. This really is a friendship movie on multiple levels. It's it's friendship and found family. Found family meaning they're, well, okay, one is related. Okay, okay.
00:08:48
Jo
Obviously, there's one person who's related another one by blood, but found family is going to be the people that you meet along your life, like you and i ah you know It's a found family. like we I'm not ah god a guy. hope I'm not related you.
00:09:06
Jo
I mean, right?
00:09:09
Amelie
Surprise!
00:09:10
Jo
I'm surprised. We had the blood test back. Is that you or sister? Fuck.
00:09:14
Amelie
Oh!
00:09:15
Jo
I knew it. I knew it. No, but we we have this found family aspect of it
00:09:20
Amelie
Mm-hmm.
00:09:20
Jo
and And it really goes well. we're talking you know i think in the scene you're talking about with Dre and Sam, it's heartfelt.
00:09:26
Amelie
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
00:09:27
Jo
It's heartfelt. It's not always about the money. and likes Sometimes you just want to talk. you know I needed a friend. i think that was Sam's line. they're like I needed a friend.
00:09:34
Amelie
Mm-hmm.
00:09:35
Jo
needed my friend. And it really is heartfelt. And then you have different scenes later on ah it's hard to say which scenes are really there because I don't want to spoil it because some of them happen act three or like as act three happens, but there's layers, there's layers this movie.
00:09:43
Amelie
Mm-hmm.
00:09:55
Jo
And the way it works is not because ah zombie movie, we've seen a bazillion fucking zombie movies by now. Like I just watched Marvel zombies for fuck's sakes yesterday.
00:10:07
Jo
And I, I, I sped watched it. I'm like, I just, I don't know why I'm watching this. I, It was that or sleep, I guess. And I didn't pay it. to I was doing work. I wasn't paying attention to it.
00:10:18
Jo
You know? Because I've seen that shit. I've seen Marvel Zombies. I read Marvel Zombies. No need for cartoon show. Oh, they introduced Blade. Spoiler alert. There you go. Spoiling Blade for you guys.
00:10:29
Jo
They introduced the new Blade, but it doesn't really work. I see the direction they're going. I won't spoil the entire film how they introduced Blade. But ah i don't give a fuck. I couldn't.
00:10:39
Jo
like I could try carrying less. I tried. and didn't. but with Queens of the Dead. I'll read the IMDb for you. Drag queens and club kids battle zombies craving brains during a zombie outbreak, the drag show in Brooklyn, putting personal conflicts aside to utilize their distinct abilities against the undead threat.
00:11:00
Jo
That tagline doesn't do it justice. It's not a bad one. It just doesn't do it justice. This movie is this will be so much more.
Tone: Satire and Heartfelt Moments
00:11:09
Jo
This movie is so much more.
00:11:09
Amelie
Completely. Completely. But it's interesting because if you just sum up the big line of the movie, it is right. It's about drag queens, nightclub, zombie.
00:11:20
Amelie
But if you watch the movie, it's interesting because it's political without being political. It's a satire without being a satire.
00:11:29
Jo
Yeah.
00:11:29
Amelie
It's a little bit of caricature, but everybody is mocked. The drag queens, the gay, the heterosexual, the lesbian.
00:11:39
Jo
Yeah.
00:11:39
Amelie
ah The people who are here to just to be in, etc. The Gen Z, the oldies, everyone, everyone.
00:11:45
Jo
Ajanzi.
00:11:48
Amelie
And it's really well done. And at the same time, there is scene when it's very deep, like, a I don't want to spoil the movie, but there is a few scenes.
00:11:56
Jo
Yeah. Yeah.
00:11:57
Amelie
I'm like, yeah, after the zombie attack and the little ha ha ha ha. Yeah. Looking towards somebody who is more just a friend and more like ah a mentor.
00:12:10
Amelie
Having a friend who is there for you in the bad moments. Feeling of guilt. Like you like to have fun, etc. Sometimes you have too much fun and there is consequences and you feel bad.
00:12:22
Jo
yeah
00:12:23
Amelie
There is this little moment of... And jack to the acting is fantastic because they play...
00:12:27
Jo
Oh, the end thing's superb.
00:12:28
Amelie
Goofy, goofy, and snap of a finger, you can see the seriousness of the scene, which is really good. And you don't get bored.
00:12:37
Jo
the
00:12:38
Amelie
You never get bored.
00:12:39
Jo
No, and the acting is amazing.
00:12:39
Amelie
You don't want to zap like, yeah.
00:12:42
Jo
Like the acting is amazing from the first part, from the setup to the last part. then It starts off with a drag queen going to church to meet a booty call.
00:12:56
Jo
And it's like the and you the sexy priest thing. I'm like, well, sure, maybe that's a bit over the top. But the acting is still good. The acting is still good.
00:13:07
Jo
And then we see when Dre's trying to get the balloons through the fucking doors, I'm like, if I was directing this, I think I'll just say, like, take these fucking balloons to the door, to the doors, because they don't fit.
00:13:18
Jo
The balloons don't fucking fit. And you don't have to even direct that. You're just like, do it. You know, action, go. Because your character's response is basically your fucking response trying to get these fucking balloons through a door.
00:13:33
Jo
And so it's acting and it's also very situational where the director and the writer, Tina Romero both, was cognizant of some things and i maybe I'll talk to her later on and ask these questions, but it seems well directed to the point where I believe the actors just knew their stuff inside and out.
00:13:59
Jo
I believe everyone believed in a project inside and out, or well. And they ever had they have faith in each other. No one had to steal the show.
00:14:11
Jo
No one had to carry the show.
00:14:14
Jo
And they're all integral to the part of the plot. There wasn't one character who was a named member that I didn't care about.
00:14:25
Amelie
Exactly. Exactly.
00:14:26
Jo
You care about them all.
00:14:27
Amelie
Even if there is a character, you're like, oh, fucking bitch, like fucking idiot. You want to that person to leave.
00:14:32
Jo
Yeah.
00:14:34
Amelie
Like, it's really interesting.
00:14:35
Jo
Yeah.
00:14:37
Amelie
I totally vouch for one of the characters. I was screaming his name and stuff. I love one of the characters particularly.
00:14:45
Amelie
And yeah, I was like looking at them and stuff and I'm like, no, I don't want that person to die. Oh my God, that person is going to be blocked, etc.
00:14:45
Jo
Yeah.
00:14:52
Jo
yeah Right.
00:14:53
Amelie
Like, everyone Everyone is cool. Everyone is fantastic. Even I would say the second character. I'm like, yeah, that guy is the second character. Of course. Voilà.
00:15:04
Amelie
ah
00:15:05
Jo
Yeah, there are some secondary characters.
00:15:05
Amelie
Easy, pisible.
00:15:07
Jo
We had a... We're not the most... ah pristine people we're talking ah about the movies, we may be talking about like, I think you said, oh, this girl's I'm like, yeah, I think so too.
00:15:16
Amelie
who
00:15:23
Amelie
Yeah. Yeah.
00:15:24
Jo
And there's, without spoiling, I don't, it's so hard not to do without spoilers. It really is.
00:15:28
Amelie
Yeah, yeah.
00:15:29
Jo
Because there's some things, I'm just going to say, Sam's costume at the end and performance of the actor or actress at the end is amazing.
00:15:45
Jo
The transformation is amazing.
00:15:45
Amelie
Yes.
00:15:46
Jo
It's well done.
00:15:48
Amelie
Oh, yeah, yeah.
00:15:49
Jo
It's well done.
00:15:49
Amelie
It was impressive, really good, top-notch.
00:15:51
Jo
Yeah. Yeah. And then we're even talking about things like the little things that add up. You were talking about the eye makeup of Nico. And when the eye makeup is so well done, like, yeah, the the the small touches in this film are so well done.
00:16:03
Amelie
Yeah.
00:16:05
Amelie
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:16:08
Jo
You just get sucked into the film. Yeah.
00:16:10
Amelie
Yeah, for example, there is mobile phone everywhere. When there is a close-up to the mobile phone with a person pushed with a finger, what do you see?
00:16:16
Jo
Yeah.
00:16:19
Amelie
You see the long nail with all the makeup and the presses, you know?
00:16:22
Jo
Gorgeous.
00:16:23
Amelie
Or there is a scene when one of the actors is full of regret, and you can see the eyelashes and the makeup is really cool.
00:16:24
Jo
Gorgeous.
00:16:31
Amelie
Like it's beautiful. It's not just, oh, ah we wear makeup, boom. No, the precision, like the fake nipples, but made with metal and canned parts.
00:16:31
Jo
Yeah.
00:16:46
Amelie
Or for example, the makeup on the long nail or the eye makeup or the person how they dance, the way they wear the skirt and everything.
00:16:51
Jo
The hair.
00:16:54
Amelie
it's
00:16:54
Jo
Yeah.
00:16:55
Amelie
It's really cool. Like everything is top and the color. I really applaud the color.
00:16:59
Jo
The color is amazing this film.
00:17:01
Amelie
There is one scene when there is one character who is looking at his phone and made aware there is a zombie attack.
00:17:08
Jo
Yeah.
00:17:08
Amelie
And the the scene is cut in two. You have green zone and purple zone. And in purple zone, everybody just dance, have fun, etc.
00:17:18
Jo
Right.
Role of Color in Storytelling
00:17:19
Amelie
Boom, bada, boom. It's purple like the color for the queer. So it's a nightclub with a lot of homosexuals, drag queens, binaries, etc. Everybody has fun.
00:17:30
Jo
Non-binary.
00:17:30
Amelie
Nobody knows.
00:17:31
Jo
I think that's what you want to say.
00:17:32
Amelie
non-binary, sorry.
00:17:32
Jo
there go
00:17:33
Amelie
um Nobody knows.
00:17:33
Jo
French. Yeah.
00:17:36
Amelie
And in the green, you have one of the characters who realize, oh, fuck, there is some problem in the news. And it's really interesting to see how they change the color.
00:17:48
Amelie
Like there is an attack.
00:17:48
Jo
Yeah.
00:17:49
Amelie
Poof, it's gray, it's green. ah There is a moment of love, of family kind. Poof, the color is red. And I really like that scene when everything is cut.
00:18:02
Amelie
And yeah, I like it.
00:18:02
Jo
Yeah.
00:18:05
Jo
it it It works well. It reminded me, if you're looking at this video from my generation, you're like, shit's like a Van Halen video. This is Van Halen with like Jump and Panama where they dial the colors up to a thousand because Roth is wearing sunglasses in the studio.
00:18:22
Jo
and And they do it so well.
00:18:22
Amelie
Very 80s, yeah.
00:18:24
Jo
Yeah, it it works.
00:18:25
Amelie
Mm-hmm.
00:18:25
Jo
It pops. It pops really well. They use every bit of the canvas. This movie uses every bit of the canvas to make you feel something for the action happening inside the characters. Like, you really do care.
00:18:38
Jo
And there's multiple locations. So it's not just trapped in a house. It's multiple locations. And you worry about the other people when they're not on screen. You're like, oh my God, I hope these people are okay.
00:18:47
Amelie
Yeah.
00:18:49
Jo
yeah What happened these motherfuckers?
00:18:49
Amelie
it It's not complicated to understand who is who because there are a group of people, i would say, a ton of 15 people, and the storyline is good.
00:18:53
Jo
No. Easy.
00:18:58
Amelie
like It's really interesting. is They all know each other.
00:19:00
Jo
Yeah.
00:19:02
Amelie
It's like a small community. There is consequences linked with family, etc., etc. And it's plausible. It's plausible. It's not, as we said in French, tirer par les cheveux. You're like, really?
00:19:14
Amelie
No. This is possible.
00:19:15
Jo
This is completely possible.
00:19:15
Amelie
They're colleagues. They married together. He's a brother. He had an accident. So he arrived in the hospital.
00:19:23
Jo
Yeah.
00:19:24
Amelie
I know that person. It's your colleague. I know that person and because she's my sister. I know that person because he's my plumber, something like that. It's typically in the city, small village size.
00:19:35
Jo
Yeah, and this is yeah in Brooklyn. So yeah it is possible because it's kind of a neighborhood there. And I used to like be the doorman at a gay club in Vegas. gypsies news Gypsy doesn't exist anymore.
00:19:52
Jo
Gypsy was on a TV show about, well, save that nightclub. And they're like, you need to fire the owner because he's just using it on Coke. and Everything that came in, they just used he'd use it on drugs.
00:20:05
Jo
I think at this point I can say almost allegedly a wink, wink, but no, it was on camera for that one. And we wouldn't get our paychecks. And would get paid late a bit.
00:20:17
Jo
And the mother was making sure everyone kind of got paid at the same time. she would yell at you if she didn't know you were not on schedule. Like I would show up for my paycheck. And she's like, why are you late? I'm like like, bitch, I just came in for my check.
00:20:29
Jo
Like, what are you on my back for? I'm helping you out because I'm here to pick up my paycheck. But you didn't have staff at the front door. So you can't open up yet. So I'm here taking IDs and making sure when no one gets hurt inside on my day off.
00:20:45
Jo
And then she got like, oh, I'm sorry, sorry. I'm like, yeah, you know, she just blew up. That's about it. But you have that feeling. It was the, we were talking about this before. During the movie, why do people go to gay clubs for dancing?
00:21:01
Jo
Right? It's usually the safe place to dance if you are a woman. It's usually the place you want to go, if you want to dance. People will just leave you the fuck alone.
00:21:11
Amelie
yeah I have a lot of colleagues are from the gen X generation with a during the 80s and the 90s they would go to get club because it was safe
00:21:19
Jo
All the time.
00:21:20
Amelie
and the music was stopped uh yeah
00:21:22
Jo
Yeah. Music is amazing there. And and you're more mostly safe. Mostly safe. Mostly safe. Caveat. If you're an a-hole, you have to understand, we were talking about a movie right now, Queens of the Dead, about drag queens, and they are willing high heels, spikes.
00:21:42
Jo
If you're an a-hole and you get out of pocket, you are messing with someone with the strength of a man who has high heels. And I've had it seen that someone put a high heel through someone's temple before because they picked on the wrong motherfucker.
00:22:01
Jo
A little bit drunk, asshole.
00:22:01
Amelie
Sydney, Wollumulu. it's ah it was a quarter the It's the quarter nowadays of the gay community. I lived there for six months, if I remember.
00:22:13
Amelie
And a lot of Australians told me it used to be the poor quarter where a lot of nightclubs were on the street, street of Wollumulu.
00:22:20
Jo
Yeah. Yeah.
00:22:22
Amelie
And you had a lot of drag queens who were at the door. And there... completely berserk if you should do something stupid. big Like, the best doorman ever. So what you said, I believe. And they're fantastic.
00:22:35
Amelie
Plus, in the safety zone, if you're lost, if you have a problem, you have a two-meter-tall drag queen who's like, Hey, sweetie, hello, are you okay? You're not feeling okay? Come here, baby. We have toilets.
00:22:47
Amelie
Don't puke there. Come, come drink water. Come here. And if you want to call the police, they can just raise their hand and boom, seen. Which drag queen? Which wig? Purple, green, or yellow?
00:22:59
Jo
Right, which way?
00:22:59
Amelie
They're fantastic. They're great.
00:23:00
Jo
There
00:23:01
Amelie
Go to Wooloomooloo, ladies and gentlemen. If you go to Australia, Sydney, i' advise you to go a Saturday night at Wooloomooloo. There is a lot of clubs.
00:23:09
Jo
so go
00:23:10
Amelie
There is a lot of ah huge community of gay, lesbian, and there is a huge history there. I went there. I lived there. I loved it. And my favorite place,
00:23:23
Amelie
um Unfortunately, I forget the name. Sorry, guys. It was ah library, coffee shop, kickboxing gin.
00:23:35
Amelie
So you would go downstairs.
00:23:35
Jo
What?
00:23:36
Amelie
It's a kickboxing club. Upstairs, coffee shop, and on the side, a library.
00:23:42
Jo
Jeez.
00:23:43
Amelie
Yeah.
00:23:44
Jo
In Vegas, the library was a strip club.
00:23:50
Jo
mean
00:23:50
Amelie
Why not?
00:23:51
Jo
i mean, no, really.
00:23:51
Amelie
Why not?
00:23:52
Jo
it was called the library.
00:23:55
Amelie
Ah!
00:23:55
Jo
And it was a strip club.
00:23:57
Amelie
Where are you going?
00:23:57
Jo
Yeah, didn't they didn't have books.
00:23:58
Amelie
I'm going to the library. I'm going to the library.
00:24:01
Jo
Exactly, and that's why they did it. I'm going to library. And another thing that hits home really well is influencer culture. Because if you've been to a club opening or if you've been to a club trying to gain traction, they'll invite influencers over and do the live stream, baby, and da-da-da-da-da-da.
00:24:20
Jo
That's we do in this movie. This is exactly what happens with the fucking movie.
00:24:23
Amelie
I'll send you a picture of the bar I went recently with all the flowers.
00:24:29
Jo
Yeah, yeah.
00:24:30
Amelie
So there is a bar who just opened in the city center of Prague and you can go there, there is a restaurant, there is a more intimate ah rooms with a lot of flowers, there is a cocktail bar, etc.
00:24:43
Amelie
um
00:24:43
Jo
Yeah.
00:24:43
Amelie
So we went, my husband and I, for so a night out with a friend who came from Australia to visit. And it's beautiful, but it's over the top. And you can clearly see people nowadays want to be in a place where they can take a lot of pictures.
00:25:01
Amelie
And it's great, it's beautiful, but it's too much. Like the good old days when you just go to a place, have a good cocktail, or a good conversation, you know.
00:25:08
Jo
yeah
00:25:09
Amelie
And yes, it's beautiful, but you don't take pictures. You know what I mean? You just enjoy the moment, enjoy your soup, enjoy your cocktail. um Like it's it's too much.
00:25:18
Jo
Soup. You have, you have soup at the bar. You went to, you went to a bar like, uh, yo, body shots.
00:25:21
Amelie
ah Soup, I don't know, but sorry, it's the Japanese soup, you know, the Japanese soup, because last time I went out with ah with a friend, I went for a Japanese soup.
00:25:25
Jo
No, I want some soup. I need some chickle noodle soup. Jesus Christ.
00:25:33
Jo
Yeah. You want for soup?
00:25:35
Amelie
Yes, soup, Japanese soup, like the big Japanese, a four, big Japanese soup.
00:25:36
Jo
You're,
00:25:40
Amelie
Dude, I was in postpartum. I had my girl who invited me out. I went, it was a Japanese restaurant who sells you soup, you know the big soup, I don't remember.
00:25:50
Jo
I love how you take offense because you think I'm shaming you for having soup.
00:25:55
Amelie
Yes, you're shabbing me.
00:25:56
Jo
Like, dude, goddammit. I was hungry. was a bowl of soup. It was a strip club. I don't know where they got the soup from. a strip club. But I went to the strip club for the soup. And it was there.
00:26:06
Amelie
Yes, and it was there and it was delicious, right?
00:26:08
Jo
Yummy. It was yummy.
00:26:10
Amelie
Yes, and I befriended fantastic Kazakh
00:26:11
Jo
Got stuff swimming in it. You just got to kick it out.
00:26:15
Amelie
who was a stripper but also contortionist. And she worked in a Chinese circus when she was from 8 to 15 years old.
00:26:20
Jo
Oh, wow.
00:26:24
Amelie
So silence. You can do a lot of things with soup.
00:26:24
Jo
You're not a good friend.
00:26:25
Jo
You're not a good friend. Amelie.
00:26:26
Amelie
I like soup. Why? Do you want the Chinese woman to come and to do performance with you and serve you soup?
00:26:33
Jo
so Do I need to answer that question? Yeah, of course I do. Like, do I need to answer the question? Oh, yeah, I have this perfect person. Like, all right I'm like, what the fuck? I was in Prague.
00:26:44
Jo
You could have said, oh, by the way, we're going to get some soup. I'm like, sure are the doors playing like yeah they're playing light my fire oh see that would be a ah correct one they're playing money money billy idol money
00:26:58
Amelie
ah could last time like Next time you come to Prague, we will go to the place. We are going to take pictures of the beautiful flowers and you will see beautiful girls.
00:27:03
Jo
no no i'm not gonna you know how boring that would be for me but i understand saying understand i understand what're saying back in the day okay believe it or not kids before influencers Before influencers had a cell phone camera, we still had cell phones back in the day.
00:27:21
Jo
We just didn't take them with us.
00:27:25
Jo
We knew there were chains. And we left them at home. Why? Because we didn't want to be contacted. We wanted to go out and party. Plus, if you have a cell phone, that's one less thing of and drugs you could carry on you.
00:27:40
Jo
Because cell phones take space. This one folds in half.
00:27:50
Jo
This is soap, by the way. Things that you might keep in your pocket take space. Do you take your drugs or your cell phone with you?
00:27:58
Amelie
Why you You're really dumb.
00:28:00
Jo
<unk> Decision, decision.
00:28:03
Amelie
You take it before. You would go to a flat, drink, drink, drink, then take the drug, then leave the flat, go to the nightclub, have ferned funs fun, fun, fun, and leave.
00:28:09
Jo
Well, yeah.
00:28:15
Amelie
You do it before.
00:28:17
Jo
No, see, you're an amateur. You do it before. That's a given. You do it before. But once things start wearing off, you do it again.
00:28:28
Amelie
Yeah, but you go to the lounge after. And you've got people to...
00:28:34
Jo
lounge? Who's got a fucking lounge?
00:28:35
Amelie
Dude, dude.
00:28:36
Jo
We had clubs. didn't have lounges.
00:28:38
Amelie
but You go to the club and after going to the club, what do you do?
00:28:39
Jo
You millennial. Fucking spoiled millennial.
00:28:41
Amelie
You go to the lounge.
00:28:43
Jo
Look, I go to a lounge. Look, I'm i'm metropolitan.
00:28:46
Amelie
Yeah, you go to the lounge because the toilet has glasses.
00:28:46
Jo
I'm going to a lounge now. Oh, fancy. Do you put your finger out when you drink? Fancy pants. If you're a little soup, do you do your soup with this? Fancy pants. Yes, pre-party, pre-gaming.
00:28:57
Jo
We get it, pre-gaming. You have to do that. Otherwise, you're paying way too much for booze, way too much for anything else you want to pick up.
00:29:01
Amelie
correct.
00:29:05
Jo
But while you're there, you still need your stuff.
00:29:09
Amelie
Yeah, but you don't take so much. You take a little bit and then you have the table and where you know
00:29:12
Jo
Oh, no, course. I'm not saying take an entire stash. In today's Streaming Demons, we're talking about drug culture.
00:29:19
Amelie
and how to behave, what to do.
00:29:20
Jo
Yeah. Back in our day. But that's why we didn't have phones. And plus, if we didn't have phones in our face every day, how much funner would your life be at a club? You might even dance or get loose a bit.
00:29:35
Amelie
But you're not like how many people lost their phone.
00:29:35
Jo
Remember...
00:29:38
Amelie
Like, that's crazy. Don't take your phone. Take the minimum, just a little bit of cash.
00:29:42
Jo
Yeah, just little bit.
00:29:43
Amelie
Go have fun.
00:29:44
Jo
Amen. Yeah, don't take cards if you avoid it.
00:29:45
Amelie
You see what I mean? Like, that's a big fun of me and my friend. we We do night reception and there's these kids, often Canadian and American dude, young, like 18, 21 years old, max Yeah, I'm going out and everything. I'm going to be smashing. going la la Okay, don't take your phone.
00:30:04
Amelie
Take just cash. a Go, have fun, and go to the such and such nightclub just at 500 meters from the hotel like this.
00:30:07
Jo
Yeah.
00:30:13
Amelie
If there is any problem, you can come back three straight away.
00:30:16
Amelie
yet at yadada And yes, you can have an Uber ah with cash. There is no problem. There is taxi, there is stuff. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And now they lose the card, the American Express.
00:30:16
Jo
Yeah.
00:30:30
Amelie
How many times we hear the horror story with the American Express because now you can do tap and go with American Express.
00:30:37
Jo
yeah
00:30:37
Amelie
And they need to call American Express, block the card and everything. And they're like, oh.
00:30:41
Jo
It's more than American Express. North America, every car does that. And the phones, which is if you lose your phone and your credit cards, you're pretty much effed.
00:30:51
Amelie
Yeah.
00:30:51
Jo
And I agree. If you're 500 meters away, take check, especially in check. Take cash only, once it's spent to spend. And that's good clubbing no matter what. Because if you're drunk, you're not making, or if you're high and drunk, you're not making great decisions at this point.
00:31:04
Amelie
yeah
00:31:05
Jo
Keep your shit at home. And that way, when your money is spent, you go home. That's Vegas 101. Go to casino, go off $100 in your pocket, nothing else. You lose it, you're gone.
00:31:15
Amelie
fall in France this is a culture we always go out
00:31:16
Jo
All done.
00:31:21
Amelie
with men and women together so you will always here group of French people 5 16 three woman's remand it's a lot and everybody has a buddy so for example if I come with Sophie I'm going to stay with Sophie if you coming with my own you're going to stay with my own can be your girlfriend your friend your neighbor your cuisine whatsoever have a buddy okay am
00:31:41
Jo
Marion's my cousin. Wait, wait, wait. You're saying Marion is my cousin, girlfriend, neighbor? What? How the hell can she be all all three of them?
00:31:46
Amelie
either way you see what I mean he's away
00:31:48
Jo
You say Marion's my cousin, my girlfriend, and my neighbor? You motherfucking insane Alabama.
00:31:52
Amelie
So it's always like together, girl, boys, all together, right?
00:31:55
Jo
Sorry, Alabama. Love you. Yeah,
00:31:58
Amelie
can be one or two cars. There is always one person or two person who doesn't drink. We call it the Sam. When you're Sam, you often have free drink, water, soda, etc., discount, discountitter ah You look after everyone. And we really have this culture in front of if it's your birthday, you can be fucked up drunk, but we're going to look after you.
00:32:19
Amelie
to see if nobody is going to hurt you and everything.
00:32:24
Jo
i
00:32:24
Amelie
And boys and girls, they really have fun together and they look after each other. If somebody is sick, there is always somebody who's like, okay, she's with me. She's my buddy. I'm going to take her back home, text everyone, come back to the party later on. You see what I mean?
00:32:38
Amelie
It's really like that, like really in society.
00:32:41
Jo
Well, and that's the good clubbing type thing. And going back to the movie, that's exactly kind of what happens.
00:32:44
Amelie
Mm-hmm.
00:32:47
Jo
We feel that type of vibe in this movie. We feel this type of vibe in the movie because a is well-written, but the acting is phenomenal.
Standout Performances
00:32:57
Jo
And like Nina West is in this one.
00:32:59
Jo
And ne if you don't know Nina West, check them out at RuPaul's Drag Race and Wilder Yankovic's story. But Nina West is amazing in this film. I mean, honestly, I can think watch.
00:33:17
Jo
If you want to know people who are amazing in this film, here we go. Where is it? Cady O'Brien, amazing as Dre. Rick Lindholm, amazing as Lizzie.
00:33:29
Jo
Jack Heaven, amazing as Kelsey. Cheyenne Jackson, amazing as Jimmy. going to skip one. Seanette Renee Wilson, amazing as Tiger. And that's like, you you actually do like Tiger. you mean You might not remember the name though.
00:33:46
Jo
The one with the stripes on the face. Margaret Cho. I don't even like Margaret Cho. And I thought Margaret Cho was good in this film.
00:33:53
Amelie
Why? I like her!
00:33:55
Amelie
Like she was great! Where's my wife?
00:33:55
Jo
I went to film.
00:33:58
Jo
She's great. I just can't stand her as a comedian.
00:33:59
Amelie
Yes!
00:34:01
Jo
I don't, I don't care either way as a person.
00:34:02
Amelie
Oh!
00:34:04
Jo
And I actually said, it's the funny thing about Margaret Cho for me is I think she's a good actress. I just can't stand her as a comedian.
00:34:11
Jo
Like I liked, it's weird. Cause I kind of like her earlier stuff. And then she came back from a special and she's like, i what the fuck is this? It's just not me.
00:34:18
Amelie
She is the first lesbian comedian I heard about. in France.
00:34:23
Jo
Not that you heard about.
00:34:24
Amelie
She was...
00:34:25
Jo
She's not the first lesbian comedian, though.
00:34:26
Amelie
no, but she's the first one. That's why I have a huge respect to others.
00:34:29
Jo
That you heard about. No, no. She's the first one you heard about. She's not the first one.
00:34:32
Amelie
Yes, yes.
00:34:34
Jo
there's a There's a little distinction there.
00:34:34
Amelie
So in France, we have a channel who is called Canal Plus, Channel 4.
00:34:41
Jo
Yeah.
00:34:42
Amelie
It was a private channel. C'est le satellite. Satellite, parabole. And I heard about her because reporter made a special thing about stand-up comedian.
00:34:55
Amelie
And they show her, and it was a big slap in my face. She was lesbian, Korean. She was like, I'm an American.
00:35:07
Amelie
ugly. I don't care. I'm a failure. Look at me. She was unapologetic. And that just gave me chills.
00:35:15
Jo
Wait, she's a failure?
00:35:18
Amelie
She joked about the fact of her mother, when she gave birth to her, she was like, you know, your mother, she look at you when you are born and it's like you're going to be a teacher ah you're going to be president.
00:35:24
Jo
and Okay.
00:35:28
Jo
That type of failure. Okay.
00:35:28
Amelie
And oh, oh, we fucked. We fucked with you. Like she she's great. But from my point of view, as a French girl, where maybe 15 years old, i was like, wow, she's joking about her period and.
00:35:44
Amelie
She's just, she's not pretty, pretty. She's unapodologic. She's like, yeah, fuck it. I'm ugly. Fuck you. like You know what I mean? That was really interesting to see that American was like, yeah, I'm a lesbian.
00:36:00
Amelie
Fuck it. And I'm like, yeah, ah yeah. After fall asleep.
00:36:04
Jo
Yeah, and maybe that's where I have homage with the comedy because I couldn't give a fuck about anyone's sexual identity. If there's...
00:36:11
Amelie
Yeah.
00:36:12
Jo
like i like I'm a lesbian and fuck it. I'm cool, great. And what ah what else do you have? I
00:36:16
Amelie
Yeah, but the thing is you need to understand, it's TV.
00:36:20
Jo
um need don't need to understand anything. But yeah.
00:36:22
Amelie
It's TV. It's a representation. Who is representing you if you're lesbian? Like, Hélène, Cho, this kind of thing.
00:36:32
Jo
Oh, who's representing me if I am a lesbian?
00:36:33
Amelie
You know what I mean?
00:36:40
Jo
Glenn Lerner, the heavy hitter. No, wait. That's who represent me if I get in a car accident. Hold on. Hold on.
00:36:51
Jo
You know who did the the best lesbian comedian? I don't want to out this person because don't think they're out. ah Well, you know, whatever. and They're not going to listen to this anymore. They're dead.
00:37:03
Jo
Norm MacDonald was the best lesbian comedian, in my opinion. My learned comedian, Norm MacDonald.
00:37:08
Amelie
truth
00:37:10
Jo
But if we...
00:37:10
Amelie
But I mean, like pop culture, like in the lesbian community, like whose actress is sexiest, what movie we should watch and we are not a caricature and stuff like that stand up comedian. She was like, yeah, look at me.
00:37:25
Amelie
ah I'm not going to get married and have kids. and you know And that was a cultural shock for me when I looked at her. We have a famous lesbian in France. for years and years on.
00:37:38
Amelie
um And yeah, she's great. She's really smart. She works with ONG and stuff like that. like she She's fantastic. She's a very interesting woman, very intellectual, very interesting woman.
00:37:50
Amelie
But yeah not the sexiest. You see what I mean? So watching her, even if she's not the sexiest either, I like her. I like the vibe she she gave.
00:38:03
Jo
i I mean, sure. It's her own comedy subjective. ah For me, I was like, I said, I liked her earlier stuff. I didn't quite like the the latter work for her, but I liked her as an actress.
00:38:14
Amelie
Do you like soup?
00:38:16
Jo
I don't like Sue.
00:38:17
Amelie
You don't like soup.
00:38:19
Jo
I really don't. but Tom Savini is in this as well. And Tom Savini does a character so well. and It's written so smartly and it's so accurate. It's scary. I won't spoil it, but he's the mayor during a crisis.
00:38:35
Jo
And it's funny. It's brief. It's a little inside Easter eggy. And it works. It's a cameo that works really well. like i'm something Even the cameos work well.
00:38:45
Jo
And I don't know if Margaret Cho would be a cameo per se because she has a bit more of a role. But Savini really is a cameo. And it dials it in in about five minutes.
00:38:59
Jo
And it just pops off the screen. So the acting is phenomenal. The writing is phenomenal. the Everything is...
Comedy Horror Blend
00:39:06
Jo
This movie is billed as a comedy horror.
00:39:11
Jo
And I agree of both. It's a comedy horror, and I think it does both well.
00:39:13
Amelie
Me too.
00:39:17
Amelie
Yes. And you can really feel the actor really work. Like they liked it, they enjoyed it, they had fun to do it, and they put their heart um on the text. It's really well done.
00:39:27
Jo
Yeah.
00:39:28
Amelie
It's really fun to watch.
00:39:30
Jo
Yeah, this is like Shaun of the Dead ah told from Ed's point of view.
00:39:37
Jo
You know, it's the... Because Dre is a bit of a... Not a fuck up in a bad way. Because the character of Dre is busting her ass hard to make money, to make a living, and just striking out, having a lot of stuff stacked against her and stuff like that.
00:39:55
Jo
But it's kind of like, let's go hold up here at the club. It's one of those and you can have to go outside and all these other madness things. Overall, special effects were good.
00:40:08
Jo
I mean, the special effects were solid. I think some were kind of mixed effects, but the zombie makeup was fantastic. imagine that this zombie movie it was great and they have just like the lineage again they make a commentary on the idiot box in your hand your phones that you can't put down and try I have people who try to hide using their phone I'm like is your neck broke because you've been staring your crotch for 20 minutes and it glows if my crotch glowed
00:40:48
Jo
I think I would have to go see a doctor. God, doc. Yeah, what's happening? ah ah it but Down there.
00:40:54
Amelie
But what would you do if you what what you do is a person says, well, my crotch actually shines, look.
00:40:55
Jo
Is burning?
00:41:00
Jo
It shines. Yeah, it's the holy light.
00:41:02
Amelie
shines.
00:41:04
Jo
And I like to click it. and makes noises when I click don't want touch it, like clicking. Yeah, so it's the idiot box in your hand. It makes a commentary on that, and it does it smartly. i think you're right when you said there were caricatures Of a lot of people.
00:41:20
Jo
But they're done so and no one's spared. Which is what i like about this movie where other movies like they have like the straw man bad guy like oh. you know it could very well have been queens of the dead straw man straight male.
00:41:37
Jo
But they didn't do that. They didn't like have the one like the the straight male figure and there would be the straw man. They had him be a real person. and i And I do appreciate that.
00:41:49
Jo
It could have been exactly like pile on movie, but it wasn't. It was like we're all in this together movie. And I think that's what the preaching is. Everyone is in it together. And that's beautifully said, right? In the movie a couple times.
00:42:04
Jo
So I like this movie. It's coming out. If you want to watch this movie, I say... I think this theoretical worthy. I would spend money for the theater.
00:42:15
Amelie
Definitely. Mm-hmm.
00:42:16
Jo
You too? Yeah. It's little bit over an hour and a half. It's got some inside stuff. at At the end, I won't say anything, but in a way, Pete Davidson and Colin Jost make a special appearance at the end.
00:42:32
Jo
And i'll I'll tell you, I'll point them out to you after the ah taping. But it's a really well done. It's stupidly well done movie. October 24th is the release in theaters. Go check it out.
00:42:46
Jo
It's, I think, family friendly. i think for this is actually, i'm not sure. Let me check the rating real fast. But some violence and drug use, right?
00:42:58
Jo
But that's about it. There's no over sexuality. There's no... I don't think it's got a rating yet. Would you take like, not little, little kids, not like five-year-olds, but teenagers, right?
00:43:13
Amelie
13 years old.
00:43:14
Jo
Yeah, I think that's fair. It doesn't quite have a rating on this spec sheet yet. But 13 is about fair. I would say, why not type thing, you know? And, oh, yeah, in theaters, Friday, October 24th.
00:43:29
Jo
Check it out. It is Queens of the Dead, directed by Tina Romero. A bunch of people starring. And you're going to have some fun times.
00:43:41
Jo
This going drive some people nuts because it's Queens of the Dead. But fuck them. They don't to go Everyone else, grab your popcorn. Let's go. And that that's it for us. This is ah this a good one.
00:43:54
Jo
So thanks again for sticking with us. Tina Romero's Queens of the Dead with the IFC, independent film company, and
Final Recommendations
00:44:01
Jo
Shudder. it's It's award-winning. It's it's cleaning up for the war shows, and deservedly so.
00:44:06
Jo
There's not a dull moment. It flies by. It's 99 minutes, and it flies, and everything is great. Is a perfect movie? No. There's no perfect movie, but damn near close. Damn, we're close.
00:44:17
Jo
Check it out. That's my thing. I'm a jigger. And check it out in the theater. Honestly, it's it's worth going to the theater. I'm buying a ticket later on. That's it for myself and Emily. We bid you good day.
00:44:29
Jo
Bye, everyone. Click, like, subscribe, do whatever. As my good friend Dr. Payne would say, who cares? Bye-bye.