By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Every now and then, I watch a double feature of movies completely by accident. Not that long ago, for example, I stumbled on two films featuring drag queens fighting undead monsters. The first was Queens of the Dead, which featured some bigger names (like muscle mommy Katy O’Brian) and was directed by George Romero’s daughter, Tina. The second was Slay (2024), a low-budget, direct-to-streaming video featuring a handful of RuPaul’s Drag Race contestants I had never heard of.
Considering that it premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, featured a couple of my favorite actors, and had the Romero name attached, I thought I would enjoy Queens of the Dead more, but I found the movie to be poorly paced, too preachy, and short on both humor and frights. Meanwhile, Slay proved to be a lo-fi delight full of hilarious moments, shocking scares, and surprisingly solid characterization. If you’re looking for a transgressive horror movie that’s perfect to watch with a few friends and a few beers, you can now stream this Tubi original, completely for free.
Slay, Queen
The premise of Slay is that a group of drag queens is touring the country and is excited to perform at their next venue, which is supposed to be a legendary gay bar. Due to a mix-up, however, they show up at a redneck bar in the middle of nowhere, one filled with bikers and hillbillies who don’t cotton to drag shows. Before the two groups can tear each other apart, though, they must band together to fight an entirely new threat: a group of vampires intending to feed on the entire bar, one victim at a time.
Unless you’re a big fan of RuPaul’s Drag Race, you may not recognize most of the stars of Slay. The film features several competitors from that show, including Trinity the Tuck, Heidi N Closet, and Crystal Method; the film also stars Cara Melle, a veteran of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. Aside from these performers, the biggest name in the movie is Neil Sandilands, who is best known for Sweet Tooth, but superhero fans may best remember him as The Thinker from CW’s The Flash.
A Movie Worth Sinking Your Teeth Into
Rather than getting a theatrical release, Slay was created by Tubi and released directly to their free streaming platform. Most who have watched the movie agree that it’s a great addition to the streamer’s growing library of free content, and one that effectively adds value for consumers. Tubi is already the perfect platform for watching a mind-boggling number of classic movies and shows without paying a subscription fee; now, on top of that, you get a steady flow of original programming that you can’t find anywhere else.
Slay is far enough under the radar that few professional reviewers have commented on it, but on Rotten Tomatoes, all of the critics who have watched it recommend it. In general, the critics praised how the film packs major laughs and genuine scares, proving that you don’t need a big budget to create a killer horror film. Critics also praised this drag queen vampire thriller for easily integrating its important themes into the plot without ever getting overly preachy or overly sentimental.
A Campy Movie Worth Watching With Friends
That’s about where I landed on Slay: it’s far from a perfect film, but the simplicity of its premise gives it a lo-fi energy that perfectly accentuates the setting. We’re ultimately watching colorful characters (seriously, you don’t have to like drag performances to laugh at these over-the-top personalities) huddling together and trying to keep undead monsters from breaking into this hole-in-the-wall bar. Basically, if you enjoyed Night of the Living Dead, The Evil Dead, or Cabin in the Woods, you are likely to enjoy this simple, streamlined story.
One common criticism of Slay is that the primary performers are very obviously not trained actors, which is true, but that also contributes to the charm of the movie. More often than not, the characters’ fun chemistry and delightfully silly dialogue are enough to carry any given scene. But the occasional weird line read or bizarre acting choice only accentuates the campy charisma of this modern-day B-movie, which should really resonate with anyone who grew up watching cheesy VHS movies from the local home video store.
A Window Into Another World
Finally, as I mentioned earlier, Slay touches on important themes about acceptance, found family, and identity exploration without ever getting overly preachy. This, too, is part of the film’s charm: it never gets lost in the need to send a heavy-handed message (something that happened constantly in Queens of the Dead) and focuses instead on telling a great story. As the person watching, this gives you options: you can enjoy this film as a bold triumph of intersectional introspection, or you can enjoy it simply as a funny, raunchy romp about killing vampires, one staking at a time.
Will you agree that Slay is a hilariously transgressive horror hit, or will this film make you want to “drag” the remote over to change the channel? The only way to find out is to stream it today on Tubi. Should this film awaken your own need to adopt a drag name for yourself, let me be the first to warn you: “Buffy the Vampire Layer” is probably already taken!
