Interview: Margaret Cho & Jack Haven Face a Glittery Zombie Apocalypse in QUEENS OF THE DEAD

Margaret Cho in Tina Romer's QUEENS OF THE DEAD | Courtesy of Shannon Madden. An Independent Film Company and Shudder Release

By Shannon McGrew

In QUEENS OF THE DEAD, from director Tina Romero, daughter of legendary horror director George Romero, a zombie apocalypse breaks out in Brooklyn on the night of a giant warehouse party, where an eclectic group of drag queens, club kids, and frenemies must put aside their drama and use their unique skills to fight against the brain-thirsty, scrolling undead. 

For the release of QUEENS OF THE DEAD, Creepy Kingdom’s Shannon McGrew spoke with Margaret Cho and Jack Haven, who play Pops and Kelsey, a butch-femme couple trying to survive a terrifying but glitter-fueled zombie apocalypse. During their chat, they discussed everything from their experiences on set, what drew them to their characters, and how the film celebrates queerness and horror without compromise. 

Thank you both so much for speaking with me today. When you first read the script, what stood out to you about this world that Tina created?

Jack Haven: It was so funny, and it was so familiar. Tina is genuinely part of this scene; she’s a DJ, and she knows these types of places. Right away, I read that and I was like, this is exactly how it would go down.  

Margaret Cho: I heard the concept and I was like, Oh, of course. First, you hear Romero, and I’m like an old school horror fan, and I love her father’s films. So for me, of course. This is the next generation. This is exactly what it should be, and this is exactly how it’s going to go down. I read the title, description, and her name, and I was like, Of course. Then I read the script, and to me it was very apparent that this was the right thing because you can tell when something has that kind of genre magic, especially in horror. You recognize it. So to me, this was really going to be a special thing. 

Katy O'Brian and Jack Haven in Tina Romero's QUEENS OF THE DEAD | Courtesy of Shannon Madden. An Independent Film Company and Shudder Release

I love Pops and Kelsey so much, and Margaret, I love that you have a scooter gang in this movie. When looking at your characters, what did you connect most with them?

Margaret Cho: The scooter was hard. I never ever rode one. The first day that I rode one was the first day that we shot. I had to learn how to ride, and I was super scared. No matter how many films you’ve done, you still get that first day of school feeling. I don’t know if you feel that, Jack, but I have first-day-of-school feelings, like kindergarten, no matter what it is. So that, combined with I’m an old woman who also should not be riding a scooter and had never done it before, and then had to appear like I did it all the time, there were a lot of things happening in my mind [Laughs].  It was fun after I got the hang of it, but I was glad when that scene was done. 

Jack Haven: I have this part of myself so ingrained in my heart, this girly girl is always with me, and she’s always dying to come out, so I was really excited for the opportunity to put the wig on and the little outfit and just be wide-eyed at everything. I love how sort of off the rails everything gets in this movie, and like being left alone on the floor, getting drunk, like that’s such a dream. It’s actually scripted that she sings a little made-up song on the floor, and so I was pretty excited for that. They were trying to cut it, and I said, " Wait, wait, wait, when do I get to sing the little song?” [Laughs]. 

I love that the film celebrates horror and queerness without compromise. How did it feel for you both to be part of a project that leans fully into both? 

Jack Haven: It felt like a moment of arrival because I think as an actor you’re navigating through based on your needs of financial security and a next job or whatever. When you get to come into something like this, that’s totally a celebration of each other and a celebration of the horror genre, too, which I’m also just such a lover of horror. Being around people who are just so silly and down to have a great time every day felt really rewarding. 

Margaret Cho: I love how each of the archetypes are represented, that you have non-binary people, you have trans people, you have drag, you have butch lesbians, you have the cis white man, you have Blackness, you have whiteness, you have Brown people, you have Asians, to me it’s all of these different elements that make up queer, that make up the rainbow. It’s not forced in any way. It’s very natural. Of course, we’re all at the drag show, we’re all trying to escape from the zombies, who are also the mirror image of who we are, coming at us trying to kill us, but they’re all glittery and fabulous. 

QUEENS OF THE DEAD is now in theaters.