Tomas Matos to Star in Tina Romero’s Horror Comedy “Queens of the Dead”

Tomas Matos will be royally horrified

The 26-year-old Latinx artist and social justice advocate will star in Queens of the Dead, a new horror comedy directed by Tina Romero, the daughter of legendary director George A. Romero.

Tomas MatosMatos will star alongside Katy O’BrianMargaret ChoBrigette Lundy-Paine, Cheyenne Jackson, Nina West, Jaquel Spivey, Quincy Dunn-Baker, Becca Blackwell, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Dominique Jackson, Riki Lindhome and Eve Lindley in the film.

Co-written by Erin Judge and Tina Romero, the film pays tribute to the zombies from the elder Romero’s classic zombie films with a fresh, contemporary and queer twist, promising to offer a genre-smashing, glam-gore thrill ride through the zombie apocalypse.

From Vanishing Angle, the film follows an eclectic group of drag queens, club kids, and frenemies who must put aside their personal dramas and use their unique skills to combat the brain-thirsty undead when a zombie apocalypse breaks out during their drag show in Brooklyn.

George A. Romero, often referred to as the “Godfather of Zombies,” revolutionized the horror genre with his groundbreaking films Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, with his work influencing countless filmmakers and becoming a cornerstone of modern horror.

Following George’s 2017 passing, Tina Romero looks to carry the torch with a talent-rich film loaded with practical effects, jump scares, laughs, and lumbering zombies amassing on the streets of Brooklyn. Given its focus on the historically disenfranchised LGBTQ+ population, the film should fit in naturally with George A. Romero’s oeuvre, which used a zombie apocalypse to examine social injustice, among many other themes.

“This is the cast of my wildest dreams. In a movie about survival, you gotta love and root for the survival crew,” said Romero in a statement about the project. “Every single person in this ensemble brings such a special and specific flavor -both on and off screen. The result is truly a magic sauce.”

Matos’ previous credits include Fire Island and Fantasmas.

Guillermo Díaz Wraps Production on Indie Thriller “You Can’t Stay Here”

Guillermo Díaz isn’t staying here

The 47-year-old Cuban American actor has wrapped production in New York of his upcoming indie thriller You Can’t Stay Here.

Guillermo Diaz, You Can’t Stay HereThe film is loosely inspired by real events in New York City in the 1990’s. It follows a photographer (Díaz), who witnesses the brutal murder of a gay man in Central Park. When the cops take little interest in the crime, a relationship develops between the photographer and the killer.

“I have been a fan of Guillermo since his first film and when he approached me about wanting to work on something together, I jumped at the chance and came up with the story for You Can’t Stay Here, ” said director Todd Verow, who produces through his Bangor Films. “It is a film about queer cruising and finding love and real human connections in the most unlikely places. While set in the 1990s, the film’s themes of homophobia, social hysteria, and finding oneself in a dangerous and intolerant world are as resonant as ever today.”

The script was penned by Verow and his longtime collaborator James Derek Dwyer.

The cast also includes Becca Blackwell, Justin Ivan Brown, Vanessa Aspillaga, Marlene Forte, Jack Waters, Karina Arroyave, Jordan Hall and Michael Vaccaro.

Díaz, who will be seen in Universal Pictures’ upcoming comedy Bros, also serves as one of the film’s producers alongside Verow, James Kleinmann, and Christian DiPillo.

Diaz’s television credits include Scandal and Law & Order: Organized Crime.