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If you’ve seen the trailer or read about “Slay,” then yes, it is exactly the movie that you think it is. If you took “Priscilla Queen of the Dessert” and mixed it with “From Dusk Til Dawn” then you have what is essentially “Slay.” No more, no less. The thing about “Slay” though is that it is a siege horror comedy with vampires and drag queens it at least takes time to make up some of its own rules for vampire. This is a creative move despite the fact it’s also a trick use to cover up the movie’s obviously low budget. And I can’t complain, because the movie makes lemonade out of lemons.
Writer/director Jem Garrard is LGBTQ so they never really shy away from their intentions with “Slay.” It’s an all out celebration of the drag artform that also acts as a means of empowerment for our troupe of traveling drag queens that end up stuck in a small town. Four drag queens, Mama Sue Flay (Trinity The Tuck), Robin Banks (Heidi N Closet), Bella Da Boys (Crystal Methyd), and Olive Wood (Cara Melle) are on tour in their roving mobile camper. Like most touring entertainers, they’re completely broke and decide to take a job to even their expenses for gas and whatnot. Thankfully their next big job is at The Bold Tuck, a well known drag club.
Except they’re mistakenly booked at the wrong club, known as The Bold Buck. This club is packed with bikers and truckers, all of whom are disgusted at the presence of this small group of entertainers. Despite their initial worry they decide to perform anyway. But at that same time there’s an outbreak of vampirism that creeps in to the club. Soon vampires are munching on locals, and the group of Queens have to fight if they hope to see daylight. “Slay” thankfully never gets too serious, but also never transforms its group of drag queens in to jokes, either. They’re very dignified and empowered performers that stand up to bullies, and often times clap back at hecklers.
When the vampires begin to lay siege on the club, their personas act as a form of personal strength where they’re able to team with other victims and help tackle the vampire menace. For the sake of budget reasons, these vampires are a tad different meaning they burst in to glitter when they’re staked, and so much of the action is confined to the club and not much else. That, thankfully, doesn’t hinder the entertainment value of the film as Jem Garrard’s script is clever, fun, and keeps the vampires always creepy and relentlessly vicious.
The big caveat is that “Slay” does tend to go on a bit too long, especially in the end where it kind of runs out of fumes and seems to build loopholes to prevent becoming a straight-faced horror movies. This utterly destroys the high stakes and thus the imminent threat that were the vampires. “Slay” is, nonetheless, a fun and entertaining horror comedy with solid collective performances from the cast, a unique twist on a classic formula, and some very interesting approaches to social commentary.