Tina Romero, daughter of George, co-wrote the very queer take on the zombie genre alongside Boston comedian Erin Judge
By Nick A. Zaino IIIUpdated October 24, 2025, 11:33 a.m.
When Erin Judge was performing stand-up in Boston nearly 20 years ago, it would have been impossible to guess she would wind up co-writing a zombie movie with Tina Romero, daughter of zombie film pioneer George Romero, who made “Night of the Living Dead,” “Dawn of the Dead,” and “Day of the Dead.” But there were signs.
Judge has always been a social and political satirist, going back to her days hosting her sketch revue “Erin Judge Presents” at the original Comedy Studio in the Hong Kong in Harvard Square. Judge remembers doing a zombie sketch in 2005, an early collaboration with Romero, a DJ and filmmaker. “It heavily involved the ‘Thriller’ choreography,” said Judge, speaking by Zoom along with Romero. “Tina choreographed it and came and taught the comedians and me how to do the ‘Thriller’ dance as part of this sketch that we did on stage at the Comedy Studio.”
“I forgot about that,” said Romero, who also directed the movie. “Maybe we were somehow laying the groundwork for this.
The duo’s new collaboration is “Queens of the Dead,” a new zombie movie opening this weekend about a group of drag artists, influencers, and clubgoers in Brooklyn battling for their lives after a zombie plague hits the city.
Judge, a 2002 Wellesley graduate, met Romero at her alma mater through a mutual friend while Romero was still a student there. As queer women with a lot of friends in common, the two bonded quickly, but drifted geographically and professionally in the years after meeting. Judge continued performing stand-up and hosts a regular show at the Ripped Bodice romantic bookstore in Los Angeles, and published a novel called “Vow of Celibacy” in 2016. Romero became a popular DJ in New York under the name DJ TRx.