Slay Proves Queer Joy Can Be Bloody Fun [Tubi Horror Review]

Genres – Horror, Comedy
Director – Jem Garrard
Writer – Jem Garrard
Cast – Trinity the Tuck, Heidi N Closet and Crystal Methyd, and Cara Melle.
Runtime – 99 Minutes
My Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐☆☆☆☆

Watch/Stream Slay on Tubi for free

If you know anything about me, you will know I like watching low budget trashy horror films, for some of dumb fun and good to put on when I want to turn my brain off. and Tubi is the perfect platform to find them.

So I will be doing mini reviews, well more statements, about these films, much shorter than my other reviews, and my ratings for the films will generally be based on how much fun they are in a trashy dumb way, because not many of them are actually good in the objective sense.

All my Tubi horror film reviews

Slay

Four drag queens, booked at the wrong venue, manage to win over an unfriendly crowd when they become the dive bar’s defenders against a vampire attack.

My Thoughts on Slay

Campy, loud, and proudly queer

Slay embraces its ridiculous premise of drag queens vs. vampires and never apologizes for it, and it’s big, messy, theatrical, and fully committed to camp.

Drag energy carries the film

The queens here may not be trained actors, but their charisma is endearing in a fun way, and when the jokes landt, they land better than I thought, and their personalities help keep even the slower scenes alive.

A premise built for fun

A misbooked drag show in a nowhere bar that suddenly gets attacked by vampires? So simple and stupid, yet fun.

Surprising heart

Between glitter gags and blood splatter, the film sneaks in some really honest moments about identity, chosen family, and acceptance.

Queer messaging unapologetic

The film openly mocks bigotry, and I am all for that.

Clunky CGI blood

The digital splatter is rough, very rough, and it looks like it was added five minutes before export.

Awkward action scenes

The fights are more flailing than choreography, and while sometimes it works as intentional camp, mostly it just looks messy.

Performances

The queens do OK with the comedy but everything else isn’t exactly polished.

Vampires

Some of the vampires look cool, while others look like Halloween store leftovers.

Humor

Plenty of the jokes land fine, but plenty don’t, and the ratio varies depending on which queen is front and center.

Sweet moments

Some of the scenes are both ridiculous and heartfelt.

Genre blend works

Part drag comedy, part vampire siege flick, part small town satire – somehow it works better than it really should.

Final Thoughts on Slay

I was hoping Slay would be so trashy and bad that it would also be somewhat fun, and it was.

It’s full of campiness and personality, and while it’s far from polished, it never needed to be, as it’s here to entertain, make you laugh, and celebrate queer joy wrapped in some vampire chaos.

It’s exactly the sort of movie that thrives when it stops trying to be “good” and just commits to being itself.

6/10

UP: Fun concept, big personality, heartfelt moments, drag charisma, campy charm
DOWN: Weak effects, uneven acting, messy action, vampire design

Slay Trailer

Simon Leasher

A lover of cinema for over 35 years, I have watched many films from around the world in many different genres, yet I still normally always come back to trashy slasher horror films when in doubt. More

And yes, The Godfather 2 is better than The Godfather.