Slay

Let me be honest: I didn't know about ' Slay' until I browsed Neil Sandilands' profile, and the only reason I decided to watch the movie is because of Neil Sandilands.

2023 saw the release of 'Summoning Sylvia' starring contestants of RuPaul's Drag Race. That was the first séance/possession movie I've seen with a predominantly gay cast. Now, with the release of 'Slay', it is the first predominantly gay vampire movie - of this caliber - I've ever seen, and once again starring contestants from RuPaul's Drag Race.

Neil Sandilands stars as Dusty, owner of a bar called The Bold Buck. Drag queens Mama Sue Flay (Trinity the Tuck), Robin Banks (Heidi N Closet), Olive Wood (Cara Melle), and Bella Da Boys (Crystal Methyd) are to perform at the bar due to a booking blunder. Butch biker guys make fun of them on arrival.

Undaunted, the drag queens go ahead with their show, but during their first act a vampire stumbles into the bar and attacks one of the patrons. And this is just the start of a vampire attack that will see the queens and the patrons fight for survival.

Although there are quite a bit of blood and gore, it is done in such a funny way that it will leave the audience roaring with laughter instead of cringing. Yes, it is maybe a bit silly at times, but generally funny and definitely entertaining. It's like 'To Wong Foo' meets 'From Dusk Till Dawn'.

The performances from the drag queens were pretty good. Then again, I suppose being real drag queens, they were in their comfort zone. The film also has a nice soundtrack, and for most parts the make-up (and I'm not referring to the queens' make-up) also weren't too shabby (for a horror comedy).

'Slay' offers a good dose of action, humour and a few interesting visuals, blended into a campy movie with bite! I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Dusty was still the best character for me, and I enjoyed his back story and character development. I also liked Travis (Daniel Janks), another character who developed through the course of the movie.