SCARBOROUGH – The scene: A bucolic country road with the summer sun filtering through the bright green leaves being rustled by the soft breeze.
The set up: Despite the singing of the birds and the relative calm, it’s clear something is horribly wrong, as there’s a roadblock manned by men with guns.
On Monday the cast and crew of the Maine-made movie, “Night of the Living Deb,” filmed that scenario at Scarborough Downs.
Scott Taylor, the movie’s production manager, said the script called for a country road, and he thought Scarborough Downs would be a perfect place to film, since the road to the harness racing track is private and could be easily shut down to through traffic.
Taylor said most of the filming for the 18-day shoot of “Night of the Living Deb” has taken place in Portland, both on the street and at a local sound stage, but he turned to Scarborough Downs for the filming of the country road scene.
Susan Higgins, marketing director for the track, located off Route 1, said the cast and crew were also invited to live racing on Saturday afternoon and Taylor said one of the movie’s stars, the actor Ray Wise, bet on a horse and won.
Overall, Taylor said, the production is indebted to Scarborough Downs, the Scarborough Police Department, the town’s Department of Public Works and Karen Martin, president and executive director of the Scarborough Economic Development Corp., for their help in making the shoot in Scarborough happen.
Taylor said the movie he is making with director Kyle Rankin is a romantic comedy set in the middle of a zombie apocalypse – a scenario he said would appeal to a “specific niche market.”
According to the movie’s website, “Night of the Living Deb” tells the story of Deb Clarington, a hardworking 30-year-old, who wakes up on Christmas morning with a stranger in her bed and the realization that her hometown has been taken over by zombies.
Taylor said the marketing goal for the movie is to go the festival route, from Sundance to the Toronto Film Festival, with the “high hope” the film will be picked up and distributed to mainline movie theaters.
Rankin, who grew up in York and attended the University of Maine, said making it to theaters would be “the holy grail.” His more realistic goal is for cable television or a streaming service like Netflix to pick up his unusual science fiction film.
But, Rankin added, “you never know, we could be making a cult hit.”
“Night of the Living Deb” stars Maria Thayer, who appeared in the hit movie “Forgetting Sarah Marshall;” Michael Cassidy, best known for the TBS sitcom “Men at Work;” and Wise, who has a long list of credits, although he may be best known for playing the villain Ian Ward on the CBS soap opera, “The Young and the Restless.”
Rankin won the “Project Greenlight” contest for aspiring young filmmakers with fellow Mainer Efrem Potelle more than a decade ago and together the two made the multi-million dollar film, “The Battle of Shaker Heights.”
Rankin, who moved to Los Angeles in 2002, said he’s been hoping to make a movie in Maine again for the past 10 years. However, there’s been no way to convince a major studio to film a production locally, Rankin said, particularly due to the lack of incentives provided by the state.
That’s why he is making “Night of the Living Deb” with money raised through a crowdfunding campaign, as well as with funds provided by a number of private investors from Maine.
Rankin said, “It’s great to be home,” adding that he’s been overwhelmed with the support his movie is receiving.
He said the production has gotten a number of key items for free, and other local businesses have provided significant discounts, including the Portland Harbor Hotel, where the cast and crew are staying.
The other thing that’s been great about filming in Maine, Rankin said, is that “the people are not jaded” and are excited about being extras or helping out with the production in a variety of capacities.
One of those people is set decorator Laura Lienert, who lives in Brunswick with her husband, a lieutenant colonel who works at the Veterans Administration branch office in Lewiston.
She recruited a bunch of local veterans to play the paramilitary troop trying to survive the zombie apocalypse, which the main characters run into as they’re trying to make their way out of town.
Lienert called being involved in the production of “Night of the Living Deb” a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” and said all the “personalities involved are exciting” to work with.
With her involvement in the movie, Lienert said, she’s become a science fiction fan. “Who doesn’t love a zombie?” she added.
Wise, who’s worked with Rankin for years, first starring in his short film “Pennyweight” in 1998, said he fell in love with Maine on his first visit and is glad to be back.
With the tight shooting schedule, Wise said, he hasn’t had much free time, but he loves the Portland Harbor Hotel and the Old Port. He’s been shopping and is impressed with the number of “great restaurants.”
No matter what happens with the movie, in terms of whether it gets widely distributed, Rankin said it’s his plan to come back to Portland in the late fall to hold a local premiere for the film.
Eric Hurt operates a camera during the filming of a scene for the upcoming movie, “Night of the Living Deb,” at Scarborough Downs on Monday. 
A roadblock set up by a paramilitary troop trying to survive a zombie apocalypse was a key feature of a scene for the movie, “Night of the Living Deb,” which was shot at Scarborough Downs on Monday.
Local veterans, mostly from the Brunswick area, were recruited to play paramilitary troops trying to survive a zombie apocalypse for the Maine-made movie, “Night of the Living Deb.” 
Chad Nicholson, the first assistant director for “Night of the Living Deb,” gives direction to several day players – local veterans taking on the role of a paramilitary troop.
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