NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEB (2015)
“Night of the Living Deb,” a 2015 romantic zombie comedy directed by Kyle Rankin, follows Deb Clarington (Maria Thayer), an awkward camera operator in Portland, Maine, who wakes up on July 4th in the bed of Ryan Waverly (Michael Cassidy), the town’s most eligible bachelor, after a blurry night of drinking. Ryan, regretting their hookup, ushers her out, only for Deb to stumble into a full-blown zombie apocalypse sparked by a water-borne virus tied to Ryan’s father, Frank (Ray Wise), a water treatment mogul. Forced back together, the mismatched pair embarks on a survival romp, bickering their way through the chaos.
Deb, quirky and relentless, drives them to Ryan’s family mansion, dodging shambling undead and ramming a few with her car—much to Ryan’s idealistic dismay. There, they find Frank, Ryan’s paranoid brother Chaz (Chris Marquette), and his ex-fiancée Stacy, who’s soon devoured after a jealous spat. Frank admits his plant caused the outbreak, blaming the governor, and plans a helicopter escape—excluding Deb. Ryan insists she join, but Frank’s betrayal attempt fails when Deb accidentally drugs a guard instead. As zombies overrun the house, Chaz turns, and Frank sacrifices himself at a checkpoint, letting Deb and Ryan flee after the governor’s killed by Deb’s zombified friend Ruby, stashed in her trunk.
The duo storms Deb’s TV station for an unjammable broadcast. Deb confesses her love on-air, gets bitten, and urges Ryan to leave, but he stays—only for paramedics to reveal the virus isn’t contagious. Frank and Chaz, alive but arrested, push Ryan to reciprocate Deb’s feelings as jets bomb the city, sealing their quirky romance. Funded via Kickstarter, this low-budget “zom-rom-com” charms with Thayer’s brassy energy and a silly, heartfelt spin on undead tropes.
