BANGOR — Range 15, a new zombie movie, is coming to Bangor this month. The indie flick, which raised more than $1 million in an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, is kicking off its East Coast premiere June 15, while the West Coast premiere simultaneously takes place in Los Angeles.

David Snider, a Maine resident from just outside of Ellsworth, is not only part of the cast, but has also taken on the dual role of poster artist and local promoter.

He is an Army National Guard veteran and up until 2009, he’d been an art editor of a comic book company. He started a collaboration with fellow military veteran and writer, Nick Palmisciano, to create a comic book about veterans. While the book never panned out, Palmisciano had another project cooking — a zombie comedy with combat veterans reflecting the real, non-Hollywood-filtered attitude, language, camaraderie and humor they all shared.

As their Indiegogo page states: “Last fall of 2015, we dreamed up the the movie's concept while sitting in a bar and drinking an inappropriate amount of alcohol. We decided to join forces and make the greatest movie ever. Then we sobered up and realized we didn’t really know how to make a movie. Then we got drunk again and realized that God hates a coward.”

If that doesn’t tip off the movie’s politically incorrect tone, here’s the rest of the movie’s origin story.

Knowing we needed a director good enough to make our vision a reality and crazy enough to read our script and not call the authorities, we broke into Ross Patterson’s house in the middle of the night and flashbanged his bedroom.  When the smoke cleared, he was sitting in his smoking jacket wearing an eye patch, pipe in hand.  “I’ll make your movie,” he said.  “But first, you’ll have to dance for me.” We promised we’d never talk about what happened next.

The movie’s premise goes like this: Five military buddies wake up in the drunk tank only to find out that while they were passed out in their cell, the zombie apocalypse kicked off. Armed with only billy clubs and their military experience, they break out of jail and fight their way to their old base. Along the way they pick up a whole lot of weapons, a couple of damsels in distress, and accidentally, the cure.

“The guys [who made this movie] got tired of seeing war movies that couldn't even get the uniforms or weapons right, let alone portray combat vets the way they really are — rude, crude, funny and completely politically incorrect,” said publicist Patricia Rumsey.

Snider agrees.

“Even with George Romero’s Day of The Dead, the military is always portrayed as these soulless, humorless robots,” he said. “But that’s not who we are. We’re funny, we rag on each other and that’s the biggest thing I think people forget is that we’re human beings, too.”

The movie’s title, Range 15, is a mashup homage to Ranger Up and Article 15, the two largest military lifestyle brands in the world.

Palmisciano is the CEO of Ranger Up, as well as one of the movie’s writers.  With his influence, both organizations donated $250,000 to the movie if the producers could raise $325,000 on their own.

Due to the overwhelming support of mostly veteran’s communities and military organizations, the donations crushed their original goal, topping more than $1.1 million.

“I don’t think we ever imagined we’d raise that much money,” said Snider. “Almost all of the funding came from an on-the-ground word of mouth campaign, with most of the cast and producers doing the promoting of the movie.”

The additional funding allowed the producers to add more effects and higher star power, such as cameos by well-known actors Danny Trejo, Keith David and William Shatner. Range 15 also features Medal of Honor recipient Leroy Petry, former Army Green Beret and UFC MMA fighter Tim Kennedy, and retired U.S. Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, who authored Lone Survivor about his eyewitness account of Operation Redwing and the “lost heroes of Seal Team 10” in a battle against Taliban fighters in 2005. 

Range 15 is a fictional area, and the majority of the movie was shot in Los Angeles.

Snider not only has three roles in the movie (and dies horribly at least twice) and did the artwork for one of the Indiegogo posters, but he also is promoting the June showing of Range 15 at Bangor Mall Cinemas 10. There will be a Portland screening on the same night, as well. Snider anticipates the first showing might be sold out and hopes they’ll add a second showing.

To get advance tickets visit tugg.com/titles/range-15 and click the drop down box to Bangor.

To watch the film’s trailer, click here. (Note: Rated R, NSFW, language, violence, adult content)

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com