St. Paul- A gory scene staged for a low-budget horror movie proved a little too realistic for police. When officers were called to the Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood overlooking downtown Sunday night about a possible shooting, they found a parked car with what looked like brain matter and blood on the front seat, dashboard and windows – but no victim.

Police began knocking on doors and found Lance Hendrickson, the car’s owner. He was OK.

The scene had been staged by Hendrickson, 23, and his friends for their horror movie, “Summer School,” he told officers. He backed it up by letting police watch the scene.

“They were really kind of grilling me, but I completely understood,” said Hendrickson, a Hamline University sophomore. Hendrickson, along with Ben Trandem and Mike Nelson, both Minneapolis College of Art and Design students, began filming “Summer School,” their first feature-length movie, in June. In one scene, a character named Dennis is shot in the head.

Hendrickson’s car, which was no longer working, was towed to Spooner, Wis., where principal photography wrapped on Aug. 21. To represent Dennis’ head, a cantaloupe filled with liquid latex and stage blood was shot through the car’s window with a 16-gauge shotgun, Hendrickson said.

“We were happy that it looked real and a little worried that it was freaking out our neighbors,” said Hendrickson, who hopes to premiere the film next year.