Fire on set slows down production of politics-themed horror film

The production of the independent zombie film, New World Horror, about a Tea-Party rally gone wrong is powering on after an accidental fire broke out in the former church used as a primary location for filming.

The film received attention from all along the political spectrum [1] this spring when the movie was set to begin filming in Madison, Janesville, and Milwaukee. Although director Adam Schabow’s primary goal with the film is to scare the audience, there are social commentary undertones about what he refers to as the “mindless partisan politics and extremism” from both sides.

An electrical fire started in the Janesville church owned by Schabow’s wife in early November during filming, but was caught quickly by a neighbor and put out by the Janesville Fire Department. Officials estimate about $3,000 in damage to the building from the fire, and its start was unrelated to filming.

According to Schabow, the crew is finished with about 98 percent of filming. The fire is a setback, but both he and co-producer Sarah Bartash are thankful that it didn’t do more damage.

No one was hurt, people were there to save it, and it wasn’t during the beginning of production, said Bartash. “I can’t stress enough that it could have been so much worse,” she said.

Schabow has been grateful for all the help from family and friends, along with the crew, which he views as one in the same.

“When you’re working on something like this, you really do become a family. I know it sounds cheesy but it’s true,” he said. “I couldn’t ask for a better crew and family.”

One of the crew members set up a GoFundMe crowd-funding campaign [2]  to help pay for repairs.

This is not the first time Schabow and the film have benefited from crowd-funding. An Indiegogo campaign in Spring helped raise over their goal of $5,000. According to Bartash, this along with other fundraisers, several volunteers and a talented crew have helped the film immensely.

For Schabow, the church means more than just a place to film the movie; it has sentimental value. His wife has owned the church for fifteen years, and it’s where they got married, so the day of the fire was especially tough.

However, Schabow still looks to lighter moments about the day. In true horror movie fashion, the church’s basement was contained a lot of blood, a chair with chains, and a tray with medical equipment and skin, which was unbeknownst to a new member of the fire department was the first to enter after the fire.

“We have a creepy basement as it is, when he shined a flashlight there was tons of blood everywhere and it looked like someone was being experimented on. He said, ‘We have to call the cops!,’” said Schabow.

Bartash plans on sending the rookie a New World Horror T-shirt.

The film features eight diverse strangers, including a union man, an old-school Republican, and a lesbian knife-throwing priest, hiding in a church from Tea-Party members turned zombies.

Schabow expects the film to be complete in March or April of 2015.