We are talking today with writer/director Peter Thorndike (if you look up his IMDb page you’ll see he graduated from the same film course as Edgar “Shaun of The Dead” Wright) about his zombie feature film PLAGUEPITS: THE TORTURE DEAD which he’s just finished shooting. The movie stars Nicholas Vince (Hellraiser) and Bill Hutchens (Human Centipede II and III) and the director of photography is the legendary Gerry Lively (Hellraiser III, Hellraiser IV, Return of The Living Dead III, Children of The Corn III amongst many genre classics). The movie introduces a brand new species of zombie: the sadistic, decayed “Torture Dead”, with their medieval torture devices. Filmed in the bleakly atmospheric English countryside, it is part creepy folk-horror, and part blood-drenched homage to the golden age of 1980s zombie gorefests.

HorrorBuzz: SO TELL ME ABOUT THE HELLRAISER CONNECTION IN YOUR NEW HORROR FEATURE, “PLAGUEPITS: THE TORTURE DEAD”

Peter Thorndike: Well, essentially, I really wanted Gerry Lively as DOP

HB: THAT’S GERRY LIVELY WHO WAS DOP ON HELLRAISER III, HELLRAISER IV, RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD III, CHILDREN OF THE CORN III, WAXWORK, WAXWORK II

PT: Right. And don’t forget my absolute favourite amongst the bunch, Necronomicon.

HB: WHY GERRY?

PT: Oh because those were among the movies that inspired me growing up. They infected my dreams. They helped to germinate my very own muse.

HB: HOW SO?

PT: I think Gerry has a way of suggesting with his camera. It’s almost as much what you don’t see was what you do see.

HB: HE WORKS WITH SHADOWS, YOU MEAN?

PT: Haha Well partly. You know he has that nickname, The Prince of Darkness, for that very reason, right? His artistry and ability with the world of the unseen, the partly-seen … It’s almost like a magician’s flourish: the way a conjuror flicks back the sleeve of his robe and says: “Now you see it, now you don’t” … And it’s more powerful when you don’t actually see it

HB: THE POWER OF SUGGESTION?

PT: Yeah. You know that Jacques Tournier classic, Night of The Demon?

HB: OH YEAH, A REAL CLASSIC

PT: Right. And I love the rubber monster demon that the studio cut in, it’s so 1950s. But of course you know that Tournier himself didn’t want the actual thing shown. He just wanted the demon to exist outside the range of your vision, outside the range of the screen?

HB: RIGHT. BUT THE ZOMBIES IN PLAGUEPITS – THE “TORTURE DEAD” – YOU DO SHOW THEM. THE ZOMBIES IN PLAGUEPITS, YOUR UNIQUE UNDEAD , ARE KEY. THEIR HIGHLY DISTINCT APPEARANCE, LIKE MEDIEVAL MUMMIES. AND THERE IS ALSO A LOAD OF BLOOD AND RIPPED-OUT INTESTINES IN YOUR MOVIE

PT: Yeah, that’s right. Because part of me is a classicist. And part of me is a hardcore zombie fan. You can’t short change a zombie fan. You can’t not show the blood and guts. Even worse would be to merely hint at them.

HB: BACK TO GERRY. HOW DID YOU GET HIM?

PT: Persistence. I knew I had to have him for my debut feature: his style, his artistry. There were no two ways. So I picked up the phone and called him in LA. And kept on calling. I’m over here in England, remember. Finally he said, “show me the script”

HB: SO YOU SHOWED HIM THE SCRIPT

PT: I showed him the script (laughs). He loved it! He said it reminded him of the vibe there used to be with zombie and horror movies from the 1980s and 1990s. The kind of vibe there used to be with the Hellraiser films. That kind of excessive bloodshed. But inventiveness and quirkiness too. A fun sort of vibe I guess, that’s how Gerry put it.

HB: I KNOW WE CAN’T REVEAL TOO MUCH AND GIVE ANY SPOILERS, BUT THOSE TORTURE DEVICES YOU INVENTED FOR THE MOVIE ARE SO COOL AND SURREAL, THEY HAVE A REAL MEDIEVAL LOOK TO THEM. I KNOW YOU’RE AN ARTIST AND CARTOONIST (LIKE JAMES WHALE AND CLIVE BARKER BEFORE YOU), AND THAT YOU SKETCHED THEM IN GREAT DETAIL BEFORE GIVING THEM TO THE FX GUYS TO CREATE. IN A WAY THEY REMIND ME OF THE HELLRAISER TORTURES. I’M SURE THEY REMINDED GERRY OF THEM TOO.

PT: Yeah, he’s said so. That is so cool and so flattering. Beyond my wildest dreams.

HB: YOU SHOULDN’T SOUND SO SURPRISED PETER. DON’T BE SO MODEST. REMEMBER YOUR FIRST PROFESSIONAL FEATURE SCREENPLAY, SHORTLY AFTER YOU GRADUATED, YOUR INTERPRETATION OF “MACBETH”, WAS OPTIONED BY PARAMOUNT.

PT: Sure, I know. But I guess the big deal for me here was that I was connecting one-to-one with one of the great maestros. After all, Gerry was the “eyes” behind two of the greatest Hellraisers, “Hell On Earth” and “Bloodline”.

HB: DID HE SAY YES TO YOUR FILM IMMEDIATELY AFTER READING YOUR SCRIPT?

PT: Yep. That was a real blast!

HB: SO NOW YOU HAD THE “EYES” BEHIND THE ORIGINAL HELLRAISER. WAS IT THEN YOU BROUGHT IN NICHOLAS VINCE (THE “CHATTERER” IN HELLRAISER) TO COMPLETE THE CONNECTION?

PT: Actually no. Believe it or not at that point I wasn’t aware of the new 2022 Hellraiser reboot. It was only when I was having a pint with my mate, Graham Humphries (the legendary artist who created the original iconic posters for Evil Dead I and II, and many others) that he mentioned it. He said that Nicholas (Vince) was a friend of his and that he would be a shoe-in for the film. So I dropped him a line and sent him the script.

HB: AND?

PT: Well, like Gerry, Nicholas was impressed with my screenplay. “Very refreshing” he said, and that was it. He was onboard. Remember, I already had the great Bill Hutchens (Human Centipede) onboard, and so it was a real blast to have two iconic horror actors in my film. Plus an iconic horror cinematographer!

HB: DIDN’T YOU SAY THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY BILL HUTCHENS WHO APPROACHED YOU?

PT: That’s true. The movie had literally only been listed on IMDb for 3 days, when I got an email from Bill saying “This sounds like an intriguing movie, can I be part of it?”

HB: SO ON YOUR DEBUT FEATURE AS DIRECTOR YOU’RE SUDDENLY WORKING WITH THREE HORROR LEGENDS! WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO WORK WITH THEM?

PT: (Laughs) Well at this point everyone is expecting me to come out with that cliché about them all being warm, wonderful human beings, right?

HB: (Laughs) PERHAPS

PT: As a matter of fact it’s absolutely true! All three are amongst the nicest, kindest and most genuine people I’ve ever met.

HB: CAN YOU ELABORATE?

PT: I’d be happy to. Each of them are consummate professionals in that they know their craft inside out and give it 100 per cent. As technicians they’re flawless. But they have that something extra. In part it’s dedication, love for what they do.

HB: BILL HUTCHENS AND NICHOLAS VINCE ARE OF COURSE INSTANTLY RECOGNISABLE FOR THEIR HORROR ROLES. THEY’RE BOTH TALENTED DRIRECTORS/WRITERS IN THEIR OWN REGARD TOO. IS THEIR MANNER OF WORKING SIMILAR?

PT: That’s an interesting question. As personalities Bill and Nicholas are very different. Both are very kind and good-humoured of course. But Nicholas is very much an extrovert, full of anecdotes and quotes. Whereas Bill is quite reserved and reflective. That’s part of their respective charm, both as people and performers. As a kid I grew up with a great love for the Universal monsters and with that in mind, I’d say Nicholas is very much the ebullient gregarious Bela Lugosi, while Bill is the softly spoken Boris Karloff.

HB: THAT’S A COOL ANALOGY! WHAT ABOUT GERRY – “THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS”!

(Both laugh)

PT: You know it’s something I’ve noticed with the truly great artists – they have a light, childlike quality. They retain their sense of fun and wonder. Gerry is not only a great artist, he is a true magician. He makes the most accomplished technical marvels appear like happy accidents, sleight-of-hand tricks, as if he’s plucked it all out of thin air.

HB: A RARE SKILL INDEED. SO, AS IT WAS ALL UNFOLDING, COULD YOU SEE DIRECT LINKS BETWEEN THE VISUALS OF PLAGUEPITS, THE MOVIE YOU WERE CREATING AND, SAY, THE DREAMLIKE QUALITY OF THE HELLRAISER MOVIES?

PT: Yes absolutely! There was one particular night shoot where the smoke and haze machines are going, and those gigantic lights are dotted here and there in the forest behind the trees, and I’m thinking to myself, “This is like stepping out of reality and into some magical, surreal dream”.  And there in the middle of it is beautiful Meg Brayne, running here and there, becoming hysterical because she is being pursued by The Torture Dead, who have a particularly gruesome and cruel demise in store for her –

HB: (Laughs) NO SPOILERS, PLEASE!

PT: (Laughs) Wouldn’t dream of it! But the beautiful thing is, there was real dread in the air. There was real magic and mystery afoot. Everyone felt it. And poor Meg was truly becoming emotional. I had to comfort and reassure her afterwards. That’s the magic of the movies. Everyone knows it isn’t real; it’s a conjuror’s contrivance. But at the same time, willing suspension of disbelief ensures that for those moments is IS real. And not just for the audiences. It’s true for the filmmakers too. It’s a true magic act.

HB: WOW. SO COOL TO HAVE THAT DIRECT LIKE BETWEEN THE HELLRAISER MOVIES AND YOUR FIRST FEATURE. GERRY MUST’VE HAD STORIES TO TELL ABOUT HIS HELLRAISER DAYS?

PT: Oh yeah. He told some great stories about the times a group of them would regularly congregate at a British eatery. It’d usually be him, Tony Hickox, Doug Bradley and a couple of others.

HB: DID HE GET ON WITH DOUG BRADLEY (THE ORIGINAL PINHEAD)

PT: Oh he and Doug were firm friends. He repeatedly said what a tremendously nice guy Doug was. He was also full of praise for his total professionalism. (Laughs) He would tell this story about how he and Doug would be sharing some joke or humorous anecdote, falling about with laughter. And then the director would say “action”, and in the blink of an eye, Doug would snap into full-blown Pinhead mode!

HB: HAHA YES THAT’S THE MARK OF A PRO ALRIGHT!

PT: But you must remember, Gerry was brought up as a strict Catholic, and he actually said that there were elements of the Hellraiser movies which caused him to feel uncomfortable.

HB: SUCH AS?

PT: He mentioned in particular the scene in Hell On Earth in the church, where the stained glass window was shattered by the air cannon, and Doug is up there at the altar, presiding over a blasphemous black mass. He said that genuinely gave him the chills.

HB: I BET!

PT: But when he reminisces, Gerry usually does so with great affection and humour. He tells a great story about those nightclub scenes at the beginning of Hell On Earth, where everyone is packed in there, sweating and dancing …

HB: WHAT DID HE SAY?

PT: Well he mentions those sexy strippers gyrating about. He says that not only were they great looking girls, but also very nice and approachable. Apparently, he was having a chat with one of them, and she asked “what do you do?” And he replies, “DP”. Whereupon she comes back with “Oh I do that too”

(Both laugh)

But that’s Gerry all over. Like I said, he is a maestro, but he also has this terrific sense of humour and adventure, and ensures that everyone has a smile on their face. And Gerry is a true friend. Throughout the shoot, it was obvious that there was no ego there, no showbusiness BS. He was one hundred per cent focused on my vision, and how to bring it to life. That was so moving.

HB: IT’S THE SAME THING YOU HEAR OVER AND OVER: THAT HORROR PEOPLE TRULY ARE THE NICEST PEOPLE

PT: (Laughs) They truly are! (Laughs) WE truly are! And Gerry is exactly the same off set and on. No matter where he is or who he’s with. He’s genuine. Real. An absolute spirit of joy and creativity. We’d spend all day filming and then afterwards we’d go into Bournemouth and make a bee line for Harry Ramsden’s or Prezzo for fish n’ chips or spaghetti and laugh and chat about earlier. I know it’s a cliché that in the States you have to travel a long way for proper British fish n chips, but it’s also true, and Gerry adored that part of being in the UK! That was so cool – a day of blood and carnage, and then in the evening laughing and flirting with the waitresses and eating their sticky toffee pudding. That’s not a euphemism by the way.

(Both laugh)

HB: THANKS FOR SHARING ALL THAT, PETER. IT’S SO COOL TO KNOW THAT THE SPIRIT OF HELLRAISER LIVES ON. I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE PLAGUEPITS, I KNOW THAT IT WILL BE A VERY UNIQUE AND INVENTIVE NEW HORROR FEATURE FILM – SOMETHING THAT THE GENRE NEEDS SO BADLY TODAY

PT: Thanks, that’s very nice of you. And it’s great to share memories of the making of “Plaguepits: The Torture Dead”.  Coming in 2023!