The Slave and the Torturer is bringing Hex Studios’ sword-and-sorcery heroes back for another outrageous fantasy adventure, with Megan Tremethick, Chris Black and Stephen Kerr returning alongside some sinister new faces.
Sharpen your swords, summon your sorceresses and prepare for another journey into the wonderfully outrageous world of 1980s fantasy cinema!
Hex Studios has announced The Slave and the Torturer, a sequel to its sword-and-sorcery horror throwback, The Slave and the Sorcerer.
The announcement arrives alongside a newly revealed Kickstarter pre-launch page, featuring a photograph of Megan Tremethick reprising her role as Nemain, the beautiful and mysterious sorceress from the original film.
And Nemain won’t be returning alone!
Amicus Horror can exclusively reveal that The Slave and the Torturer will reunite the surviving heroes of the first adventure, led once again by Chris Black as Tyrol the Slave, alongside Tremethick as Nemain and Stephen Kerr (Spoiling You) as Ryhn Grey, the resourceful and occasionally unscrupulous thief.
Also returning is fan favourite Richard Pate as King Gerind, promising another helping of the gloriously camp theatrics that helped make the original film such an entertaining tribute to the genre’s golden age.
Our heroes will face some formidable new opposition. Nick Ford, recently seen in Amicus Productions’ In the Grip of Terror, now beginning its British theatrical engagements, will portray a new villain.
Joining the production is Laurence R. Harvey, familiar to horror audiences from The Human Centipede films, alongside other familiar faces from British Horror Studio’s growing repertory of performers.
But What About the Torturer?
Naturally, the title raises one rather important question. Could The Slave and the Torturer signal the return of Arlo the Torturer, the outrageous and memorably suggestive villain played by filmmaker Lawrie Brewster in the original adventure?
We certainly hope so!
Arlo was one of the more eccentric creations in a film hardly lacking in strange characters, sinister monsters and questionable behaviour. Whether the new title is a deliberate clue to his return remains to be seen, but it would be a delight to encounter him again.
The production has also been described as the next instalment in the series, a tantalising choice of words that suggests Hex Studios may have further adventures planned for its colourful fantasy universe.
A Remarkable Kickstarter Success Story
The original The Slave and the Sorcerer proved a considerable crowdfunding success. Its 2023 Kickstarter campaign attracted 803 backers and raised £78,751, demonstrating an enthusiastic appetite for practical effects, muscular heroes, dark sorcery and the unashamed excess of classic 1980s fantasy cinema.
For comparison, the 2024 Kickstarter campaign for Steven Kostanski’s Deathstalker raised $95,457 from 592 backers. The campaigns ran at different times and in different currencies, but the support for Hex Studios’ original adventure is impressive in its own right.
For a grassroots British independent production to attract such a following is no small accomplishment. It speaks both to the enduring appeal of sword-and-sorcery cinema and to the loyal community Hex Studios has cultivated over the years.
There is also a historical kinship between sword-and-sorcery fantasy and cosmic horror. Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan the Barbarian, maintained a friendship and correspondence with H. P. Lovecraft. Readers can explore that pulp-fiction heritage in Lawrie Brewster’s defence of Deathstalker and the sword-and-sorcery tradition.
It is a connection Hex Studios has embraced in its own productions, blending heroic fantasy with ancient evils, monstrous creatures and distinctly Lovecraftian horrors.
Follow The Slave and the Torturer on Kickstarter
Fans can now visit the official Kickstarter pre-launch page for The Slave and the Torturer and select “Notify me on launch” to hear when the full campaign begins, currently expected in November 2026.
Plans for the campaign include Blu-ray editions, collector’s rewards and other special goodies, with the full details to follow at launch. Following the pre-launch page is free and does not commit anyone to a pledge.
Swords, sorcery, monsters and mayhem. It seems the adventure is only just beginning!
Our sister publication, the British Horror Chronicle, also carries Robert Guthrie’s report on The Slave and the Torturer and its returning cast.
Robert Guthrie
Arts Correspondent, Amicus Horror
