DIRECTOR Neil Marshall said he put lead actress Charlotte Kirk "through hell" recreating sick medieval witch trials torture for his latest film The Reckoning.

Charlotte plays the role of Evelyn Haverstock, a young widow falsely accused of being a witch by her landlord after she rejected his sexual advances.

Set during the Great Plague and the witch hunts in England, Evelyn is tortured by the villainous Moorcroft (Sean Pertwee) as he tries to discover whether she really is a witch.

Speaking to The Sun Online while promoting his immersive horror experience in London – Kraken Screamfest: Director's Cut – he opened up about the intensity of recreating the real-life torture.

The director said: "Charlotte is absolutely amazing. We put her through absolute hell.

"[Sean and Charlotte] share pretty much all of their scenes together. With a couple of exceptions, it gets quite intense.

"It was emotionally, physically gruelling. It was a tough performance to pull off and it was amazing.

"She's literally being doused in water and tied up to torture devices and persecuted on a daily basis. Emotionally, it was draining."

The Descent director, 49, described the movie as an "amazing story based on true events and a fantastic story of female empowerment and survival with a very, very dark horror story around it".

The Reckoning has wrapped filming and will be released next year.

Neil is best known as a horror director, but has spent the last few years expanding into other directions, by taking the helm of shows like Game of Thrones and Westworld, or movies like Hellboy.

But The Reckoning isn't his horror homecoming – as he's the brains behind a Halloween immersive experience in London this October.

Teaming up with Kraken Rum, they are inviting people to descend into a nightmarish world of undead and mythical, deadly beasts, with everything from the drinks to the staff on theme.

The event comes with Neil Marshall's touch throughout and he's bringing his trademark sense of dread into the real world.

Speaking about the event, Neil said: "Originally from hell, the kraken brings with it minions from the depths of the ocean. The minions are the ghosts or the living dead of all those who died in the sea.

"The beast uses its minions to spread its infection – its virus – across the world. So these old creatures are coming out of the oceans and the rivers across the planet to take over the world.

"And the kraken is at the centre, spreading its tentacles into everything. It's not a literal physical being in itself, it's spreading like a virus, all through pipes, through sewers and toilets."

Kraken Screamfest: Director's Cut will take place from Thursday, October 31 to Friday, November 1, at 2083 Acton Mews, Haggerston, London E8 4DG.

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