A "SADISTIC" killer tortured then murdered his best friend in a scene echoing his favourite horror film.

Gary George, 41, will serve at least 30 years of a life sentence after he tortured and mutilated Andrew Nall, 53, then left his body in a pool of blood on his bedroom floor, Britain's Daily Telegraph reports.

George was obsessed with witchcraft and horror films, particularly The Loved Ones, a 2009 Australian film in which an attack takes place with "chilling similarity" to the death of Mr Nall, Chester Crown Court was told.

The court heard he beat his victim and inflicted 49 separate knife wounds, including a wound carved into his stomach which had salt poured onto it. He also poured cleaning fluid into Mr Nall’s eyes while he was still alive.

Passing sentence Judge Elgan Edwards, said: "This was a cruel and vicious attack. It was also a sadistic attack.

"Behaving in the way you did, you were apeing the conduct in a film of which you were obsessed, namely The Loved Ones."

The film was described by reviewer Leigh Paatsch as "one sick flick".

In the film, the victim (played by Twilight star Xavier Samuel) "must suffer through a series of atrocities that should repel most viewers straight out of the cinema", Paatsch wrote.

As in the film, which the judge and jury were forced to watch during George's trial, many of the horrific acts were committed whilst Mr Nall was still alive.

Read more on the horrific murder at The Telegraph