A photograph of Roy Ashton applying fake blood to Jacqueline Pearce, taken by an unknown photographer in 1965. Pearce was preparing for her role as Alice Thompson in 'The Plague of the Zombies' (1966).

Roy Ashton joined Hammer Studios in 1957, assisting Phil Leakey, the resident supervising make-up artist on The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and Dracula (1958). He succeeded Leakey as head of the department in 1959. During the next seven years, Ashton worked on some of the most fondly remembered Hammer horrors, including The Curse of the Werewolf (1961), The Gorgon (1964) and The Reptile (1966). He earned his reputation for creativeness and realism through a well-organised methodology, detailed conceptual sketches would follow meticulous anatomical research. Ashton left Hammer late in 1965 and free-lanced for other companies.

The Plague of the Zombies is a 1966 British horror film directed by John Gilling and starring André Morell, John Carson, Jacqueline Pearce and Michael Ripper. Production on the film began on 28 July 1965 at Bray Studios. It was shot back-to-back with The Reptile using the same sets, a Cornish village created on the backlot.