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Chemical Wedding (2008) More at IMDbPro »

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29 out of 42 people found the following comment useful :-
Moving from one genre to another this film shatters all Hollywood formulae, 22 June 2008

Author: joloplondon from United Kingdom

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

A strange film, probably because it comes from Monty Python's editor, so although it is generally serious, it often has very funny moments mixed with Python's gross surrealism. If you gasped at the exploding fat man in Meaning of Life – wait till you see the magic spell involving the fax machine. The film is about the reincarnation of the legendary Magus, Aleister Crowley, (dubbed the Wickedest man in the World) who has influenced such varied people as the Beatles, Charles Manson and Winston Churchill. It was Crowley who invented the V sign for Churchill. Even Bond author Ian Fleming, who worked for Naval Intelligence, suggested Crowley, to use his occultism against the Nazis.

The film opens in 1947 as the ageing Aleister Crowley, played earthily by John Shrapnel, is visited by a young initiate, to plan an important life saving ritual. Here the themes of the film are introduced. Crowley's occult knowledge of the Bible, his skill at chess, his involvement in Masonry and his anger at L. Ron Hubbard (yes him of the Church of Scientology) who has turned the head of Crowley's rich American disciple, Jack Parsons. (I checked this on the internet - all true) Crowley's rage at Hubbard fires off a heart attack and he dies.

We then fast forward to the end of the 20th Century, Cambridge University, where scientist Dr Joshua Mathers is about to integrate a super-cooled computer, with the human brain. But assistant programmer, Dr Neuman, is an obsessive follower of Aleister Crowley, and has reduced his occult rites to a series of quantum equations. Bumbling academic, Professor Haddo, (Simon Callow – 4 Weddings and a Funeral) desperate to get inside the mind of the long-dead Magus volunteers himself for integration. Unknown to Mathers, that night the experiment begins. Next morning Haddo has undergone a dramatic transformation, His head shaved and now strident and arrogant he gives a lecture about Hamlet where he announces he is the reincarnation of Aleister Crowley and proceeds to quote Crowley's Shakespearean parody 'To pee, or not to pee.' He then outrageously pees on the front row of the students. Yes you heard it right! Crowley always claimed he would rise from the dead and from this point on Haddo, begins playing out all Crowley's most bizarre rituals, from his orgies involving Sexual Magic to showing his distaste by crapping on the Dean's desk. (supposedly the original Crowley's calling card for his enemies) The central part of the film is almost impossible to describe since it moves from theories of quantum physics, to occultism, to conspiracies all with a wonderfully outrageous central performance by Simon Callow. Richard the Third pales into insignificance.

Finally, concealed in a Masonic Temple, Haddo plans to perform Crowley's most powerful rite, the Chemical Wedding, to fix himself in time. Only Dr. Mathers, in the science lab, has the knowledge to stop him. There then follows a wonderful battle between ancient magic and modern science, which results in a twist ending that would be bad to reveal here.

Aleister Crowley was weird, knowledgeable, funny, gross, intelligent and extremely entertaining. That is the film in a nutshell and like Crowley it should confuse and upset many, especially Christians, Crowley worshippers, Church of Scientologists who if they don't sue the producers will probably put out lots of negative information about the film. I fear for the filmmakers future, if the lawyers don't get them, then spells from Crowley's upset followers will.

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12 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
Good Old Fashioned Brit Horror-SPOILERS!, 3 June 2008

Author: maidenlord from United Kingdom

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Well it's finally here.a lot has been written about Bruce's first effort in cinema.I think it's not a bad film-confusing in places and i'm still undecided on the ending and if i've worked it out correctly!There is a LOT of quotations and science and physics mentioned in the story and some of the cinema goers in my sitting looked baffled by a lot of it.

Basically the story involves the reincarnation of the spirit of Aleister Crowley(the so called Beast) in the body of stuttering professor Haddo at a Cambridge university.How this is done involves some sort of Dr who type space suit and some computer binary programme of Crowley's mind.

Haddo is played by thespian Simon Callow and he is without question the best thing in this film.He really revels in playing the part and he has to do some pretty wild things like urinate over his students,shave a prostitute and masturbate whilst being caned to invoke a spell.

The film has a 70's feel like Hammer Horror and is going to be classed as a cult film for sure.There are some very funny moments mixed in amongst the debauchery and for the Maiden fans some metal mixed in with George Formby! You can tell it was made on a limited budget as the camera-work could be better and the editing seems a bit mish mash in places(possibly because of cuts made)Director is Julian Doyle more known for his work with Monty Python and he co wrote the script with Bruce.Bruce himself makes a few cameos in the film.

Lucy Cudden who plays Leah I think will go far.A great newcomer who has the right mix of vulnerability and sexual magnetism.John Shrapnel as Crowley at the start does what is required.The rest of the cast are largely forgettable although Porridge fans will recognise the adult Symons! It has had a bit of a slating in the press and I won't pretend it's a classic but for a night in with beer you could do a lot worse.

Your Time will Come! (just be wary of fax machines!)

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6 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Crowley (2008) (AKA Chemical Wedding), 13 March 2009

Author: suspiria10 from The Void

AKA: Chemical Wedding

Rating: 3 out of 5

Genre: Horror, Science Fiction, Occult

Director: Julian Doyle

Stars: Robert Ashby, Jared Ashe, Terence Bayler, Antonia Beamish, Esmé Bianco, Geoff Breton, Simon Callow, Jud Charlton, Lucy Cudden, Lily Dumont, Richard Franklin

Synopsis: At an English academy the most powerful computer in the world is used to perform time sensitive experiments. When an experiment goes awry and the spirit of Aleister Crowley inhabits a professor participating in the experiment.

Thoughts: I could explain the plot but I can't really do it justice. The detailed script written by the director and Bruce Dickinson (from the metal legends Iron Maiden) is pretty good with you enough twisted Crowley debauchery to keep you engaged. The first thirty or so minutes are a bit slow so hang in. As you can guess a horror film that borrows from the depraved life of the "Wickedest Man in the World" gives you such perverted pleasures as orgies and canning. The script does get a bit bogged down in the final act when its more lofty, SciFi conventions kick in but hey it delivers the weird goods.

In Conclusion: Yup we get treated to Iron Maiden and Dickinson tunes throughout the film. Not enough but that's just me. Say didn't the mighty Bruce become a born-again Christian? An odd choice and subject for a horror movie I believe. 

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7 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Crowley Returns, 1 July 2008

Author: Samuel Jones from United Kingdom

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This is a film about the reincarnation of the influential Occultist, Aleister Crowley, as such it must be almost incomprehensible without an understanding of the man who was called the 'Wickedest man in the World'.

Crowley was born in 1875. His parents were wealthy and the epitome of respectability. They were also staunch Plymouth Brethren and brought up young Crowley in an atmosphere of pious religious narrow-mindedness, against which he constantly rebelled.

He died in a boarding house in Hastings in 1947. It is here that the film begins with a visit to the dying Crowley by Symonds a young initiate. On the wall of the actual boarding house were two signs, 'Guest are requested not to tease the Ghosts' and 'Breakfast will be served at 8am to those who survive the night.' These give a clue to the genre of the film – an occult film that doesn't take itself too seriously

With Crowley's death the film fast-forwards to Trinity College Cambridge where Symonds is now an old academic. Crowley himself went to Trinity and it was while he was there that he became interested in the occult and discovered he was excited by descriptions of torture and blood. He liked to fantasise about being degraded and abused by a 'Scarlet Woman', who was dominant, wicked and independent. He read Arthur E. Waite's book, entitled " Black Magic and Pacts". It hinted at a secret brotherhood of occultists and Crowley became intrigued. He joined the masons and then the 'Order of the Golden Dawn', the elusive Great White Brotherhood run by MacGregor Mathers who claimed to be the reincarnation of James IV of Scotland. Crowley went one better and announced he was the reincarnation of Eliphas Levi, Count Caliastro and nine others going back to the Chinese sage Ko Hsuen.

The film divides into four days – each one headed by the title 'Day 1', 'Day 2' etc.. This mirrors the original 'Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz' a treatise, which appeared in 1616. It is the third of the original manifestos of the mysterious "Fraternity of the Rose Cross' (Rosecrutions)". It is an allegoric romance about an invitation to go to a wonderful castle in order to assist the Chymical Wedding of the king and the queen. This manifesto has been a source of inspiration for poets and alchemists – for which the 'Sacred Marriage' was the goal.

This same allegoric use of words and names is also part of the film. 'Day One' begins with the arrival of scientist Dr Joshua Mathers from Cal Tech to participate in an experiment. Mathers as mentioned was Crowley's nemesis and Cal Tech is where Jack Parsons, (the head of Crowley's organisation in America) developed the rocket fuel used for modern day space flights.

On arrival at Cambridge Dr. Mathers is accosted by a redheaded student journalist, Leah Robinson. Crowley had a series of 'Scarlet Women'; the best known was Leah Hirsig, the so-called 'Ape of Thoth'. Together they would indulge in drinking sessions, drugs and sexual magic. It is believed that Crowley made several attempts to beget a 'Magical child', none of which worked and instead he fictionalised his attempts in a book called "Moonchild". Interestingly Leah is also a character in Foucault's Pendulum' where Umberto Eco introduces a chapter with a quote from Crowley and later introduces other chapters with quotes from 'The Chymical Wedding'.

The Cambridge experiment is misappropriated by a fanatical disciple of Crowley, computer programmer Victor (based on Victor Nueberg) who converts his associate, bumbling lecturer Dr Oliver Haddo, into the resurrected Magus - to wreak havoc on the campus. The name Haddo comes from the Somerset Maughan novel 'The Magician' based on Aleister Crowley - who sometimes used it as a pseudonym,

Every event in the film mirrors a Crowley story. He used his money to buy prostitutes at an early age. He relieved himself on an enemy's carpet – so the film has him do the same on the Dean's desk. He was involved in Masonry and began his own version. He performed the rite of solo masturbation and re-enacted the Eleusis ceremony, a whining girl violinist started the rite followed by drinks from a chalice containing either menstrual blood or hallucinogenic drugs. In the film Mathers spits out the drink, which is why he doesn't get involved.

Central to the film is the extraordinary performance of Simon Callow as this complex character, who gloried in his notoriety, calling himself the Beast 666, performed obscene rituals of Sexual Magic and trips to the Astral plane to meet his spiritual leaders; yet wrote sensitive poetry, was a master chess player, a champion mountaineer and astonishingly studied Quantum Physics.

It is this clash between science and magic, which gives the wonderful twist ending to the film. Understanding the basics of quantum physics is useful here. All one needs to know is summed up in two Nobel prizes – J. J. Thomson won the Nobel prize for proving that the electron is a particle – his son George Thomson years later won the Nobel prize for proving that the electron is a wave. Both are true and this 'uncertainty' depends on which way the scientist looks at the experiment. Critically Erwin Schrodinger suggested a theoretical experiment where a cat is placed in a box with a poisonous isotope. The uncertainty principal suggested that only when the experimenter opens the box does he know if the cat is dead or alive.

The film does take Crowley's nasty side to an extreme, obviously for dramatic purposes, but I am sure the old scoundrel would have loved it.

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21 out of 38 people found the following comment useful :-
A Very British B Movie, 17 September 2008

Author: greenknight-2 from United Kingdom

I was torn when I watched this film - on the one hand, it's a very average film, mostly confusing and random, sometimes poorly acted (and sometimes not) and of a subject matter that I am very critical; on the other hand, if you view it as a (relatively) low-budget, British B-movie it's actually quite good. Not entertaining, mind you, it never actually manages to fight its way out of the swamp of "too many ideas, crammed into too little time with no coherence". But the production and direction of the film is commendable.

The basic plot of the film is that Aleister Crowley, "the wickedest man in Britain" (in the early part of the last century - I doubt he'd rank above "dirty old perv" these days) manages to get reincarnated into the body of a Cambridge professor (played by Simon Callow - by far the best part of the film) and starts a 4-day (? - the query is because a lot happens, but little relevant, over the 4 days) campaign to become wholly physical again.

Basically, stuff happens; lots of it random, and I'm sure was more meaningful to the writers than it was to me as a viewer (and that as an educated and informed viewer). Unfortunately, as good as it looks at times, and as many good ideas are just screaming to to be exploited, it just ends up being a B-movie. I'd still watch it though, just the once.

I realise that this constitutes a critique rather than a review, but it's difficult to sum up what happens in the film other than what I've just said - it's a bit random, and if you're into thelemic mysticism you'll probably enjoy it, but unfortunately I view the whole subject as occultism for people who are too scared to throw off the shackles of catholic Judaism, and compensate for their reticence to abandon Christianity for something more pure with an unhealthy interest in the Christian devil. But you're talking about a film about an early 20th century English occultist raised in a strict Christian family, so what can you expect? Anyway, if you're in the mood for a British B-movie (well made, but not exactly stimulating) - this is the movie for you (or watch Razorblade Smile or Dead Mans Shoes instead).

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
different, to say the least, but it might help to have some background on the subject matter, 15 March 2009

Author: TheatreX from Louisville, KY

I don't know much at all about Alistair Crowley, except that he was some kind of occult figure and was labeled "the wickedest man in the world" at some point. For a lot of this film, I think you have to have a bit of background on the man to understand some of what's going on.

At any rate, someone has managed to rig up a "virtual reality" machine with binary codes from the old boy himself, and has inadvertently reincarnated Crowley's spirit in a shy and stuttering university professor, one Dr. Haddo.

Of course, Dr. Haddo's behavior has changed a bit, being that he gives a lecture wherein he compares Shakespeare to Egyptian mythology & then pees on the students in the front row. He's also shaved his head a relieves some poor gentleman of his purple suit in a men's restroom. And he's set on finding himself a redhead for a Chemical Wedding, which will result in a virgin birth.

Despite the fact that there's definitely a lot of Mumbo Jumbo in this, that is, for those of us that are mostly unfamiliar with the subject matter, this does manage to at least be something rather different, as far as horror goes. Manages to avoid a lot of the usual clichés, anyway. There are also some rather disgusting scenes too, like buggery and a rather icky fax receipt. What doesn't really work well in this though, is the inclusion of an American computer whiz, who has come to work on the virtual reality equipment, and who spouts more Mumbo Jumbo than Crowley, at times.

For those who wonder about Crowley's influence on modern music, well, you can hear things in here that you've heard elsewhere (if you've listened) like "Love is the Law" (Throbbing Gristle), etc. There are other references too but that's the only one I can recall.

An interesting film, definitely, but fizzles a bit toward the end. Worth seeing but I think it helps to know the subject matter a bit more than I. 6 out of 10.

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5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Interesting but not quite there, 28 September 2008

Author: artnude from United States

The premise was interesting though a bit convoluted.

The acting and directing were acceptable.

The one thing that ruined this film for me was the sound editing. Perhaps it was the copy I watched.

Perhaps it is really the way it was edited.

Dialog so low you cannot hear followed by a crappy musical score that blared every time it came in. If you are a fan of the music guy, and I am not, it may work for you. To me, the balance between music and dialog was totally amateur at best and ruined what could have been a very interesting movie.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Stinks, 27 October 2009

Author: billfromellerslie from United States

Do not listen to the glowing reviews of this movie! It's a despicable piece of crap! They are using the name Iron Maiden in an attempt to steal your money! Bruce Dickenson's pathetic attempt to ape the success of Rob Zombie by becoming a rock star filmmaker is an absolutely silly failure that deserves to be shunned by moviegoers the world over. This was so bad it makes Dee Snider's Strangeland look entertaining.

The actor who plays the reborn Aleister Crowley seems to be the only person having any fun. I don't know much about Crowley but this guy seems more like the reincarnation of the Marquis De Sade.

Quickly, his actions become tiresome and repetitive. The character's motivation for what he's doing becomes lost in the endless sea of Mumbo Jumbo and fake science.

In the end there is a smug attempt to try to get the words "social commentary" into people's descriptions of this movie and gain a little favor with left-leaning critics and probably radical British clerics as well. It's nothing more than a gratuitous Bush bash.

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Poo where thou wilt, 5 November 2009

Author: Ali_Catterall from London, England

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Aleister Crowley and Lafayette Ron Hubbard. Now there are two names to conjure with: the notorious occultist and the demonised father of Scientology. Both pioneers in their way, both fully aware of the other, sharing an initiate in the shape of controversial 1940s American rocket scientist Jack Parsons.

A film featuring Crowley and L Ron arguing the theological toss would be a fascinating prospect, but although the association is alluded to, and quietly dropped, that's not what we get here.

Instead Chemical Wedding is a campy horror farce with sci-fi trappings (think Prince Of Darkness meets The Lawnmower Man) from the Iron Maiden man. To paraphrase fellow metal-head David St Hubbins, "Bruce Dickinson: he wrote this." Clearly, Dickinson is a man possessed. Not content with holding a commercial airline pilot's license, being a champion fencer and papering remainder bookshops the nation over with 'The Adventures Of Lord Iffy Boatrace', he's now turned his saber glove to screen writing. Some might call that gilding the lily.

The plot: dashing American scientist Dr Joshua Mathers (Weber) brings his astounding virtual reality suit to Crowley's real-life alma mater, Trinity College, Cambridge, to be linked up to supercomputer Z93. Unbeknown to Mathers, Z93 has been trojaned with black magick rituals (don't ask) by Crowleyite assistant Dr Victor Neuman, who plans to resurrect the "forgotten man of magick". Stammering classics lecturer Dr Oliver Haddo (Callow) is coerced into the suit. And emerges with a newly-shorn head, and a predilection for wild orgies (complete with naked violinists), the whole world domination jag - and sacrificial scarlet women, with whom to facilitate the ultimate occult ceremony, the eponymous 'Wedding'.

This being a Dickinson script, Aleister is soon roaming the city hypnotizing young women into taking all their clothes off: inquisitive red-headed 'Varsity' reporter Lia (Cuddon) had better watch her back and front. Dr Victor receives his win-bonus; he's fellated by the Whore of Babylon. Truly, these are the end times, when a university fax machine starts leaking seminal fluid. And lest anyone be in doubt this is the real Crowley brought back from the dead, he unbuttons his flaccidness mid-lecture and soaks the front row; a possible self-tribute to Dickinson's expulsion from school for peeing in the headmaster's dinner. He also leaves a calling card: a turd on his desk. Poo where thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.

Given his eventful life and legacy, Aleister Crowley ought to be a screenwriter's dream (great location shots in Egypt; fevered rites at the Abbey of Thelema; walk-on parts for everyone from Anton LeVay to Sgt Pepper). The self-proclaimed Beast 666 was practically a one-man PR machine in any case and Kenneth Anger's experimental shorts aside, it is genuinely surprising that there has been such a dearth of biopics or related features about him.

As evidenced by the studious press notes, Dickinson and director Julian Doyle are obviously in thrall to their subject - few self-respecting metallers aren't - and have done some homework, with character names, for example, taken from real-life Crowley associates. And the film suggests it's about to mine some interesting, if well-trodden, territory: the mystical implications of quantum physics; Schroedinger's cat; virtual reality as an ersatz astral plane. As Doyle puts it, "The expression of the new spiritualism that derives from discoveries in science... hidden in what we hope is a popularist film".

Perhaps too well hidden. As if frightened off by the complexities of the material, it all too quickly curdles into Gouda. The look and feel of Chemical Wedding is evidently an homage to Hammer and early 1970s Brit horror-fantasy in general: that is to say, cheap. And though aiming to titillate, the execution is so corny it might as well be renamed 'Confessions Of A Cabbalist'.

Scenes and dialogue often trail away to nothing, and with the exception of veterans John Schrapnel and Simon Callow, both hamming it up a treat as the lascivious, tongue-waggling visionary, the performances are decidedly of the student film variety. Doyle is an accomplished editor (Terry Gilliam's Brazil and most of the Monty Python movies), but perhaps editors aren't the right people to tease the best out of actors.

Let's call it what it is: a vanity project, one naturally slathered with Iron Maiden hits, unsubtly crow-barred into the action. "Your time will come!" says a prophet of doom at one point, immediately followed by 'Maiden's 'Wicker Man' lyric: "Your time will come, your time will come!" If Jimmy Page managed to alchemise his Crowley fixation into gold, lesser rockers, it seems, can produce only handfuls of tin.

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this doesn't quite work despite some very good pieces, 28 April 2009

Author: dbborroughs from Glen Cove, New York

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

From the lead singer of Iron Maiden comes the story of a science experiment that goes wrong and puts Alister Crowley into the body of a mild mannered college professor. Long winded horror film is well made with a great sense of place, but an almost complete lack of shocks. I don't know what it is but this film just doesn't work. I think the failure to find scares is due to two things. First the science lab stuff feels like a bad TV movie. It seems as though it was added in from a bad scifi film, especially when the rest of the film feels likes its in a real place. The other problem is Simon Callow as the professor who becomes Crowley. I love Callow and his inclusion in the cast was what brought me to see the film. The problem is that his performance prior to the possession by Crowley is laughable. The stuttering flubbering performance under the gray fright wig was awful.It brings to mind the numerous performances that great actors give where you want them to give back their awards (Ben Kinglsey in Blood Rayne for example). It just doesn't work. Its not horrible, actually some it is quite good but as a whole it never comes together and never gets scary and it just sort of lies there. It may click with you, it may not. I'd wait for cable when the cost of movie to dollar is much lower.

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