Chemical Wedding (2008) User Reviews

It Depends.....

[bondagegirldi · 6/10 · 12 June 2013]

If you have read anything by Crowley, the Satanic Bible, or Marquis de Sade, this movie will fall along those kind of lines and not upset you too much. However, if you can't handle a weird mixture of sadism (both sexual and other), a perversion of the Christian religion (mostly in the distortion of Biblical verses to emphasize sexual things), and (just for kicks) a little Sci-Fi (kinda like "The Mangler 2"), then do not watch. But, I found it entertaining, although a bit confusing trying to mix so many genres into one movie. Basically, a professor becomes possessed by Alastair Crowley, via virtual reality, which is being tested by (basically) an American Tech Support guy. Prof. Hallow completely changes. Most of the movie is about spouting Crowley's rhetoric, with a few deaths thrown in for good measure. The movie also quotes and/or refers to many ideas regarding thoughts about space, time, philosophy, etc. I cannot expand too much because it has been a very long time since I studied any of the points that are brought up in the movie. But I will say that the ones I remember (and the ones I looked up for a refresher), were accurately presented and expressed from an educated (for one opinion or another) point of view.

I do love the acting from the character Hallow. His descent into madness and deviance is great. The other actors are good as well, but his performance steals the show. Also note: do NOT let children watch this movie. There is at least one scene that is very "Fifty Shades".

I'm sorry I do not know any of the actors names.

A Very British B Movie

[greenknight-2 · 6/10 · 17 September 2008]

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).

Interesting but not quite there

[artnude · 6/10 · 28 September 2008]

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.

Most Enjoyable

[vc7777 · 16 August 2011]

I would not pay too much attention to our American friend's review.One surely cannot have an opinion when he knows nothing of the film makers main character, who's nature and role, played an influential part in the world of the occult!

I could make a few assumptions that would lean on inadequate notions but lets get back to the film.

I found it quirky and at times a little to jazzed up.If you're into magik you will adore any scene that features the beast.If you are not into the man or magik, than it's not really for you.

You will just end up writing something silly like the gentleman from America and start waffling on about politics!

Stinks

[Bill357 · 1/10 · 27 October 2009]

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.

To call this movie crap...

[JoeB131 · 1/10 · 15 April 2009]

is an insult to a useful fertilizer.

To explain the meandering, pointless plot? Aleister Crowley dies and his spirit transfers, well, somewhere. Meanwhile, a CalTech professor creates a virtual reality program that has been infiltrated by Crowley's persona, taking over a stuttering professor. What follows are a bunch of lame sex scenes (God, the Brits can even make SEX boring!)

The movie has a nice little bit of social satire- That they hit the reset button at the end and announce Crowley might have gotten out in an alternate universe, which is now more evil... then we see a Newspaper that said Al Gore won the election of 2000.

Well, we would have been spared "an Inconvient Truth". I guess that would be a slightly less evil universe...

Seriously, evil is suffering through the length of this movie hoping something interesting will happen. I'm sorry I did.

Probably better as a book, fails as a film

[hottysmiff · 3/10 · 6 June 2008]

It's hard to know where to start...unfortunately this bonkers film does not reach the 'so bad it's good' category, it is just genuinely bad and contains some shocking elements of film-making that I, hand on heart, have not witnessed since A Level Film Studies. The plot you probably already know. In a nutshell, a virtual reality suit is programmed with the rituals of Aleister Crowley and the spirit of said Crowley goes on to inhabit Professor Haddo who goes through a major transformation. All well and good. What follows is a labyrinthine plot that is so dense your brain gives up following it. The script is a thoroughly well researched piece of writing, but that is its first downfall. The film starts to feel like a series of mini lectures about the background of all things scientific and occult and, whilst interesting, it really does start to get in the way of plot and pacing. A plot development can't be brought up without a character spouting for two minutes about the history behind it all. And what characters they are! All played without fear of getting anywhere near an Oscar. It's hard to pick who's worse, but Paul McDowell's (Symons) acting technique consists of the same facial expression and tone of voice for every second he's on-screen, be it a scene of terror or humour. To be fair, the poor lad probably didn't know what the hell was going on. Join the club, Paul. What is truly unforgivable is the appalling editing and camera-work, even the basics aren't right. Camera shots are wobbly, edits fly out of nowhere and in some cases the soundtrack is so loud that you cannot hear the actors at all. The editing adds to the confusion of a script that one would need several days to work out and probably a few headache pills along the way. As a book, it'd probably work a lot better. What was needed was a more experienced head behind the scenes. It needed a really good script editor to strip the script down, because amongst the chaos there are some solid ideas and plot devices. It needed a better director and crew. You have to applaud their gusto though, they must've felt like children on Christmas Eve getting the chance to run riot and make their own film. On the plus side the soundtrack contains Bruce and Maiden songs, and as a big fan this pleased me. Over the closing credits Bruce sang Man of Sorrows. I could relate to that, I'd just wasted a fiver....

Good Old Fashioned Brit Horror-SPOILERS!

[maidenlord · 7/10 · 3 June 2008]

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!)

Far from good

[dipetete · 3/10 · 15 September 2010]

The story is good. However the actors are not good enough and the plot is terrible. Hopefully a remake of this movie will be done someday with a better budget to exploit at the maximum the story. I love Iron Maiden music, an deeply respect Bruce Dickinson for his achievements. However, being completely sincere, they are not good with the video stuff. I can't understand why since they are very theatrical in their concerts. But anybody who loves Iron Maiden music and had watch their videos I think will agree they are HORRIBLE with all respect. I think Bruce can write (althou not alone) but he needs to be surrounded by a better team. Can you imagine if this movie were directed by let's say Christopher Nolan starring Anthony Hopkins and some real actors? Come on Bruce, you can do it better!

Crowley (2008) (AKA Chemical Wedding)

[suspiria10 · 7/10 · 13 March 2009]

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. 

Poo where thou wilt

[Ali_John_Catterall · 1/10 · 8 July 2010]

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.

Moving from one genre to another this film shatters all Hollywood formulae

[joloplondon · 9/10 · 22 June 2008]

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.

Very Enjoyable Story Setting Crowley in Modern Times

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 9 March 2009]

Aleister Crowley, one of the greatest of the magicians, is dead. But what if someone were to synthesize his essence in a computer program, and import it into the human mind... could Crowley be reborn, or at least simulated? England is about to find out, thanks to a program called Z93. As one might expect from Crowley (and Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson), chaos ensues.

My background on this film was mixed. I had heard largely unkind things said about it, including suggestions that it wasn't even worth viewing. As for the subject matter, my knowledge is relatively minimal. I've never been an Iron Maiden fan, and although I have read Crowley's "Diary of a Drug Fiend", that is more or less the extent of my awareness of him. I do, however, know a bit about Eliphas Levi, who is referenced in the film.

Despite the rash of bad reviews this film received, I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it beginning to end. I found the idea very clever and original, Simon Callow's portrayal of Crowley to be flawless (especially playing two diverse characters), and the film's pushing of the limits to be a welcome surprise. I've seen the limits of violence pushed, but rarely in horror do we see sexual magick pursued with such graphic imagery. One scene involving a fax machine is particularly interesting. The images in general are vivid and alluring. Director Julian Doyle knows how to get his vision on film and does it here.

Besides Callow, the other performances are also top notch. The professors and the female lead are superb. The lead in particular was both sexy and graceful and had all the skills of a seasoned actress. I am not familiar with her work, but if we see her more often, this wouldn't be a surprise at all and may be a pleasant addition to the list of recurring actresses working in cinema today.

I had two minor concerns. First, why is getting a photo of Crowley so hard? One of the subplots involves the school's newspaper looking for a photo and they either never find one or fail to for several scenes. The film takes place in 2000, so the Internet should be available, and even without it, any occult book should have one of the more common photos (such as with Crowley wearing the pyramid on his head). Also, maybe it's me (it's probably me), but I found Mathers and Victor to be confusing. Once Victor gets scarred, there's no problem, but before that I wasn't always clear which one was on screen. Am I alone on this?

I encourage you to see "Crowley" as soon as you can. I find more and more often the few enjoyable films I view are re-issues of classic or forgotten titles, usually foreign. "Crowley" departs from that, breaking the mold... it may just be the first good horror film of 2009 (excluding re-issues). And based on what I'm seeing on the horizon, it will likely not have much competition.

this doesn't quite work despite some very good pieces

[dbborroughs · 5/10 · 28 April 2009]

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.

Watchable... if you have NOTHING better to do!

[trellikialloparmeni · 5/10 · 4 November 2011]

Well, as much as I like Bruce Dickinson as a musician, I can't say the same about his movie producing skills. This was quite mediocre and looked amateurish to me, although I'm not a certified film critic!

The story had some interesting parts, the script made me think about many Iron Maiden/Bruce Dickinson songs, but other than that, I think any of us here might have done a better work.

The acting was bearable, but that's about it! The ending tried to be interesting, but I am not so sure it achieved it. Nothing new to offer as plots go, really.

Finally, I didn't think the soundtrack matched the scenes at any given time and I would much rather listen to Dickinson's music outside the context of this movie!

BUT... I have seen a lot worse films and I could say I went through this one almost painlessly!

If you're dead bored, it might offer a thought-free couple of hours of entertainment!

Poor Crowley..............character assassination!

[hootson21 · 1 June 2011]

On the whole I like this movie because its about the only film I know that deals with Alaistor Crowley - an incredible man who is long overdue for a major film of his life. Unfortunately the makers of this film go for the easy option and make Crowley into a right evil sod..........killing people whenever it takes his fancy.........all in pursuit of the "chemical wedding".

Now in reality Crowley sounds like he was a man to be feared and avoided but he didn't go around killing people - despite all the newspaper garbage of the time about him being the most wicked man in the world, etc, etc. Why the makers chose this approach to an interesting subject is anybody's guess - but it probably comes down to box-office! Dress up Crowley as the occult's answer to Hannibal Lector and it will ring up megabucks at the box-office........or at least the makers hope! However despite those reservations its still quite an unusual film and well worth seeing - even if its just for Simon Callows marvellous OTT turn as Crowley. But as I've indicated the definitive film on the Great Beast is still to be made. Lets hope British film-makers do it before Hollywood does!

Dreadful. Avoid.

[jason-223-940314 · 1/10 · 21 November 2016]

This is without doubt, one of the worst films I have ever seen. The direction is pointless and childish. The editing does nothing to make up for or improve the amateurish photography. The sound is ghastly. Was the sound recordist one of the students? Simon Callow's Haddo is more League of Gentleman than Ordo Templi Orientis and actually made me laugh out loud. This burst of misplaced mirth was no recompense for wasting nearly two, irretrievable hours attempting to digest this mish mash of the worst of Doctor Who and some diabolical (in the wrong sense) student flick. Crap films can be fun. "Blood on Satans Claw", "Witchfinder General", Lust for a Vampire" spring to mind. This is not one of them

A Chemical Toilette - One of the Worst Films I've Ever Seen

[michael-daniels-84521 · 1/10 · 6 January 2018]

Anyone that has any real knowledge about the life and work of Aleister Crowley will recognise in this movie nothing whatsoever of any merit. In fact the film is total verbose and visual garbage, bearing no similarity to this person or his magical philosophy whatsoever. The writer and director of this movie, without doubt, show themselves as embarrassing, uneducated, bungling armatures, totally ignorant of any initiated understanding. The film is just one naked portrayal of the slogan, "ignorance is bliss". As British filmmaking goes is degrading to watch this putrid trash. The acting is abominable and the film is historically inaccurate. These bumbling buffoons have created one great hotchpotch of diarrhoea soaked venom as to leave the viewer wondering what foul stinking Abremelistic demon ever possessed them! The film remains and belongs in the Chemical Toilette!

Decent Low-Budget Film, but helps to know the subject matter

[Nick-argyle · 6/10 · 29 September 2008]

I thought this film was quite decent for what it is. The filming was actually better than I had expected it to be given the low budget, and the acting, while nothing particularly mind-blowing, was more than passable.

The actual premise of the movie could have used a little work, especially with the science aspects. I would really rather have just seen a man invoke Crowley and become possessed by him than have some ill-conceived virtual reality program channel him. But, apart from the virtual reality suit and the often obscure, misapplied physics concepts, the creators did moderatly well with the necessary subject matter, though perhaps a bit more research could have been done.

Some things the average viewer may like to know after viewing the film, to show that it was, perhaps, better thought out than they might have previously thought are as follows: Crowley did indeed have an assistant/student named Victor when he was alive. His name was Victor Neuburg, while the Victor in this story is named Numan. The name "Mathers" was also the name of one of Crowley's former instructors turn enemies. He waged 'magical warfare' with Mathers, and if we are to believe Crowley, defeated him. This film pays homage to Samuel Mathers, Crowley's enemy and head of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, by having him be, in a sense, reincarnated to finish the magical battle against Crowley. Of course, it was not a true reincarnation as Mathers in the film was a moonchild, therefore a new, pure soul, and one would assume Mathers is his adoptive parent's name making its usage purely symbolic. Likewise, the magical rituals mentioned in the film often have ritch histories. For example, the creation of a moonchild was indeed pursued by L. Ron Hubbard and Jack Parsons. To learn more about the concept of a moonchild, one can read Crowley's book of the same name. The chemical wedding was quite exaggerated in this story, but one can easily find information on that as well.

Another important note: this film heavily exaggerated Crowley's "evil side." It is said that the worst thing Crowley ever did during his life was crucify a frog, and it would have been quite absurd for him to kill a human as flippantly as in this movie, as that would have directly violated his own moral code. Crowley was indeed a white magician, which made it quite absurd to see an inverted pentagram of satanic nature (the letters at the points) during the ending ritual of the chemical wedding, or inscribed in blood upon the wall.

A question I had at the end of the movie: the creation of the moonchild was said to have occurred in the late 1940s, so how is Mathers so young? Perhaps I just didn't pay attention to the timeline.

Well it's got a good opening track.

[Dodge-Zombie · 2/10 · 15 June 2022]

So it was written by the singer from the rock band "Iron Maiden". That was itself a sign that it wasn't going to be amazing. However I remember watching this years ago and wanted to try it again. I shouldn't of bothered. It's badly written. Terribly acted. Production value of a multipack of crisps from ASDA. It's just not good. I only marked it a 2 because I like the use of Henry Hills "Here Comes the Boogeyman".

A cool flick, but not recommended to the casual viewer

[dworldeater · 7/10 · 11 July 2019]

Crowley aka Chemical Wedding is a low budget British horror flick written for the screen by Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson. In addition to being one of the greatest singers to have ever lived in one of the best and most important metal bands ever, he also is a pilot,great at fencing and soccer, add screenwriter to his list of talents. The film is about Aleister Crowley reincarnated in the modern era. This is no documentary, this is a cheap horror film based on an unusual man. Having said that the film is a little weird, escoteric and quirky is an understatement. For folks that know little or nothing about the infamous magician and occultist, this should give them an idea of some of his ideas and things that he would indulge in. Chemical Wedding is pretty solid highbrow horror with lots of bizarre rituals, drug use and lots of weird sex with a little violence. Chemical Wedding is a glimpse into the occult world under the guise of an unusual horror film. I like it.

Mr. Crowley

[BandSAboutMovies · 2/10 · 12 April 2022]

Simon Calow (Four Weddings and a Funeral) is Professor Oliver Haddo, a Cambridge scholar who is reprogrammed by a virtual reality machine into becoming the avatar for the spirit of Aleister Crowley. Now, more than fifty years after his death, Crowley begins his search for a scarlet woman to be part of his next working.

It was directed by Julian Doyle, who edited Brazil, Life of Brian, The Meaning of Life and Time Bandits. He's also directed music videos for Kate Bush and made Iron Maiden's "Can I Play With Madness?" video. Speaking of Maiden, he co-wrote this with their lead singer, Bruce Dickinson, and two of his songs ("Chemical Wedding" and "Book of Sorrows") and two Maiden songs (the aforementioned "Madness" and "The Wicker Man") are on the soundtrack.

I learned from this movie that we live in the world where Satan is in charge, that you can fax sperm and that even a movie with this much nudity and depravity can be slightly lame. I wanted to love this and it got close, so close, but it's charitably a complete mess.

Crowley Returns

[samueljones1 · 9/10 · 1 July 2008]

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.

Decent

[rcbridii · 6/10 · 7 December 2009]

I want to like this movie more as it is connected to Bruce Dickinson.

I liked the concept and the basic story structure enough to make up for the massive flaws in this movie. I thought at times the movie was more gratuitous than it needed to be for no good reason... and I hate to say it, but the music was done poorly. That's not to say I don't like it, but that there were points in the movie where dialogue was impossible to understand because the music was louder. I also got confused at the end, but to be fair it's probably because the copy I watched was scratched during about three minutes- right at the climax of the movie.

I thought it was interesting though. The plot was well thought-out even if it was a bit scrunched. I liked all the references to occultism and quantum physics. If Bruce Dickinson writes another movie, I'll watch it... but I'll hope for better next time.

A wedding unlikely to have a great reception.

[BA_Harrison · 3/10 · 14 November 2013]

Given what a filthy, perverted, deviant 'beast' Aleister Crowley was, it's not surprising to find that this film, in which the influential 1920s occultist is a central figure, is packed full of all kinds of depravity. It is this wanton debauchery that will undoubtedly draw in the punters, along with the involvement of legendary heavy metal singer Bruce Dickinson—but be warned... without an in-depth knowledge of sexual magick and the philosophy of Thelema (Crowley's religion), the majority of this film will probably make no sense whatsoever (although I also suspect that even devout Crowley acolytes will be non-plussed by most of what they see).

My limited knowledge of the subject matter certainly meant that I didn't have a clue what was going on for much of the time, and I found the stuff about the super computer and the virtual reality cyber-suit even more inexplicable; this inaccessibility led to utter confusion which ultimately led to utter boredom, despite such lurid weirdness as Simon Callow sending a very unusual message via fax, a whore nailed to a door (hey, that rhymes!), Callow peeing over his students during an unconventional lecture about Shakespeare's Hamlet, and a pan-sexual satanic orgy featuring people doing all manner of unspeakably naughty things.