Chemical Wedding (2008)

Director:

Julian Doyle

Writers:

Bruce Dickinson (writer)
Julian Doyle (writer)

Release Date:

30 May 2008 (UK)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Plot:

A shy, stuttering professor brings Aleister Crowley back to life.

Plot Keywords:

Reporter | Cane | Bare Breasts | Pentagram | Illusion

Cast

Simon Callow	...	Haddo
Kal Weber	...	Joshua Mathers
Lucy Cudden	...	Lia Robinson
Jud Charlton	...	Victor Nuberg
Paul McDowell	...	Symonds
John Shrapnel	...	Crowley
Terence Bayler	...	Professor Brent
Richard Franklin	...	Dean
Mike Shannon	...	Alex
Helen Millar	...	Rose
Geoff Breton	...	Young Symonds
Sean Rea	...	Young Alex
Thomas Nelstrop	...	Jones
Robert Ashby	...	Chaplain Marshall
Esmé Bianco	...	Mavis

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Certification:

UK:18

Company:

Bill and Ben Productions

Soundtrack:

Hush Hush Here Comes the Bogey Man

different, to say the least, but it might help to have some background on the subject matter

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.