Chemical Wedding (2008)

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

Director:

Julian Doyle

Writers:

Bruce Dickinson, Julian Doyle

Stars:

Simon Callow, Kal Weber, Lucy Cudden

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Simon Callow	...	Professor Haddo / Aleister Crowley
Kal Weber	...	Joshua Mathers
Lucy Cudden	...	Lia Robinson
Jud Charlton	...	Victor Nuberg
Paul McDowell	...	Symonds
John Shrapnel	...	Crowley
Terence Bayler	...	Professor Brent (as Terrence Bayler)
Richard Franklin	...	Dean of Trinity University
Mike Shannon	...	Alex
Helen Millar	...	Rose
Geoffrey Breton	...	Young Symonds (as Geoff Breton)
Sean Rea	...	Young Alex
Thomas Nelstrop	...	Jones
Robert Ashby	...	Chaplain Marshall
Esmé Bianco	...	Mavis

Storyline

In 1947, noted Neo-Pagan Aleister Crowley dies. In Cambridge, 43 years later, with the help of a computer, Crowley's spirit takes over the body of Haddo, a mild-mannered, stuttering don. Over four days, as Crowley prepares for an occult extravaganza, bodies pile up, Crowley's elect engage in rites of passage, and Lia, a red-headed campus reporter, sniffs out a story that puts her in grave danger. Mathers, a scientist recently arrived from Cal Tech, may hold the key to her destiny.

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Plot Keywords:

voyeurism | voyeur | blonde | forced to strip | female removes her clothes | 

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Shrapnel pinned his ears back to make himself more like Alastair Crowley.

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Goofs

When the girl with the (acoustic) violin draws her bow across the strings, the sound that comes out is more like that of an electric violin, or an acoustic violin fitted with a pickup, processed through an effects pedal. There is no evidence of a patch cord plugged into the violin, let alone a pickup attached to it - and in any event, the girl's hand movements over the fingerboard do not match the notes that we hear.

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Quotes

Haddo: "Do what thou wilt" shall be the whole of the law.

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Crazy Credits

[statement before end credits] On the seventh day the old king gave me a golden medal, bearing on one side the words ART IS THE PRIESTESS OF NATURE and on the other NATURE IS THE DAUGHTER OF TIME.

• the Chymical Wedding (1616)

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Soundtracks

Chemical Wedding
Written by Bruce Dickinson (as Dickinson)/Roger Ramirez (as Ramirez)
Performed by Bruce Dickinson

User Reviews

Interesting but not quite there

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.

Details

Official Sites:

Offical site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

March 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Crowley

Filming Locations:

Bushey Campus, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP2,500,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,439

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bill and Ben Productions, Focus Films, Entertainment Motion Pictures (E-MOTION)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1