Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases

Chemical Wedding (2008)

Director: Julian Doyle

Time Out rating

Average user rating

3 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Simon Callow’s always a good bet for a humourous slice of thespian camp and that’s often the case with this paean of sorts to the late, influential occultist-cum-writer, Aleister Crowley. Crowley was a bit of a devilish weirdo but, woah, this is one strange brew.

Part ‘Blake’s 7’-style sci-fi, part fantasy and part schlocky horror, the film opens in 1947 with the venomous, foul-mouthed Crowley (John Shrapnel) being visited by a pair of students shortly before he collapses and dies. Flash forward to contemporary Cambridge, and we witness American inventor Dr Joshua Mathers (Kal Weber) and Cambridge student Victor Newman (Jud Charlton), setting up an experiment with a virtual reality suit that imbues the wearer with the thought processes of others.

Being a Crowley fan, Newman programs the suit with a complex set of equations inspired by Crowley’s black magic ceremonies and persuades bungling lecturer Dr Oliver Haddo (Callow) to wear it. It all goes awry, however, when Haddo emerges from the suit, not as himself but as a full-blown reincarnation of evil Crowley.

It’s at this point that it all turns ugly, with Haddo’s deranged Crowley figure embarking on a debauched quest involving flagellation, masturbation, urination and eventual death. Nice. Written by Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson and directed by former ‘Monty Python’ collaborator Julian Doyle, ‘Chemical Wedding’ is an anomaly most notable for Callow’s off-the-rails performance. Unfortunately, most other elements just don’t cut it: the plot is impenetrable, the special effects are reminiscent of early ‘Doctor Who’, and the whole has a dated ’60s ‘B’-movie feel about it.

Author: Derek Adams

Time Out London Issue 1971 May 28- June 3, 2008

Email Tweet Share

User reviews of this film

Steve said...

Posted on May 29 2008 15:06 Bizzare and peculiar but not what I expected veering from dated sci-fi to crude comedy. John Shrapnel's version was perfect Crowley circa 1915 but Callow's flamboyant (Oliver) Haddo was rather overegged as in The Magician. The Beast would've sued for the misrepresentation....

Report as inappropriate
laura said...

Posted on May 27 2008 15:05 Enjoyed it very much. Simeon Callow is fantastic, the plot zany, funny and odd. This is a cult classic

Report as inappropriate
peter said...

Posted on May 27 2008 15:02 What a great wild ride of a film. Shocking - rare this happens these days, multi layered, delightfully camp and quitefrankly wonderfully different . You either get it or don't and this is the films weakness

Report as inappropriate