Chemical Wedding (film)
Encyclopedia
Chemical Wedding is a British
supernatural horror
/science fiction film
produced by Bill&Ben Productions in conjunction with the London-based Focus Films. It is directed by Julian Doyle
, who edited Terry Gilliam
's Brazil
and Time Bandits
, Life of Brian and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. The story is based on an original screenplay by Bruce Dickinson
, frontman of heavy metal
band Iron Maiden
. Dickinson released a solo album entitled The Chemical Wedding
in 1998, which despite sharing the title and title track from the film's soundtrack, is otherwise unrelated.
machine, Professor Oliver Haddo, a modern Cambridge scholar, becomes possessed by the spirit of the infamous occultist Aleister Crowley
, as the machine's program has been corrupted by a former follower of Crowley. Resurrected 50 years after his death, Crowley begins his occult practices anew, seeking a new "scarlet bride" whom he can marry in an occult ceremony which will increase his power.
' "Messiah Films", but was later adopted by Focus Films. David Pupkewitz and Malcolm Kohll
produced the film, with Ben Timlett and Justin Peyton of Bill and Ben Productions and Duellist Film Production in association with MotionFX and E-Motion. Executive producers are Andy Taylor
, Paul Astrom-Andrews and Peter Dale.
Warner Music released the film's soundtrack in the UK, while Edward Noeltner's Cinema Management Group handled international sales. The film received its world première at the Sci-Fi-London
film festival on 4 May 2008.
According to Rockerparis, Iron Maiden
lead singer Bruce Dickinson
was in Paris, France on 26 November to promote the film's DVD release. The screening and press conference were held in a private cinema in front of Europe 1
radio near the Champs Elysées. Dickinson, who has a small cameo role in the film, has stated that, "On several levels, I think it will be nice for them ([Iron Maiden fans]) to see somebody from Maiden doing something else that gets the band's name out there and also potentially gets a bit of respect for heavy metal and all the rest of it....But, in addition, I think they'll just enjoy it. It's a rollicking good story."
stating, "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 naff it might as well be renamed 'Confessions Of A Cabbalist'.".
Horror.com, however, praised the film, calling it "a mixed bag of tricks to be sure, but it's worth a look for the curio factor. (At least it's not a remake, a J-horror knock-off, or torture porn.)"
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
supernatural horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
/science fiction film
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
produced by Bill&Ben Productions in conjunction with the London-based Focus Films. It is directed by Julian Doyle
Julian Doyle (filmmaker)
Julian Doyle is a British film maker who is best known for editing Monty Python's Life of Brian and shooting the special effects for Terry Gilliam's films Brazil and Time Bandits.-Early years:...
, who edited Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
's Brazil
Brazil (film)
Brazil is a 1985 British science fiction fantasy/black comedy film directed by Terry Gilliam. It was written by Gilliam, Charles McKeown, and Tom Stoppard and stars Jonathan Pryce. The film also features Robert De Niro, Kim Greist, Michael Palin, Katherine Helmond, Bob Hoskins, and Ian Holm...
and Time Bandits
Time Bandits
Time Bandits is a 1981 British fantasy film produced and directed by Terry Gilliam.Terry Gilliam wrote the screenplay with fellow Monty Python alumnus Michael Palin, who appears with Shelley Duvall in the small, recurring roles of Vincent and Pansy. The film is one of the most famous of more than...
, Life of Brian and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. The story is based on an original screenplay by Bruce Dickinson
Bruce Dickinson
Paul Bruce Dickinson is an English singer, songwriter, airline pilot, fencer, broadcaster, author, screenwriter, actor and marketing director, best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden....
, frontman of heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
. Dickinson released a solo album entitled The Chemical Wedding
The Chemical Wedding (Bruce Dickinson album)
The Chemical Wedding is the fifth solo album by English heavy metal singer Bruce Dickinson, released on 14 July 1998 through Sanctuary Records...
in 1998, which despite sharing the title and title track from the film's soundtrack, is otherwise unrelated.
Plot
Upon entering a VRVirtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
machine, Professor Oliver Haddo, a modern Cambridge scholar, becomes possessed by the spirit of the infamous occultist Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...
, as the machine's program has been corrupted by a former follower of Crowley. Resurrected 50 years after his death, Crowley begins his occult practices anew, seeking a new "scarlet bride" whom he can marry in an occult ceremony which will increase his power.
Cast
- Simon CallowSimon CallowSimon Phillip Hugh Callow, CBE is an English actor, writer and theatre director. He is also currently a judge on Popstar to Operastar.-Early years:...
as Professor Oliver Haddo/Aleister Crowley - Kal Weber as Dr. Joshua Mathers
- Lucy Cudden as Lia Robinson
- Jud Charlton as Victor Nuberg
- Paul McDowell as Symonds
- John ShrapnelJohn ShrapnelJohn Shrapnel is an English actor.Shrapnel was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, the son of Mary Lillian Myfanwy and journalist/author Norman Shrapnel....
as Aleister Crowley (original) - Terence BaylerTerence Bayler-Early life:Bayler was born in Wanganui, the son of Amy and Harold Bayler, a stagehand. His first film appearance was in the New Zealand film Broken Barrier ....
as Professor Brent - Mike Shannon as Alex
- Bruce DickinsonBruce DickinsonPaul Bruce Dickinson is an English singer, songwriter, airline pilot, fencer, broadcaster, author, screenwriter, actor and marketing director, best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden....
as Crowley's landlord and as a blind man
Production
The film was originally proposed in 2000 and was to have been produced by Terry JonesTerry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
' "Messiah Films", but was later adopted by Focus Films. David Pupkewitz and Malcolm Kohll
Malcolm Kohll
Malcolm Kohll was born in 1953 in South Africa. He is a writer and producer.-Education:He attended Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa, where he trained as a journalist...
produced the film, with Ben Timlett and Justin Peyton of Bill and Ben Productions and Duellist Film Production in association with MotionFX and E-Motion. Executive producers are Andy Taylor
Andy Taylor (music entrepreneur)
Andy Taylor, co-manager of the British band Iron Maiden and co-founder in 1976 of Sanctuary Records, which described itself, as of January 2007, as the UK's largest independent record company, one of the world's leading developers of music intellectual property rights and the world's largest...
, Paul Astrom-Andrews and Peter Dale.
Warner Music released the film's soundtrack in the UK, while Edward Noeltner's Cinema Management Group handled international sales. The film received its world première at the Sci-Fi-London
Sci-Fi-London
SCI-FI-LONDON , is a UK based film festival, dedicated to the science fiction and fantasy genres, which began in 2002.-About the Festival:...
film festival on 4 May 2008.
According to Rockerparis, Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
lead singer Bruce Dickinson
Bruce Dickinson
Paul Bruce Dickinson is an English singer, songwriter, airline pilot, fencer, broadcaster, author, screenwriter, actor and marketing director, best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden....
was in Paris, France on 26 November to promote the film's DVD release. The screening and press conference were held in a private cinema in front of Europe 1
Europe 1
Europe 1, formerly known as Europe n° 1, is a privately owned radio network created in 1955. It is one of the leading French radio broadcasters and heard throughout France...
radio near the Champs Elysées. Dickinson, who has a small cameo role in the film, has stated that, "On several levels, I think it will be nice for them ([Iron Maiden fans]) to see somebody from Maiden doing something else that gets the band's name out there and also potentially gets a bit of respect for heavy metal and all the rest of it....But, in addition, I think they'll just enjoy it. It's a rollicking good story."
Reception
Chemical Wedding was almost universally panned by critics, with Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
stating, "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 naff it might as well be renamed 'Confessions Of A Cabbalist'.".
Horror.com, however, praised the film, calling it "a mixed bag of tricks to be sure, but it's worth a look for the curio factor. (At least it's not a remake, a J-horror knock-off, or torture porn.)"
Soundtrack
Track Listing:- "Chemical Wedding" - Bruce Dickinson
- "Hush Hush Here Comes the Bogie Man" - Henry Hall / Val Rosing
- "Fanlight Fanny" - George Formby
- "Man of SorrowsMan of Sorrows (song)Man of Sorrows is the second single from Bruce Dickinson's fourth solo album, Accident of Birth, released on 3 June 1997. The song was originally written for a film called Chemical Wedding, which existed only as a script at the time...
" - Bruce Dickinson - "The Wicker ManThe Wicker Man (song)"The Wicker Man" is a song by Iron Maiden, released as the first single from their album Brave New World in April 2000. It was co-written by Adrian Smith, Bruce Dickinson and Steve Harris. It was co-produced by Kevin Shirley and Harris. The title is inspired by the British cult film of the same name...
" - Iron Maiden - "Can I Play with MadnessCan I Play with Madness"Can I Play with Madness" was the sixteenth single released by Iron Maiden. Released in 1988, it is the first single from the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son album and hit number 3 in the UK charts. The song is about a young man who wants to learn the future from an old prophet with a crystal ball...
" - Iron Maiden - "Separation" - Skin
- "Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faunePrélude à l'après-midi d'un faunePrélude à l'après-midi d'un faune , commonly known by its English title Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, is a symphonic poem for orchestra by Claude Debussy, approximately 10 minutes in duration...
" - Debussy - "The Hallelujah Chorus" - Handel
- "(Excerpt) Violin Concerto" - Mozart