Chemical Wedding (film)

Chemical Wedding
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Julian Doyle
Produced by	David Pupkewitz Malcolm Kohll Ben Timlett Justin Peyton
Written by	Bruce Dickinson Julian Doyle
Starring	Simon Callow Kal Weber Lucy Cudden Jud Charlton Paul McDowell John Shrapnel Terence Bayler Mike Shannon Bruce Dickinson
Production company	Bill&Ben Productions Focus Films
Distributed by	Anchor Bay Entertainment (U.S.)
Release date	4 May 2008
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Chemical Wedding (released in the U.S. as Crowley) 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. 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.

Upon entering a VR 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.

The film was originally proposed in 2000 and was to have been produced by Terry Jones' "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.