Most cinematic approaches to Aleister Crowley have been indir­ect, presenting ‘Black Magician’ figures inspired by the ‘Wickedest Man in the World’ in a number of horror movies. The new British film Chemical Wedding, by contrast, engages directly with the man and the myth, asking what might happen if the ‘Great Beast’ were to be reborn and unleashed on the unsuspecting 21st century.


The film begins with a flashback to 1947 and Crowley’s death in Hastings, seemingly brought about by rocket scientist and Thelemite Jack Parsons’s attempt to perform the Babalon Working in far-off Pasadena – a plot point that not only resonates later in the film but also provides a springboard for its theme of the confluence of science and magick.