Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson can turn his hand to pretty much anything. Not only does he front one of the worlds biggest metal bands, hes also deep breath a fencer, an airline pilot, anauthor, a beer manufacturer and a sometimes radio DJ. But theres one entry on his CV that doesnt get talked about much: his foray into the world of film.
Were talking specifically about Chemical Wedding, the low-budget horror movie that was conceived and co-written by Bruce. Inspired by the singers love of classic Hammer Horror films and their ilk, as well as his fascination with occultist Aleister Crowley, it wasnt exactly short on talent: it starred sonorously-voiced thespian Simon Callow and was directed and co-written by Monty Python collaborator Julian Doyle. It even premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. So why dont more people talk about it?
The simple answer is that its not very good. Callow plays Professor Oliver Haddo, who, after stepping into a virtual reality device thats been secretly fiddled with by occultists, becomes the shaven-headed reincarnation of Aleister Crowley. As he marches around ranting about sex, God and the black arts and generally being a bit of a dickhead, its up to one of Haddos students and an American doctor to stop the chemical wedding: a ritual that will make him more powerful.
On paper, it was an homage to the British horror movies Bruce watched as a kid The Devil Rides Out, The Wicker Man (recognise that title?), anything that came out of venerated studio Hammer Films. They had Dracula, blood, fangs, sex and the devil, Bruce said of those creaky but endearing old movies he grew up watching. All this stuff was like, Oh my God! That is so shocking!, but it really kind of turned us on in secret. As kids, youd be forbidden to watch it but, of course, it would be interesting, and youd watch it.
And Chemical Wedding did share some of their characteristics, not least an over-the-top approach that bordered on camp. Callow turns in a performance that raises the bar on the idea of overacting, while the sci-fi set of the virtual-reality lab looks like its been lifted straight from a Tom Baker-era Doctor Who serial.
And theres the relentless desire to shock. Chemical Wedding has a plot, but it's mostly there so the film can hurry from graphic sexual taboo to graphic sexual taboo. You see it from the moment a reincarnated Crowley gets introduced. He marches to a lecture to the subversive soundtrack of Handels Hallelujah Chorus. Then, he proceeds to parody the To be or not to be soliloquy from Hamlet, changing it to To pee or not to pee and uttering the word cum innumerable times before pissing on his students. Its supposed to be shocking, but its just childish.
The rest of the film is no less highbrow a slideshow of orgies, threesomes and and middle-aged men wanking into fax machines while getting flogged. This is the first transmission of semen by fax, Bruce promised one interviewer ahead of the films release.
The singer actually started writing the movie in the mid-90s, after his exit from Iron Maiden in the wake of the Fear Of The Dark album and tour. He teamed up with Doyle who directed the video for Iron Maidens 1988 single Can I Play With Madness to work on the script, originally under the working title The Number Of The Beast.
We changed that because a friend of Julians had written a novel called The Chemical Wedding, he continued. He said, I think thisll be a great title for the movie. Its not as obvious as The Number Of The Beast, but the chemical part refers to alchemy: an alchemical wedding.
It would take well over a decade before the idea came to fruition, by which time Dickinson had released a solo album in 1998 titled The Chemical Wedding (confusingly based on the works of visionary 18th century poet William Blake rather than Aleister Crowley) and rejoined Iron Maiden the following year.
The movie was eventually released in 2008 (it was titled Crowley in the US). Dickinsons involvement gave it a bigger profile than it would otherwise have had (as well as his co-writing credit, he also has cameo roles as a Blind Man and Landlord according IMDB.com credits, though theyre seemingly so fleeting as to be invisible). It didnt shy away from leaning on Bruces day job either Maidens Can I Play With Madness and The Wicker Man both appeared on the soundtrack, while Dickinsons own 1998 track Chemical Wedding was, unsurprisingly, the title song.
None of that impressed the reviewers. The reception that greeted Chemical Wedding could charitably be described as lukewarm. It just feels like it was shot from an unpolished first draft, wrote Den Of Geek. The Guardian was slightly kinder: Its unintentionally funny and indifferently actedBut its never boring.
Fans were equally unimpressed despite its Cannes premiere, Chemical Wedding came and went without much noise. Part of this could be down to the fact that torture porn was the biggest trend in horror movies at the time, with a new Saw movie seemingly arriving every year. But its mainly because the film is a bit of a stinker. Even today, its audience score on Rotten Tomatoes sits at a lowly 30 per cent.
The movies biggest cheerleader at the time was Bruce Dickinson himself. In brief: its funny, its gross think Withnail & Imeets The Wicker Man. It's The Da Vinci Code, but good, he enthused, though many who watched it would dispute funny and good. But even the normally loquacious been strangely silent about it ever since and theres certainly never been any talk of a sequel. All things considered, its probably for the best.
- 'Immaculate' ending explained: Was the baby a demon? - Business Insider - April 2nd, 2024
- 10 Horror Movies That Would Have Ended Earlier If Their Heroes Were Smarter - CBR - Comic Book Resources - April 2nd, 2024
- Terrifier 3 director reveals they filmed 'most insanely horrific scenes' that nearly made lead actor vomit on set - UNILAD - April 2nd, 2024
- The Latest Stephen King Horror Movie Has A Killer Cast And Director - SlashFilm - April 2nd, 2024
- THE FIRST OMEN 2024: Release Date, Cast, Plot, And Everything You Need to Know - FANGORIA - April 2nd, 2024
- Sting Review | Excellent Creature Feature with an Emotional Backdrop - MovieWeb - April 2nd, 2024
- IMMACULATE Interview with Director Michael Mohan, Discussing the Making of the Film, Reactions to the Ending, and ... - Daily Dead - April 2nd, 2024
- Mood 'Windigo' - Book and Film Globe - April 2nd, 2024
- A 2016 Thriller Is The Top Movie On Netflix Right Now - HuffPost - April 2nd, 2024
- 10 Harsh Realities Of Rewatching Beetlejuice, 36 Years Later - Screen Rant - April 2nd, 2024
- All the Horror Movies We Can't Wait To See in 2024 - The Mary Sue - April 2nd, 2024
- A Buzzy Korean Horror Movie Is Sneakily One Of The Biggest Box Office Hits Of 2024 - SlashFilm - April 2nd, 2024
- Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3 horror movie confirmed, after second film debuted to a surprise perfect Rotten ... - Gamesradar - April 2nd, 2024
- Fear Street 4 Is Reviving An Old Horror Trend That Was Perfected 48 Years Ago - Screen Rant - April 2nd, 2024
- Lisa Frankenstein Hides The Fact That It Cast The Real Star Of 2023's Viral $181 Million Horror Movie - Screen Rant - April 2nd, 2024
- Finally, Someone Confirms That A Sequel To HELLRAISER Is In The Works - FANGORIA - April 2nd, 2024
- We're definitely hard at work on: Hellraiser Sequel Promises to Be Even More Terrifying as Producer Vows to Take ... - FandomWire - April 2nd, 2024
- Future Chucky Movie Will Connect To The Series, Says Don Mancini - Screen Rant - April 2nd, 2024
- After Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2, Freddy and Jason Need to Cameo in the Poohniverse - MovieWeb - April 2nd, 2024
- Chucky Creator Reveals He is Working on a New Child's Play Movie: 'Whatever Keeps Me Working' - MovieWeb - April 2nd, 2024
- AI In Late Night With The Devil Sparks Controversy - Forbes - March 24th, 2024
- A horror movie based on a Stephen King novel with a disappointing Rotten Tomatoes score is climbing Netflix's top 10 - Gamesradar - March 24th, 2024
- This is why we're so obsessed with nuns in horror movies - according to the official source, a nun - Gamesradar - March 24th, 2024
- Stephen King reveals the one horror movie he couldn't sit through as he was too scared - UNILAD - March 24th, 2024
- Late Night With the Devil directors address the use of AI art in the film - JoBlo.com - March 24th, 2024
- David Dastmalchian on Late Night with the Devil, The Life of Chuck and Good Fiend Films - Kansas City Pitch - March 24th, 2024
- Welcome to the Poohniverse: Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey Team to Unite Pooh, Bambi, Tinkerbell and More in Low-Budget Horror Crossover (EXCLUSIVE)... - March 24th, 2024
- Late Night with the Devil is the best horror movie of the year so far - Yahoo Movies Canada - March 24th, 2024
- Sydney Sweeney 'wanted to be drenched in blood' in 'Immaculate' - Entertainment Weekly News - March 24th, 2024
- Film of the Week: 'Stopmotion' - The best horror film of 2024 so far - Euronews - March 24th, 2024
- How to Watch Immaculate: Is the Sydney Sweeney Movie Streaming? - TheWrap - March 24th, 2024
- THE FIRST OMEN: A Battle With The Devil And An NC-17 Rating FANGORIA - FANGORIA - March 24th, 2024
- Elevated Horror: The New Wave of Artful Scares Taking Over Hollywood - LRM Online - March 24th, 2024
- Late Night With the Devil Plot Explained: The True Meaning of the Movie - The Direct - March 24th, 2024
- David Chase is directing his first film in 12 years. Its a horror movie. - NJ.com - March 24th, 2024
- Us Was The Box Office Hit That Gave Jordan Peele True Power In Hollywood - SlashFilm - March 24th, 2024
- Cast of 'Gremlins': Catch Up With the Stars of the '80s Hit - First For Women - March 24th, 2024
- 'Immaculate' Review: Sydney Sweeney Is Wide-Eyed but Sly - The New York Times - March 24th, 2024
- Sydney Sweeney explains that bloody 'Immaculate' ending - Entertainment Weekly News - March 24th, 2024
- When Will Sydney Sweeney's Horror Film, 'Immaculate,' Be Available to Stream? - AOL - March 24th, 2024
- Blumhouse to Return Insidious and Other Titles to Theaters for Halfway to Halloween Fest - Hollywood Reporter - March 16th, 2024
- Every Movie In The Wrong Turn Franchise Ranked - SlashFilm - March 16th, 2024
- Blumhouse Celebrating 'Halfway to Halloween' With Five Horror Movies Returning to 100 AMC Movie Theaters - Bloody Disgusting - March 16th, 2024
- DeWanda Wise Sings Creepy Theme Of New Horror Film: 'Imaginary' - The Root - March 16th, 2024
- Hostel: Part II (2007) WTF Happened to This Horror Movie? - JoBlo.com - March 16th, 2024
- New LEPRECHAUN Movie Will Be Funny, Scary And Full Of Practical Effects - FANGORIA - March 16th, 2024
- Blumhouse Celebrating Halfway to Halloween With Five Horror Movies Returning to 100 AMC Movie Theaters - IMDb - March 16th, 2024
- The Horror Nail-Biter On Max With A Controversial Ending - Giant Freakin Robot - March 16th, 2024
- "Says the person who was in Madame Web": Sydney Sweeney is Getting Skewered for Saying Modern Horror Movies ... - FandomWire - March 16th, 2024
- First trailer for horror movie reboot The Crow features an unrecognizable Bill Skarsgrd on a bloody mission of revenge - Gamesradar - March 16th, 2024
- You'll Never Find Me Is Unforgettable Horror, See The Terror In Action - Giant Freakin Robot - March 16th, 2024
- The First Omen star has seen all of your internet theories about the horror movie prequel and, well, they're all wrong - Gamesradar - March 16th, 2024
- Sltface take on horror movies with their new single, 'Final Grl' - Dork Magazine - March 16th, 2024
- From 'Five Nights at Freddy's' to 'Imaginary': Why Blumhouse loves PG-13 horror - theday.com - March 16th, 2024
- The First Omen's Big Death Reveal Really Doesn't Bode Well For The Prequel - Screen Rant - March 16th, 2024
- 20 Scariest Horror Movies to Come Out in the Last 5 Years - MovieWeb - March 16th, 2024
- 'The Animal Kingdom' Exclusive Clip Previews the Gnarly Body Horror of Magnet's New Movie - Bloody Disgusting - March 16th, 2024
- 'Oddity' Review: This Supernatural Horror Film Will Tear You To Pieces | SXSW 2024 - Collider - March 16th, 2024
- "Marketing is failing this movie tremendously": David Dastmalchian's Late Night With the Devil Dubbed as One of the ... - FandomWire - March 16th, 2024
- STOPMOTION is a handcrafted tale of beauty and horror - Moviejawn - March 16th, 2024
- Horror Lovers Will Love this Dining Spot in Texas - klaq.com - March 8th, 2024
- Is Late Night With The Devil Based On A True Story? - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- Kooky King: 6 of the Weirdest Stephen King Film Adaptations - Nightmare on Film Street - March 8th, 2024
- The Unknown, the Viral Willy Wonka Experience Villain, Is Already Getting Their Own Horror Movie - IGN - March 8th, 2024
- 13 Original Horror Movies We Can't Wait to See in 2024 - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- From 'Imaginary' to 'Five Nights at Freddy's.' Why Blumhouse loves PG-13 horror - Los Angeles Times - March 8th, 2024
- Imaginary Movie Review: M3gan Meets The Boogeyman - Mama's Geeky - March 8th, 2024
- Christopher Nolan Originally Conceived Inception As A Horror Movie - SlashFilm - March 8th, 2024
- 'Whalefall' Movie in the Works From 'No One Will Save You' Director Brian Duffield - The Mary Sue - March 8th, 2024
- Horror Movie Based On THE UNKNOWN From Glasgow's WILLY WONKA Experience In The Works Horror Movie ... - CBM (Comic Book Movie) - March 8th, 2024
- Horrifying 'Late Night With The Devil' Trailer Released - Outkick - March 8th, 2024
- Imaginary review: M3GAN, take the wheel - Dexerto - March 8th, 2024
- The Unknown: Horror Movie Based on Unofficial Willy Wonka Experience Is in the Works - ComingSoon.net - March 8th, 2024
- Imaginary Film Review: Light on Frights - Loud And Clear Reviews - March 8th, 2024
- Dead Mail Directors on Their '80s Horror Influences - MovieWeb - March 8th, 2024
- HORROR BEAT: Blumhouse offers a non-update on the future of THE EXORCIST - Comics Beat - March 8th, 2024
- And the Oscar for best picture doesn't go to ... horror! - NPR - March 8th, 2024
- Shaitaan OTT Release: When And Where To Watch R Madhavan And Ajay Devgn Starrer Horror Thriller Film - Indiatimes.com - March 8th, 2024
- The 'Wonka Experience' Is Being Turned Into A Horror Movie - UPROXX - March 8th, 2024
- 8 new horror movies on Netflix, Max, Shudder and more in March 2024 - TechRadar - March 8th, 2024
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero