I thought this film was quite decent for what it is. The filming was actually better than I had expected it to be given the low budget, and the acting, while nothing particularly mind-blowing, was more than passable.
The actual premise of the movie could have used a little work, especially with the science aspects. I would really rather have just seen a man invoke Crowley and become possessed by him than have some ill-conceived virtual reality program channel him. But, apart from the virtual reality suit and the often obscure, misapplied physics concepts, the creators did moderatly well with the necessary subject matter, though perhaps a bit more research could have been done.
Some things the average viewer may like to know after viewing the film, to show that it was, perhaps, better thought out than they might have previously thought are as follows: Crowley did indeed have an assistant/student named Victor when he was alive. His name was Victor Neuburg, while the Victor in this story is named Numan. The name "Mathers" was also the name of one of Crowley's former instructors turn enemies. He waged 'magical warfare' with Mathers, and if we are to believe Crowley, defeated him. This film pays homage to Samuel Mathers, Crowley's enemy and head of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, by having him be, in a sense, reincarnated to finish the magical battle against Crowley. Of course, it was not a true reincarnation as Mathers in the film was a moonchild, therefore a new, pure soul, and one would assume Mathers is his adoptive parent's name making its usage purely symbolic. Likewise, the magical rituals mentioned in the film often have ritch histories. For example, the creation of a moonchild was indeed pursued by L. Ron Hubbard and Jack Parsons. To learn more about the concept of a moonchild, one can read Crowley's book of the same name. The chemical wedding was quite exaggerated in this story, but one can easily find information on that as well.
Another important note: this film heavily exaggerated Crowley's "evil side." It is said that the worst thing Crowley ever did during his life was crucify a frog, and it would have been quite absurd for him to kill a human as flippantly as in this movie, as that would have directly violated his own moral code. Crowley was indeed a white magician, which made it quite absurd to see an inverted pentagram of satanic nature (the letters at the points) during the ending ritual of the chemical wedding, or inscribed in blood upon the wall.
A question I had at the end of the movie: the creation of the moonchild was said to have occurred in the late 1940s, so how is Mathers so young? Perhaps I just didn't pay attention to the timeline.
The actual premise of the movie could have used a little work, especially with the science aspects. I would really rather have just seen a man invoke Crowley and become possessed by him than have some ill-conceived virtual reality program channel him. But, apart from the virtual reality suit and the often obscure, misapplied physics concepts, the creators did moderatly well with the necessary subject matter, though perhaps a bit more research could have been done.
Some things the average viewer may like to know after viewing the film, to show that it was, perhaps, better thought out than they might have previously thought are as follows: Crowley did indeed have an assistant/student named Victor when he was alive. His name was Victor Neuburg, while the Victor in this story is named Numan. The name "Mathers" was also the name of one of Crowley's former instructors turn enemies. He waged 'magical warfare' with Mathers, and if we are to believe Crowley, defeated him. This film pays homage to Samuel Mathers, Crowley's enemy and head of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, by having him be, in a sense, reincarnated to finish the magical battle against Crowley. Of course, it was not a true reincarnation as Mathers in the film was a moonchild, therefore a new, pure soul, and one would assume Mathers is his adoptive parent's name making its usage purely symbolic. Likewise, the magical rituals mentioned in the film often have ritch histories. For example, the creation of a moonchild was indeed pursued by L. Ron Hubbard and Jack Parsons. To learn more about the concept of a moonchild, one can read Crowley's book of the same name. The chemical wedding was quite exaggerated in this story, but one can easily find information on that as well.
Another important note: this film heavily exaggerated Crowley's "evil side." It is said that the worst thing Crowley ever did during his life was crucify a frog, and it would have been quite absurd for him to kill a human as flippantly as in this movie, as that would have directly violated his own moral code. Crowley was indeed a white magician, which made it quite absurd to see an inverted pentagram of satanic nature (the letters at the points) during the ending ritual of the chemical wedding, or inscribed in blood upon the wall.
A question I had at the end of the movie: the creation of the moonchild was said to have occurred in the late 1940s, so how is Mathers so young? Perhaps I just didn't pay attention to the timeline.