The Alchemist Cookbook (2016) User Reviews

The punk rock son of The Evil Dead & Hereditary

[Dispatcher3033 · 6/10 · 4 January 2021]

Let me try to summarize this film. A man living out in the woods by himself tries to discover, through alchemy, how to make gold while he has a mental breakdown with possible demons knocking at his door. Does that sum it up? I've seen adverts for this film around Hulu, Prime, and other streaming sites but never had the time to turn it on. Well, tonight was the night, bay-bee, and I wanted to treat myself to something off the wall. Boy, did I get it.

Look, this is going to be a hard film to recommend to, well, anyone. It's a low budget indie horror flick with one actor, mostly, and one setting. I get what the director was trying to do, but it's not what he ultimately accomplishes. Because the film isn't trying to be just one thing, it becomes a jumbled mess of several things. A majority of the tension is lost due to comedy interjected between scenes. Some shots are not framed correctly, leaving you with no idea what the character is gaping at. The ending, though, will be the biggest issue most viewers will have with the film.

There are good things about this movie that need to be praise. Ty Hickson (Sean) is pretty good as the lead. The character has a lot of baggage and Hickson pulls it off rather well. Amari Cheatom also adds some well-needed interaction between himself and Hickson, to helps sell how far Sean's mental state has gone.

The sound design was well done. There are disembodied voices hidden throughout, a strange caterwauling coming from off-screen, and some solid foley work. All these build great tension and adds to the mystery of, "is he finally losing it or are demons real?"

As I said, though, this movie will be a hard sell to casual audiences. There's a good movie in here, but its rough edges need to be polished, which includes the last 15 minutes of the movie. As it stands, you have to love the craft of storytelling and/or film-making to get the most of this. If you're looking for a traditional horror movie you need to look somewhere else. If you're looking for something a bit more experimental, I say give this film a shot. I'm giving this a 6 out of 10, closer to a 5 than a 7.

Potrykus Steps It Up

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 20 July 2016]

Suffering from delusions of fortune, a young hermit (Ty Hickson, GIMME THE LOOT) hides out in the forest hoping to crack an ancient mystery, but pays a price for his mania.

When I saw that Joel Potrykus was the film's writer-director, I was immediately on board. His last feature, "Buzzard", really struck a nerve with me, and I feel a sense of pride that an upper Midwest filmmaker is making a go of it. In my review for "Buzzard", I noted a connection to Richard Linklater's early work (particularly "Slacker"). Perhaps Potrykus is following a similar rise to fame as Linklater: Allegedly, this is the first time Potrykus has not used an HDSLR or Super 8 camera to shoot his film, and the film quality is noticeably improved from earlier work.

We are dropped in to the middle of "Alchemist", and the early scenes leave us with some questions – who is this man and what is he up to? We quickly pick up on his independent, punk rock mentality. But is he crafting bombs, Unabomber-style? Perhaps this is a wilderness meth lab? The title is a clear allusion to the Anarchist Cookbook, but what does that mean? And what awful incident caused his leg injury?

The sparse cast allows Hickson a showcase, demonstrating that he is not just devastatingly handsome, but a superb thespian to boot. There is not a single scene without him, and in many scenes he is alone and has only gestures to emote with. In a little over an hour, Sean (Hickson) goes from wildly elated, to terrified, to menacing. If the Academy watched independent films, they would take note. Interestingly, as paranoia sets in, Hickson acts more like Joshua Burge did in "Buzzard". Does Potrykus script it this way, direct his actors this way, or is it a coincidence? Regardless, with Burge going on to appear in "The Revenant" and "20th Century Women", Hickson would probably be quite happy to follow his lead.

Amari Cheatom (DJANGO UNCHAINED) offers a bit of comic relief as the wannabe gangsta Cortez who has "got the good stuff", including a VCR to play such awful movies as "Red Heat" (not Schwarzenegger's finest moment). Although Cheatom is the supporting actor to Hickson, he still shows some acting chops in the second third of the film. (Then again, not knowing Cheatom personally, playing the gangsta could have been an impressive acting feat, even if he is very much a one-note character.)

The film has been described as "Evil Dead" meets "Walden" meets Jim Jarmusch. The "Evil Dead" comparison is actually quite fitting, as both could be described as films about a young man alone in the woods of Michigan who is forced to battle demons. The "Walden" aspect is self-explanatory. As for Jarmusch, I still prefer to think of Potrykus as being in the Linklater mold. For me, nothing can be Jarmuschesque unless it is black and white and Tom Waits appears in some capacity. (Yes, this is a very narrow definition, but that is how I envision the quintessential Jarmusch film.)

As is his wont, Potrykus defies genres with "Alchemist". On some level, it is clearly horror, because it involves conjuring demons, some bloody body parts, and a scene that will make you wince at the threat of finger trauma. But this is unconventional horror, really more of a story about mental illness with horror overtones. Think of William Friedkin's "Bug", for example. Horror? Yes. But not in the sense that we have comes to define that genre. Heck, the connection to the proverbial alchemist even hints at fantasy elements.

Critic Dennis Harvey explains, "Fans of absurdist indie comedies who find themselves watching a quasi-horror pic are likely to be happier than horror fans who find themselves watching an absurdist indie comedy with a demon in it." As a fan of both, I concede that Harvey makes a valid point. Indie fans (especially fans of "Buzzard") will find much to love. The die-hard horror crowd, however, might find themselves confused or even bored by the lack of action. In this sense, the film becomes a Rorschach test: it is as much about what was created as about the expectations the viewer brings with them.

"The Alchemist Cookbook" premieres at the Fantasia Film Festival on July 20, 2016. If you enter the theater with an open mind and without your preconceived notions of what a fantastic film should be, I suspect Joel Potrykus will be adding a few more members to his growing fan base.

A movie with a lot of promise that doesn't deliver

[Obi-Wan-22 · 4/10 · 15 April 2016]

The movie is, from the get-go, a tale about a man who's having a mental breakdown. Then some horror elements are introduced. But there isn't any push or pull for the viewer. We know none of this is real so the drama is lacking. Without any narrative drama we are left to follow a character who is given zero backstory and is grossly uninteresting. There are moments of great dialogue between the only two characters. Amari Cheatom is particularly good. In addition, there is some superb sound design for the horror surrounding us. The director wisely shows us little and leaves the horror all to our imagination and the sound design is the best element of that. But it's all for not as the story plods along at an uninteresting pace and ends up right where we suspected it would all along.

Had potential... Fell flat.

[FoundFootageCreep · 2/10 · 15 April 2021]

I'm not quite sure where to start...

I couldn't tell you of a time that I was more disappointed with a movie.

At the beginning, this movie burns slowly with very little dialogue.

As a new character is introduced it sucks you back in for a brief moment.

Little context is given to the purpose of the main character and his mission. However, it is apparent that this movie has something to do with mental health.

This movie had potential to be very scary but it did not deliver for me.

The acting wasn't terrible though.

Give it a try, make your own decisions and steer clear of the flock.

Good Idea, Bad Delivery

[jegd-847-631407 · 1/10 · 4 January 2017]

An anxiety ridden man retreats to the woods with his cat in hopes of discovering how to turn any metal into gold. After attempts with elemental science, he quickly turns to alchemaic magic and summons the devil Belial who takes possession of the man.

Dialogue is important to me - especially when scenery is limited. A good dialogue (for example from Toni Morrison to Quentin Tarantino) will capture the audience an hold them for hours without blinking. The dialogue in The Alchemist's Cookbook gave me time to check my Twitter account ... twice.

I assumed this film could be an ad-lib or improvised performance, but I'm certain that isn't true. This is the first work I've watched from Joel Potrykus. He seems to be motivated by the horror genre which I would love to see in most writers. The problem is Potrykus' attempt to connect it with the real world. There are things in reality that one does not need an imagination to view as horrific - But the translation of mythology to realism eludes many people and (award-winner or not) Joel Potrykus is one of them.

The Alchemist Cookbook seeks to rely on the performance of a single actor, that being Ty Hickson. I'm not familiar with Hickson but I want to guess his character is far removed from himself. While the acting isn't anything to scoff over (It's not easy pretending to be alone staring into a mirror while a camera is on you) - I have no idea who Sean is, what he does or did, or even why he's in the situation we find him in. Sean is a void. He's a man in the woods with a cat, so I had to figure him to be the proverbial "crazy cat-lady" that has vacated society because of her crippling obsessions.

That being - There's a desperate need to understand how a crazy cat-lady got to be where she is. Who was Sean before he became a crazy cat-lady? How about something simple like, "What happened to your leg?".

All in all - I didn't enjoy this movie. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone. But I felt I had to leave more than a simple "Don't Bother It's Terrible" review. Some people do that without explanation so I'll watch the film anyway to decide for myself. This movie, specifically, isn't horror - it's not drama - I don't know where to place it besides (maybe) a film school experiment.

You've been warned.

A man desolate in the woods is losing his mind so he seeks the devil for answers

[tkaine3 · 2/10 · 12 October 2016]

The Alchemist Cookbook has been getting some rave reviews so I decided to check it out since I am a fan of Great horror movies. This movie has literally only 2 people in the entire film but that's not my gripe and neither is the acting although it wasn't great a little too dramatic in some scenes with facial expressions that were not believable and dialogue at times leaves you wondering why is he saying this. But even though he's all alone in the middle of the woods it's just not creepy or scary at all. I also think the director & Writer of this film either under compensated for creating a good story or they were trying to be too artsy or psychological that the story doesn't progress well leaving you wondering what was the point of his mindset. Of course it's supposed to be a mystery to figure out but there is nothing to get out of it and at the point where they maybe could of explained a lot they don't and it will leave you frustrated that you sat there and watched basically nothing for a hour and a half... Forget what the clown critics say this one sorry to say is not a keeper.. skip it . You don't believe me go ahead watch it and just remember I told you so.

I created an account just to give this movie a bad rating

[MojoDrojo · 10 March 2019]

Maybe I had an especially bad experience because Hulu had mislabeled it as a comedy/horror but this movie is absolutely pointless. It blows me away that there are 9 star ratings on here.

I kept telling myself all through out the first hour that all this dead filmspace time that I patiently waited through is going to be worth it. Then when it's time for the climax, I got one nanosecond of entertainment and then more and more drudgery. I told myself "wait until the end, it's going to deliver".

**SPOILER COMING UP ****



Finally at the end this is what happened........

A demonic audio track plays.... Lead character screams.....

THE END

This homemade, high school talent contest project did do one thing for me. It reminded me of how utterly precious TIME is. If i would have instead spent ninety minutes shopping for cat litter for my nonexistent cat that time would have been better spent.

Don't give up ...

[kel-31636 · 6/10 · 10 March 2021]

We almost gave up on this movie just a few minutes in, but it paid off. This movie more than reaffirms two rules of life. 1) Don't talk to demons. 2) Don't go off your meds. Give it a chance. I'm glad I did.

Made an account just for this

[patrickbland-45267 · 1/10 · 3 November 2019]

Honestly kind of impressed how boring this is, considering the plot. It's about 50% a guy screwing around in the woods 48% a guy talking to his cat and about five to ten minutes of things actually happening. The whole time I felt like I could get up and do literally anything and not miss anything important. I'd rather sit through a feature-length film on where paper comes from or how paint is dried

Not a horror film - it's about mental illness

[FckVwls · 6/10 · 26 February 2021]

Interesting study on mental illness, mis-classified as a horror flick. There's little-to-no plot, so horror buffs will be disappointed. But the acting is quite good and the story grippingly sad. Students of psychology will find this more compelling than those looking for jump scares.

Decent "slow burn" of a horror movie, knee-capped by the ending

[lemon_magic · 5/10 · 29 October 2019]

I wasn't sure I'd like "Alchemist Cookbook", and after finishing it, I still can't tell if I like it.

I see elements of "Repulsion" here, and "Blair Witch Project" and "Pi". (I don't actually know if that's what the director had in mind - that's just what this reminds me of). That's not a bad mix, if you're into films where people slowly lose their minds and/or fall victim to malicious forces.

The two person cast here does a fantastic job, but the real question is...was this a job worth doing? As I said, even after watching the whole movie, I'm not sure.

The "slow boil to madness" theme is certainly well done, as is the murky unresolved nature of the "forces" (Belial? Ba'al? Asmodeus? ) the protagonist is trying to awaken and (apparently) sell his soul to in exchange for "gold" (I think) and riches.

The crux of the screenplay comes in two crucial scenes: the scene where the young man sits in a corner of his tiny trailer and fantasizes out loud (to his cat?) about what he'll do once he's rich. The litany of "stuff" he plans to wallow in (shelves full of Little Debbie products, Gatorade, and Doritos) will break your heart. And the scene where he encounters the apparently possessed body of his best friend, which is genuinely spooky and disturbing - without revealing too much to the viewer. Both of these scenes deserve special mention - everything that is "good" about the movie is packed in here.

So the film builds and builds and builds as the hero sinks lower and lower and lower into the depths of mania, and then he stumbles out into the woods in search of his (now missing) cat for a genuinely anquished 5 or 6 minutes...and then he sees something and screams...and the camera freezes.

Not cool. In fact, I'd call that trick lazy and disappointing, given how good the director was at showing us JUST ENOUGH of what was happening before.

Still, there is a lot to admire here, even if I don't "like" it. Would I recommend it to the average horror film fan.... Uh, maybe depending on that fan's tolerance and enjoyment of mumblecore and ambiguity.

Like a waking nightmare

[zoozersadd · 9/10 · 17 April 2016]

First off this movie isn't for everyone. That's for sure. It's challenging and never gives the audience what they expect. The director has somehow made something that doesn't feel like a genre film, but includes elements from past and present supernatural films. It's got a timeless quality. You're never quite sure what's real and what is not. There are moments of genuine fear, and moment of genuine laugh out loud humor. But it's never easy. I almost feel like it needs to be watched twice. Moments come and go, and I know there's much more going on here than I could have caught the first time through, that's for sure. It's layers of paranoia and the effects of mental illness. No cheap shots, no jump scares. People may dismiss it, but there's a lot going on here.

It feels like something I've never seen before.

6-6.5

[FreeToExpress · 6/10 · 2 December 2019]

I found the overall film intriguing for a 1st time view.Still am not sure if what happened with the devil or demon was real or not(the main character was on prescription drugs, so was he hallucinating, insane or was it actually real?) I found each scene interesting enough with out being to slow or boring(not some action packed shoot em up which it clearly doesn't try to be) and the story is rather unique. Only real problem is I can't see my self ever wanting to watch it again anytime soon. As a first time view I'd give it a 7 but because of that , I'd drop it .5-1 point. Definitely would recommend it when you can't seem to think of what to watch late night bored.

Trying to be a creepy slow boil but falling flat on it's face

[jeffwhite-19731 · 4/10 · 2 November 2018]

All I'll say is that you'll spend the whole time waiting for an amazing ending to happen, when in reality, you arrive at one of the stupidest, most aggravating endings of all time. This movie tries very hard to be a slow boil with the increasingly erratic and psychotic behavior of the main character. Mixed with constant scenes of his clearly degenerative mental state accompanied by his drastic actions, this leads the viewer to believe that the climax will be worth putting up with watching him lose his mind. In reality the entire movie is just a repetitive piece of garbage. Had potential and I can appreciate the actor's dedication and convincingness while portraying a man having/causing his own psychotic break, but unless you want to be incredibly aggravated when the credits roll, go ahead and choose something else.

Poor production

[walter-37342 · 1/10 · 22 December 2019]

The inconsistent audio made it almost impossible to watch. It was stone quite and then the is playing his music full blast, audio jump scares are just lame.

bad

[jeffdivinsky · 1/10 · 26 October 2020]

Quite possibly the worst movie I've ever seen. Pointless. I wish I had the time back I wasted watching this.

Just felt sorry for the cat.

[frankblack-79961 · 2/10 · 9 September 2021]

What the heck did i just watch?? Ya think it might go somewhere, but you'd be wrong. Most pointless film I've watched in years. Just avoid this one. Or go ahead and waste your time with a viewing.

Slow burn indie horror

[museionart · 7/10 · 3 September 2020]

I tend to really like this relatively recent subgenre of small budget horror films. The pleasure is always in the storytelling and inventive use of limited resources. It simultaneously grounds the picture and explores creative visuals. The best of these give one a deep sense of menace and foreboding, but when over makes you want to go again. This is a solid effort in this subgenre, and portrays well the dabbling with black magik as an allegory for a dive into mental illness.

This is a horror movie? It's a disaster !

[Ogreyouasshole · 1/10 · 1 August 2020]

I was told this was one of the best horror films on Amazon Prime.. I only made it through 45 minutes before I gave up.. Nothing like watching a guy chop a tree down for minutes, or fishing for minutes. The best part was when someone came to visit him- otherwise stay away.

A strong, disturbing portrayal of mental illness

[dvspindl · 6/10 · 9 October 2022]

The acting in the movie was truly excellent. It's sort of an actor's dream--roles that require a whimsical spirit willing to risk looking silly or maniacal to play them authentically. Also, the theme/premise, a young isolated man who at the beginning of the story has his mental illness barely under control with medication, is gripping, if something that we as a society instinctively look away from. It was admittedly difficult to stay tuned. I had the instinct to stop it a few times. But I stuck with it.

The reason I didn't rate it higher is because the structure was flawed. And I'm echoing others with this criticism. The pacing was slow, and there were more than a couple superfluous scenes/sequences that could have been pared down or cut altogether. But for fans of the dark and disturbing, it's a gripping experience.

You want gold, you got to pay for it.

[nogodnomasters · 2/10 · 22 September 2017]

Sean (Ty Hickson) lives in Uncle Ron's trailer in the woods. He is attempting to make gold using an alchemist book. He is isolated and is brought supplies by Cortez (Amari Cheatom). Neither are likable characters. Sean goes off his meds and begins to see things...are they demons from his experiment or is he descending into madness.

The film was basically a one man play and I was bored watching/hearing Sean chomp on chips, play with chemicals, light candles, and tend for a cat. It isn't until an hour into the film that anything exciting happens.

Not for everyone. Not for me, although it may find a small niche.

Guide: F-word. Male butt nudity

Slow burn burns bright

[phlanx-76532 · 9/10 · 22 November 2019]

I knew this movie was going to be slow the moment I started it. Which is why I stopped watching it within 10 minutes in. I couldn't stand the slow pace. I wanted a story to watch! Give it a few months and I'm bored so I throw The Alchemist Cookbook on again as a way to lull myself to sleep. I don't know what I was expecting. I guess I expected this movie to put me to sleep. There's nothing in this movie's story to keep you watching it. There's no hook, there's no deep significant lesson, there's absolutely no resolve; BUT THE ACTING. For one relatively unknown actor to carry this kind of film absolutely blows my mind. The acting of this film is what kept me glued to my screen. After a while I stopped caring what the story was. I didn't care for the script. Watching Ty work wonders with his character blew my mind. It's very rare, at least in my experience, to see movies like this get saved by an actor you've never heard about. This movie was definitely saved by Ty's acting. I wouldn't recommend this movie to a lot of people but that's only because I don't think they would appreciate it. For me the acting alone made this movie watchable. I'm not so sure it would be the same for others.

DRUG-ADDLED BRAIN DAMAGE PACKED LOOSELY IN A FULL-LENGTH MOVIE

[buddymakesdo · 1/10 · 7 January 2021]

A meth-head makes a movie about a meth-head, starring a meth-head playing a meth-head. Oh, there's a rotting trailer, a beat-up copy of a book about summoning daemons and the plot-line suggests he take a clumsy swipe at it. A drug-addict cooking up meth in a trailer ? How'd we get from that to Alchemy ? This ain't 'Breaking Bad'...but it is badly broken. Giving this piece of drek a '1' is being generous.

I don't like the way he eats chips

[breeviridian · 1/10 · 15 February 2021]

I don't like the way the lead character ate chips. Terrible acting.

Pretentious

[FrancRoberts-57036 · 2/10 · 26 August 2021]

Whats up with all these new movies that try to make satanism seem quirky and cool? What happened to the old days when horror (this film isnt) used to expose the dark side not indoctrinate people into it.