Alchemy is, at its essence, the use of natural laws to transmute a thing from a lower state to a higher one. In the popular imagination, this involves transmuting the common base metal lead into the rare metal gold, but the principles of transmutation apply via correspondence on several other levels: the transmutation of mortal flesh to immortal flesh, the transmutation of deindividuated/fractured consciousness into an individuated or whole one, or, most tantalizingly, transmutation of the soul.One wonders whether in the lore about alchemy whether or not the result you got was based on your intentions. Here, an insane young man in the apparent middle of the Michigan woods in a trailer (there's your Raimi), is seeking what appears to be metallic gold to buy himself a mansion.The transmutation goes exactly in the wrong direction.The Jarmusch element is, of course, the fish-out-of-water-and-time aspect of a guy in a Minor Threat tee shirt in the modern age with conceits of being an alchemist, not dissimilar to Ghost Dog who imagines himself a Samurai and is, like Ghost Dog, not completely sane.Well, that's an understatement.The film feels like a horror film but is really about madness. Although our lead does not narrate the film, he carries it, and we wind up with a classic unreliable narrator problem: is anything we're seeing real, or are we looking at events through the delusion of a mentally ill man who has stopped taking his pills?What I suppose is interesting here is the examination of one specific manifestation of insanity - in this case, one that is tied into the occult. We see things in the woods we aren't sure is really there. Fire flares up and we're not sure if that's really happening. We're not 100% sure what happens to the likable and hilarious Cortez (but we can make an educated guess that it has nothing actually to do with demons.)The titles and marketing for this film combine two of my interests - alchemy (and fellow students of alchemy, this is not the film you're looking for), with the lettering from the infamous Anarchist Cookbook -- an apt combination of things. As with the Anarchist Cookbook which is full of recipes which are reputed to be unsafe or may blow up in your face, so too alchemy here with its noxious fumes, debts to demons, and so forth.Part of the problem with marketing this film is there's no way to classify it. The "horror" bucket is what you settle on because it doesn't fit anywhere else, but a serious horror fan is likely to be annoyed by this mostly plotless film. Any verbal description isn't going to match the reality of the film, which is a patient (or slow, depending on how you look at it) study of a man who thinks he's bargaining with demons for gold, but is, in fact, schizophrenic.All the fixin's are there: paranoia, hallucinations, fear, and self-abuse. I liked it a lot. I actually thought the two leads did a fantastic job with a script which must have been puzzling when they first encountered it.But alas, as someone who is waiting for something like a film version of The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz, it looks like I'm going to be waiting for something about alchemy which isn't so full of darkness.Still, gutsy, original independent film and one thing it isn't, is derivative. Just know going in that this is an exploration of broken psychology, and not a horror film in the classic sense of that term.

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

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.

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.