The Alchemist Cookbook (2016)
Genre: Drama / Horror
Duration: 82 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: Joel Potrykus
Stars: Ty Hickson, Amari Cheatom and Fiji
IMDb score:
5,2 (1.977)
Releasedate: 13 March 2016
The Alchemist Cookbook plot
Young outcast Sean isolates himself in a trailer in the woods, in which he engages in alchemical pursuits. His cat Kaspar is his only companion. He despises authority and therefore fled the daily grind and society that has no place for him. When he tries to crack the secret of nature and trade chemistry for black magic, things go awry: Sean has awakened something ominous.
Reviews & comments
Woland
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- 4810 messages
- 3827 votes
Sean is fed up. Whether there is really a very concrete reason for this is not really clear, but in any case he is not happy in society - and in The Alchemist Cookbook we see how he (with his cat Caspar) has secluded himself in a cabin in the forest, where Sean is engaged in alchemical and occult experimentation while gathering. The only other person in the film is his friend Cortez, who occasionally brings some groceries and at the same time tries to get Sean back on track. I'll keep my mouth shut from a plot point of view, but it should be clear that trying to summon a demon is rarely a good idea.
The Alchemist Cookbook is extremely low budget, with only two actors, a cat and a possum, a story in which we mainly see Sean's escalating mania and the convincing obsession of first Cortez and then also Sean, in instead of explicit graphic images, and a setting in a forest cabin or alchemical lab and the local forest environment. But this works fine, although I will probably warn that it is very slow and that this would not be a suitable choice for everyone. If you thought The VVitch was a bit slow, I certainly wouldn't risk it at all. Admittedly, this was quite a long sit for me too, especially in the first half where we mainly see Sean camping, listening to punk and hip hop while he is busy in his chemistry lab, and strolling in the woods and on the lake is. But still an interesting film, and big compliments to actors Ty Hickson and Amari Cheatom, and director Joel Potrykus and his crew for what they have put down here. I'll round it up: 4.0*.
Translated from Dutch · View original
mrklm
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- 11659 messages
- 10059 votes
Hazy film where Sean [Ty Hickson] lives as a hermit in his uncle's caravan, somewhere in the woods. Despite the warnings of his brother [Amari Cheaton], Sean becomes completely engrossed in alchemical/occult experiments, which gradually push him to his limits. Knows how to arouse interest in the beginning, but boredom sets in quickly because hardly anything interesting happens. After a nice nightly sequence it gets a little better, also thanks to Hickson's game, rightly described by many as 'manic', but Potrykus clearly didn't know how the story should end.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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