maximumkate 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.

Sicknology I was expecting big things after Buzzard (2014) and Potrykus has not disappointed. It's much more than meets the eye in terms of the central theme and if you look at how the main character interacts with the objects around him, you can see what the real story is.

Bill-Straus Unlike anything I've seen before. Bizarre with a dark sense of humor. Like art-house Evil Dead, or something. But not wacky comedy...Grounded and human. Astonishing and unclassifiable. The film hinges on a masterful performance by Ty Hickson whose character's slow descent is brilliant, terrifying and sad. A supporting role from Amari Cheatom is flawless, as well. He brings the outside perspective, clashing with Sean's isolation and disdain for society. The film works on a few levels, I think. There's a lot going on here. Like a puzzle that can be assembled in different ways. Certainly in my top 3 films of the year this is genuinely original and brilliant. I really need to check out director Potrykus other work.

tkaine3 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.