BA_Harrison A wicked magician, a curse, reincarnation, a doorway to hell, demons with glowing eyes: The Alchemist is a hokey hodge-podge of supernatural horror clichés that might have been fun if it hadn't been for the terrible performances and torpid direction from Charles Band (hiding behind the pseudonym James Amante). The action trundles along at a sluggish pace: scenes go on far too long and repetitive shots pad out the runtime (the same shot of four bulrushes is shown three times).The film opens in 1871 with Aaron McCallum (Robert Ginty) trying to rescue his wife from the clutches of evil magician DelGatto (Robert Glaudini). During a struggle, Aaron accidentally stabs his wife, and is cursed by an angry DelGatto to forever live forever as an animal.The action then cuts to 1955, with waitress Lenora (Lucinda Dooling) driving cross country, picking up hitch-hiker Cameron (John Sanderford) along the way. While at the wheel, Lenora suffers from visions that force her to crash her car. Travelling on foot, followed by a concerned Cam, Lenora arrives at a graveyard where she meets Aaron, still young, who recognises her as the reincarnation of his dead wife. What follows is a hoary mess, told with zero verve, with weak special effects and total lack of scares.

udar55 In 1955, young waitress Lenora (Lucinda Dooling) finds herself inexplicably driving down the California highway to an unknown destination. This doesn't bode well for Cam (John Sanderford), the hitchhiker she just picked up, because he has to endure her somnambulist driving. The duo eventually end up at a graveside in the woods and meet Aaron (Robert Ginty), who is just as shocked to see them as Lenora appears to be the reincarnation of his wife who was murdered nearly 100 years earlier (and Aaron is still in his 30s). It takes quite a film to make me constantly scratch my head and say, "Wait? What the hell is going on here?" This Charles Band feature definitely gave my brain a workout with its bizarre storyline about reincarnation, demons and dimensional portals. The story itself is pretty innocuous and could be for kids, so it is surprising that Band throws in some very gory bits. Dooling is quite attractive as the lead and it is a shame she didn't go on to do more. The late Ginty is fine as usual. I do wonder if Band was slightly influenced by Richard Blackburn's LEMORA as this tends to ape the film's style and setting. Hell, even the leads have a similar name. As always, Richard Band supplies a fine score, one befitting a better movie perhaps.

jharrismo This is a low budget movie, but the people who made it seemed to want to do a good job. The sets and location are good, the photography is very good. You care about the main characters. The special effects aren't state of the art, but are good. Worth seeing.

David Edward Martin I saw the film in a theatre during its short release and.... um... when my wife asked me later how was the movie I was at a total loss at what the heck the plot was!Poor Robert McGinty. He came off a good job, BAA BAA BLACK SHEEP/ BLACK SHEEP SQUADRON and totally failed to get get any decent film roles... Still, one has to admire him for staying in there!