Potrykus admitted the film was inspired by the movie, The Evil Dead, a film which Potrykus idolised throughout high school. This initial idea eventually evolved into the script for the film of a weird guy in the woods practising alchemy. This gave him the idea for a film with a doppelganger who lived out in the woods. Confused after his old friend didn't react after calling out to him, Potrykus thought he may just be a doppelganger. Potrykus' inspiration for the film came after seeing an old friend who didn't recognise him. The cast is notable as it consists of only African American actors, a conscious choice to “take the white people out of the movie” by the director Joel Potrykus. Other notable characters include the Cat Kaspar and a possum. The cast only contains two human characters starring Ty Hickson as Sean and Amari Cheatom as Cortez. His triumph is short lived, as he hears the whimper of his cat and the howl of the demon in the forest. A little later he emerges from the water and, initially ecstatic, exclaims that he has defeated the demon. Sean takes his bag and a large rock and submerges himself in the lake. Calling for Kaspar, his voice begins to sound like the howls of the demon. He realises that his cat is missing and goes out to search for it. Crying, shaking, and seemingly insane, he smashes his head into a mirror until it shatters, drinks chemicals from test tubes, and eats the raw organs of the dead possum. A loud bellowing answers later, Sean sits in his cabin covered in blood. That night he calls out to the demon, telling it he has his tooth. Later, in his cabin, Sean extracts his own teeth with pliers. The next day Sean finds Cortez’s dead body and buries him. Switching between awareness and fear of his situation to speaking in a deep, warped voice, he tells Sean of the devil in the forest which feels owed all that Sean owns. Later Sean finds Cortez’s car in the forest, destroyed, Cortez's cross necklace, and a tooth embedded in a tree carved with the words 'PAY UP.' That night, Sean is burning is papers on alchemy when Cortez stumbles over, covered in blood and eyes glowing. Sean is agitated by this and tells him to leave, threatening Cortez with his knife. However, he is on the run and intends to stay with Sean for a time. The possum makes strange sounds before Sean kills it with a knife.Ĭortez arrives and is shocked at the dead possum and the state of the cabin. He lights dozens of candles and continues reading from his book. Upon hearing loud bellowing sounds from the forest, he rushes back inside.

That night, he makes a fire and calls out to ' Belial', saying he repents his human form, and reads Latin from his book of alchemy. Sean’s trap catches a possum, which he takes home and feeds. He goes out onto the lake on his rowboat, where he proclaims that he intends to summon a demon that night, which he will give whatever it wants, including his body and teeth. After unsuccessful experiments with a dead mouse, he sets animal traps in the forest. Without his pills Sean’s mental stability deteriorates and he grows increasingly paranoid and frightened of his surroundings. The resupply of Sean’s pills cannot be found Cortez refuses to make another three hour round trip to retrieve them from his home. He receives a visitor, but it is only his friend Cortez, who has come to deliver supplies. He becomes increasingly nervous about being watched and locks himself in the caravan with an axe. Sean runs out of the pills he regularly takes. Sean’s simple lifestyle is centered on experimenting with various chemicals and substances according to an old alchemy book, with seemingly no success, though there are mysterious sounds from the forest. Sean lives in a caravan in a forest, accompanied only by his cat, Kaspar. The film was an official selection at the 2016 South by Southwest Film Festival. The Alchemist cookbook was released on an alternate release strategy, as a pay what you want film, in both theatres and on BitTorrent bundle. The film breaks the conventional boundaries of genre, as elements of a black comedy, horror and a psychological thriller are all incorporated and intertwined. As his mental condition deteriorates the line of what is real and what is not becomes blurred, and as his chemistry turns to black magic, he instead summons a demon. 'Sean' is an outcast who isolates himself from society to practice alchemy, accompanied by only his cat.

The film was produced by Oscilloscope Laboratories and by producers Andrew D. The film stars Ty Hickson as 'Sean' and Amari Cheatom as 'Cortez'. The film was released on the 7th of October 2016 in New York City. The Alchemist Cookbook is a horror film directed by Joel Potrykus.

The alchemist cookbook