User:LucaCandotti/sandbox

=The Alchemist Cookbook (Film)=

The Alchemist Cookbook is a Horror comedy film directed by Joel Potrykus. The film was released on the 7th of October 2016 in New York City. The film stars Ty Hickson as “Sean” and Amari Cheatom as "Cortez". The film was produced by Oscilloscope Laboratories and by Producers Andrew D. Corkin, Bryan Reisberg and Ashley Young. (Thealchemistcookbook.oscilloscope.net, 2016) “Sean” is an outcast who isolates himself from society to practice alchemy, accompanied by only his Cat. 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. The film breaks the conventional boundaries of genre, as elements of a black comedy, horror and a psychotic thriller are all incorporated and intertwined. 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 was an official selection at the 2016 South by Southwest Film Festival.

=Plot=

The film begins with the protagonist, Sean, alone in the forest with only his caravan which he lives in. Sean lives his life in the forest alone accompanied by only his cat Caspar and experiments with various chemicals and substances according to an old alchemy book he possesses. Sean leads a simple life in his caravan, going out to collect water, wood and to go fishing. While practising some alchemy, Sean hears a loud bang which startles him and causes him to call for his cat to run for it. However, nothing happens Sean comforts his cat who is startled. After this Sean goes to take his pills and realises that these are the last one and there are none left. Sean becomes increasingly nervous about sounds that he can hear from around the forest and locks himself in his caravan with his axe. Sean is shocked to hear a loud knock at the door. It’s his friend Cortez who is here to deliver him supplies. Cortez and Sean cannot find a yellow bag which contains Sean’s pills that Cortez was meant to bring. Cortez refuses to go get them from his home as it is a 3-hour round trip. Without his pills Sean’s mental health begins to deteriorate. He goes out to set animal traps in the forest and then goes out on the lake on a boat. He calls out that he plans to summon the demon tonight, and he will give him whatever he wants, even his own body. Sean goes out to find his trap and which has caught a possum. He takes the trap home and feeds the possum peanut butter off his knife. At night, Sean makes a fire and throws petrol on it, calling out to the demon saying he wants to repent his human form. After hearing loud bellowing sounds from the forest, he rushes back inside his cabin. Inside, he lights hundreds of candles and reads Latin words from his Alchemy book. The possum, still inside the trap, makes some strange sounds and he kills it with his knife. Cortez arrives as Sean is practising more alchemy. Cortez finds the dead possum and is shocked at the state of the cabin, however as people are looking for him, he intends to stay with Sean for some time. Sean is agitated by this and tells him to leave. After Cortez refuses, Sean pulls a knife on him as Cortez is making a sandwich. Cortez restrains Sean and then leaves, angry as he has looked after Sean. Later Sean finds Cortez’s car which has been destroyed in the forest. He goes out to look for Cortez and finds his Necklace hanging from a tree along with his tooth. That night Cortez stumbles over to the fire where Sean is sitting. He has blood all over his body and tells Sean of the demon in the forest and that he wants all Sean’s possessions, before stumbling away again. The next day Sean finds Cortez’s dead body in the forest and buries him. Later in his cabin Sean pulls out his own teeth using pliers. That night at his fire he calls out to the devil telling him he has his tooth. There is a loud bellowing and the demon attacks him and later Sean is seen sitting inside his cabin with blood all over his face and body. Crying and shaking he smashes his head into a mirror shattering it. Sean appears to have gone completely insane as he drinks chemicals from test tubes and eats the raw internal organs of the dead possum. Sean realises that his cat has gone missing and goes out to look for it. Calling for his cat, his voice begins to sound like the howls of the demon. Sean takes his bag along with a large rock and sinks himself in the lake. After about 30 seconds he comes to the surface again and is initially ecstatic as claiming he has defeated the devil. However, this turns to horror as he hears the whimper of his cat and the howl of the devil.