No wonder why this is a forgettable Empire picture by director Charles Brand, because it's unsuccessfully lifeless and uneventful. It's quite a shame, as when this cheap-jack b-grade production gets going it's ultra-bizarre and has a dramatically airy, tuneful Richard Brand music score. The problem fell on the patchy script, as it was goofy and largely ponderous. This led to the oddly subdued premise (delving into the courageous act sacrifice and fulfilment) not building up to anything much. Leaving it monotonous and half-baked. Even that in mind, something about it had some sort of pull over me. Energy levels kind of picked up in the last half hour, where some rubbery demons with gooey make-up, tatty gore FX (body cut in half) and bright optical work presented some fun. Performances are extra ordinary. Robert Ginty (known for his role in "The Exterminator") plays it in an understated manner, and pines a lot. Lucinda Dooling mechanically goes through the motions, and John Sanderford looks bemused more often. Robert Glaudini as the evil alchemist gets nothing really to do, but look evil. Viola Kate Simpson constantly nags away. Nothing about these characters draws you in, or makes you feel anything for them. Charles Brand's blotchy direction has some peaks in choosing a gorgeous, but eerie woodland backdrop for the chaos and there are some tight, dark passages of shuddery images. But these limitations spoiled what was a better than usual idea.
25 Reviews
Huh? What the hell is going on here?
udar5512 October 2009
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.
R.I.P Robert Ginty
Coventry4 November 2009
After watching "The Alchemist" I made the unpleasant discovery that lead actor Robert Ginty passed away last September, at the relatively young age of 60, as a result of cancer. It was quite a shock, because tracking down Ginty movies had sort of become a running joke between a buddy and me. With the notable exception of "The Exterminator" - which is a powerfully raw and underrated vigilante exploitation highlight - the name Robert Ginty almost certainly guarantees bad and cheesy but nevertheless entertaining movies. I had tremendous fun watching so-bad- it's-good rubbish flicks like "Scarab", "White Fire", "Warrior of the Lost World" and "Maniac Killer". What made Robert Ginty so cool was that he had a really "dumb" face. There's an expression in my country that perfectly describes his facial expressions and attitude: The light's on but there's nobody home. Michael Moriarty ("Q-The Winged Serpent", "Pale Rider") has that as well. If I could go back in time to the 80's, I'd make a film which stars Robert Ginty and Michael Moriarty as two dim- witted crime fighting brothers. That would be awesome, wouldn't it? Either way, rest in peace Robert Ginty, and thank you for the laughs we had on your account.
Ironically enough, in "The Alchemist" Ginty depicts an immortal man who's doomed to live in the woods like an animal, due to a curse placed upon him by a malignant alchemist in the year 1871. The alchemist lured Aaron McCullen's wife Anna away from him through black magic and hypnotism, but in an attempt to get her back Aaron accidentally kills his wife instead of the evil DelGatto. 84 years later Aaron still lives in the same cabin in the woods, with his daughter who looks old enough to be his mother, and nothing better to do but hunting down deer. But then the 1950's reincarnation of his wife travel through the area, accompanied by a random hitch-hiker, and Aaron sees the opportunity to break the spell once and for all. In all honesty and strangely enough, the basic idea behind "The Alchemist" really isn't that bad at all! The execution is clumsy, with atrocious acting performances and seriously cheesy special effects, but the actual concept is acceptable. The story lines are quite thin and the script is rather senseless, but the film contains some delightful random moments. The acquaintance between Lenora and the hitcher, for example, is hilarious and good for almost fifteen minutes of completely irrelevant padding. She picks up a mysterious guy, they promptly start bickering, she drops him off but gets her car in the mud, he helps her out, she drives off but comes back and they fall in love. It's truly hysterical. Beginning director Charles Band – who did a much better job with this than with the god awful "Parasite" – loses total grip on the film once passed the hour, with cheesy demonic creatures randomly running amok and excessive gore to compensate for the lack of coherence. The charismatic Robert Glaudini is sadly underused as the titular alchemist. A couple of more sequences with his evil appearance would definitely have made the film more horror-like and exciting.
Ironically enough, in "The Alchemist" Ginty depicts an immortal man who's doomed to live in the woods like an animal, due to a curse placed upon him by a malignant alchemist in the year 1871. The alchemist lured Aaron McCullen's wife Anna away from him through black magic and hypnotism, but in an attempt to get her back Aaron accidentally kills his wife instead of the evil DelGatto. 84 years later Aaron still lives in the same cabin in the woods, with his daughter who looks old enough to be his mother, and nothing better to do but hunting down deer. But then the 1950's reincarnation of his wife travel through the area, accompanied by a random hitch-hiker, and Aaron sees the opportunity to break the spell once and for all. In all honesty and strangely enough, the basic idea behind "The Alchemist" really isn't that bad at all! The execution is clumsy, with atrocious acting performances and seriously cheesy special effects, but the actual concept is acceptable. The story lines are quite thin and the script is rather senseless, but the film contains some delightful random moments. The acquaintance between Lenora and the hitcher, for example, is hilarious and good for almost fifteen minutes of completely irrelevant padding. She picks up a mysterious guy, they promptly start bickering, she drops him off but gets her car in the mud, he helps her out, she drives off but comes back and they fall in love. It's truly hysterical. Beginning director Charles Band – who did a much better job with this than with the god awful "Parasite" – loses total grip on the film once passed the hour, with cheesy demonic creatures randomly running amok and excessive gore to compensate for the lack of coherence. The charismatic Robert Glaudini is sadly underused as the titular alchemist. A couple of more sequences with his evil appearance would definitely have made the film more horror-like and exciting.
Bad, yet genre fans might like it
horrorbargainbin22 September 2002
I have an interest in Charles Band's pre-Full Moon work. He produced great films like 'Troll', 'Dolls', 'Ghoulies II', 'Crawlspace', and more. 'The Alchemist' has it's moments, but will leave must viewers scratching their heads. It's got loose ends and a serious consistency problem at the end. Dull scenes don't help keep the viewers' minds on the movie, adding to the confusion. The hitch-hiking scenes towards the beginning of the film are painfully long and sappy plus the stars are not offering particularly stellar performances. In fact, I don't really care for the characters.
The moments of horror are kind of fun for the fans though. There is some creepy (satanic?) sorcery in the woods and demons are released through a portal in a grave yard. Oddly the demons spend more time getting the crud kicked out of them than doing damage, but hey, blood and guts are fun wether of human or demon origin. Gore effects and spooky sets will please fans.
All in all, sad to say, I'll probably forget almost everything about this film within a month.
The moments of horror are kind of fun for the fans though. There is some creepy (satanic?) sorcery in the woods and demons are released through a portal in a grave yard. Oddly the demons spend more time getting the crud kicked out of them than doing damage, but hey, blood and guts are fun wether of human or demon origin. Gore effects and spooky sets will please fans.
All in all, sad to say, I'll probably forget almost everything about this film within a month.
Alchemy doesn't work in film either.
silversprdave1 July 2001
This movie doesn't have a clear plot and seems almost patched together. I saw it in theatrical release in 1986 and noticed that the film was copyrighted in 1981 - and the IMDB lists it as 1984. Obviously something got fouled up with this movies production, and the resulting film shows it. There is one good 20 minute segment involving some spooky goings on on a lonely, dark road - but that seen seems to be out of place in the movie.
I rated this movie a "2" - so that is almost, but not quite as bad as it gets.
I rated this movie a "2" - so that is almost, but not quite as bad as it gets.
Robert Ginty was the man that time.
h-merjoh4 April 2006
It was not that awful. Saw in right after I got my first VCR here in Norway, and I was scared. Scary movie for me who was not used to much horror on my TV. You Americans were probably spoiled. Haha.. And I thought that Bob Ginty was a hunk. I have seen him in The Exterminator, Bodysnatcher, I think he was there anyway. And he was my leading man in those early days of video-watching. Probably not the most serious actor , but still. A lot of B-films as we call it here. But anyways...The movie was not so bad at all. You cannot make gold out of everything! I only remember that my boyfriend and I kept this video for days just to watch it over again.And I would love to get a hold of it today. So many years later. Have not seen Bob Ginty for a while thou..
A movie stuck between so-bad-its-good and weird-but-the-bad-way
midwesternhooligans24 September 2019
This one might be worth it for a few who enjoy a movie that's structure is loose or experimental.
The movie does spend a lot of time just stumbling around which based off our main characters might be a purposeful element to the film. Speaking of main characters they're all pretty weird, especially our leading lady. Which could lead to some incidental enjoyment.
The movie does spend a lot of time just stumbling around which based off our main characters might be a purposeful element to the film. Speaking of main characters they're all pretty weird, especially our leading lady. Which could lead to some incidental enjoyment.
Band is unable to turn this garbage into gold.
BA_Harrison2 July 2018
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.
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.
one of those 'so bad it's good' horrors
pkzeewiz12 June 2010
Warning: Spoilers
In 1871 a man gets cursed by an evil magician who basically condemns him to a life of hell where he will live forever knowing that the love of his life is no longer with him and not only does he suffer the loss he finds himself becoming a monster at times and he has no control over the transformation. 80 years later his daughter, who is now an old woman and looks like his grandmother, uses a spell to try and transfer the demon curse from her son to a new unknown source. That unknown source just happens to be a lady (who looks just like the mans dead wife) who is in town looking for a place left to her. The transformation is not entirely completed and the plot gets rather confusing, but at the end demons come out and the magicians curse is lifted...confusing!! I had watched this back in about 1990 and didn't recall a second of it except the old woman. It is extremely confusing and hard to follow at times. The hitchhiker the girl picks up adds a funny twist to it and the weird demons are kinda cool. This movie is so cheesy, but it makes it one of those bad/good sort of films.
Band directed it and of course he is a horror movie icon, but he offered little here. The acting was okay, but the films production values were below standards. It is good horror cheese from the 80's though so watch it with a bit of room for mistakes, it isn't perfect and it isn't horrible, it's just fun, boring at times though. 3/10 stars
Band directed it and of course he is a horror movie icon, but he offered little here. The acting was okay, but the films production values were below standards. It is good horror cheese from the 80's though so watch it with a bit of room for mistakes, it isn't perfect and it isn't horrible, it's just fun, boring at times though. 3/10 stars
The Alchemist, intriguing, but with not much go
PeterMitchell-506-56436413 April 2013
This 80's horror is great, if you really wanna see some beautiful glass making, great f.x. and some heavy gore. Otherwise, there's not much else, in this B grade offering. Ginty, is great, as a guy, who's lover was taking by the devil. When trying to knife him, he mistakenly knives her. He's cursed for a hundred years, to live in pain and suffering, never aging. He lives with his daughter, I'm pretty sure, who's aged normally, now in her eighties. A girl, (Lucinda Dooling) obviously the same actress as Ginty's taken lover, who for Ginty, is freakishly familiar, keeps seeing horrifying visions, of this devil like creature, while cruising through the country. She has a pick up, Cam Rollins, (John Sanderford) who soon wished he wasn't, as he senses some strange behavior in this girl, as well as her, flashing out, creating danger behind the wheel. This soon has him suggesting she should go see a shrink while obviously being attracted to her, also. When they go off the road, into the woods, at her opting, something drawing her there, the two are soon acquainted with Ginty and company. Ginty, soon scraping the underneath as to Dooling's part in this, tells her those flashes of those events were real, where it's time for her to confront her demons so to speak, and put revenge Ginty at peace, as the gates of hell are about to open once more, the devil after Dooling. The Alchemist, it's movie cover, engaging, is really a facade, where this intriguing B grade flick, doesn't gather much interest, in 'movie happening land' especially in it's slow start, although I must admit the scenery was nice. It's worth really lies in Ginty's compelling performance.
This movie possesses several worthwhile elements that hint at its potential, but it lacks consistent execution
kevin_robbins14 September 2023
The Alchemist (1983) is a Charles Band feature from before his launch of Full Moon Entertainment, which I recently watched on Tubi. The story revolves around an early 1900s glassmaker cursed by an evil Alchemist. Seeking revenge, the glassmaker embarks on a journey, enlisting the help of others who share his desire for retribution.
As mentioned, this film is directed by Charles Band (Puppetmaster) and features a cast including Robert Ginty (The Exterminator), John Sanderford (Firestarter), Robert Glaudini (Mississippi Burning), and Tony Abatemarco (Sleeping with the Enemy).
This is another horror movie that had all the ingredients to become a solid 80s horror classic but falls short of its potential. The sets, costumes, and portrayal of the era are well-executed. The special effects and horror elements are decent, though they could have been more abundant. The scenes involving skin and melting are entertaining. The cinematography evokes a 70s grindhouse feel, and the science fiction elements are not bad; however, more development was needed for the ending to truly make sense.
In conclusion, this movie possesses several worthwhile elements that hint at its potential, but it lacks consistent execution. I would give it a 4.5/10 rating but still recommend giving it a watch at least once.
As mentioned, this film is directed by Charles Band (Puppetmaster) and features a cast including Robert Ginty (The Exterminator), John Sanderford (Firestarter), Robert Glaudini (Mississippi Burning), and Tony Abatemarco (Sleeping with the Enemy).
This is another horror movie that had all the ingredients to become a solid 80s horror classic but falls short of its potential. The sets, costumes, and portrayal of the era are well-executed. The special effects and horror elements are decent, though they could have been more abundant. The scenes involving skin and melting are entertaining. The cinematography evokes a 70s grindhouse feel, and the science fiction elements are not bad; however, more development was needed for the ending to truly make sense.
In conclusion, this movie possesses several worthwhile elements that hint at its potential, but it lacks consistent execution. I would give it a 4.5/10 rating but still recommend giving it a watch at least once.
the alchemist 1986
angela-harris7 November 2006
This has to be one of the classic films i have been losing my self in oldies and they just don't make them like this anymore, does any one remember demons as well i loved that too. the horror genre has evolved over the last twenty years and i'm not sure that there have been that many improvements one only has to look at all the re makes that are around and they are nearly all the same but still not as good take the recent hills have eyes for example and house of wax. i wonder if any one will in twenty years time remake hostel or devils rejects etc. having been an avid fan of both film and books i wait with anticipation with each big movie but find as i'm getting older there is less to be shocked At and nearly always a sense of anti climax. come on film makers. give us horror fans something to get our teeth into.
Perils of Hitchhiking in a Charles Band Movie
rcoates-661-2224916 June 2010
The audience for The Alchemist is, admittedly, limited. But those who remember hokey 80s bum-budget fare fondly will probably be fairly tolerant of this unspecial Charles Band outing.
We're introduced to a hitchhiker, John Sanderford, who gets picked up by a cute waitress, Lucinda Dooling, who's been having occult visions that interfere with her driving. Meanwhile, fleshy-faced Robert Ginty, star of one of the quintessential cheapcrud vigilante films, The Exterminator, here has an even more lowbrow role as a man plagued by a werewolf-like curse. Somehow, this quasi-werewolf glassblower's destiny seems to be linked with that of the waitress, who bears an uncanny resemblance to his dead wife. Robert Glaudini, weird star of Band's lurid masterpiece Parasite, has a small role as the title character (?).
If all of that sounds complicated, don't worry, because it isn't. The Alchemist is pretty casual viewing, fairly uneventful, actually, and won't appeal to people with 21st century attention spans. Those who stick with it, however, will at least be treated to a gateway to Hell, a couple of neat if not particularly formidable demons, and maybe a few moments approximating scares. Tame as a whole, The Alchemist does have some brief gross/gory scenes; my favorite is the white and green slime oozing out of a dead demon's head.
A guilty pleasure - one for all you Bandites out there.
We're introduced to a hitchhiker, John Sanderford, who gets picked up by a cute waitress, Lucinda Dooling, who's been having occult visions that interfere with her driving. Meanwhile, fleshy-faced Robert Ginty, star of one of the quintessential cheapcrud vigilante films, The Exterminator, here has an even more lowbrow role as a man plagued by a werewolf-like curse. Somehow, this quasi-werewolf glassblower's destiny seems to be linked with that of the waitress, who bears an uncanny resemblance to his dead wife. Robert Glaudini, weird star of Band's lurid masterpiece Parasite, has a small role as the title character (?).
If all of that sounds complicated, don't worry, because it isn't. The Alchemist is pretty casual viewing, fairly uneventful, actually, and won't appeal to people with 21st century attention spans. Those who stick with it, however, will at least be treated to a gateway to Hell, a couple of neat if not particularly formidable demons, and maybe a few moments approximating scares. Tame as a whole, The Alchemist does have some brief gross/gory scenes; my favorite is the white and green slime oozing out of a dead demon's head.
A guilty pleasure - one for all you Bandites out there.
Band's Baddest B-Movie - And I Don't Mean In A Good Way. B.A.F! 1-2-Miss.
P3n-E-W1s328 April 2022
Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of The Alchemist; before launching into my critique, here's a breakdown of my ratings:
Story - 0.50 Direction - 0.50 Pace - 0.50 Acting - 0.75 Enjoyment - 0.50
TOTAL - 2.75 out of 10
Okay, so I'm going to feel terrible about this review. Charles Band, on the whole, is a good director with a decent eye. But everybody makes mistakes, and The Alchemist is Bands.
I don't understand the title as there is very little magic in this Dark Fantasy. With such an auspicious title, one would be mistaken for thinking this love story would be a special effects bonanza. Regrettably, the special effects on view are well below-par, even for the 1980s. And they're not the only element that appears to have no money spent on them because the writer must have been a monkey working for peanuts. The story he pounded out is bland and uninteresting. The characters are barely there, so you never believe in them or their situations, let alone that anyone loved anybody. The entire thing is so ugh!
I believe that Band may have known this and, therefore, didn't put his best foot forward on the project. There are too many poorly filmed dream sequences where Lenora drives like a lunatic. These only rehash the opening segments and provide the audience with nothing new. The swerving car is supposed to be exciting, what with the male passenger constantly yelling, "You're going to kill us." and "You're gonna drive us off the cliff", even when they were on a flat desert section of road. But exciting isn't the correct term. Boring and annoying are. I am so sorry to say that there's little good in this picture. Even the tempo stays at an apathetic pace. The Alchemist is Band at his worst.
And, there's no good news coming with the cast. These guys and gals are as enthusiastic as the rest. At least nobody stands out above the rest - they are all shocking.
That said, I recommend casting a spell to keep this film out of your reach. You don't need to waste your time on this dross - I did it for you.
Please feel free to visit my Absolute Horror and Obsidian Dream lists to see where I ranked The Alchemist or to find a better movie to watch.
Take Care & Stay Well.
Story - 0.50 Direction - 0.50 Pace - 0.50 Acting - 0.75 Enjoyment - 0.50
TOTAL - 2.75 out of 10
Okay, so I'm going to feel terrible about this review. Charles Band, on the whole, is a good director with a decent eye. But everybody makes mistakes, and The Alchemist is Bands.
I don't understand the title as there is very little magic in this Dark Fantasy. With such an auspicious title, one would be mistaken for thinking this love story would be a special effects bonanza. Regrettably, the special effects on view are well below-par, even for the 1980s. And they're not the only element that appears to have no money spent on them because the writer must have been a monkey working for peanuts. The story he pounded out is bland and uninteresting. The characters are barely there, so you never believe in them or their situations, let alone that anyone loved anybody. The entire thing is so ugh!
I believe that Band may have known this and, therefore, didn't put his best foot forward on the project. There are too many poorly filmed dream sequences where Lenora drives like a lunatic. These only rehash the opening segments and provide the audience with nothing new. The swerving car is supposed to be exciting, what with the male passenger constantly yelling, "You're going to kill us." and "You're gonna drive us off the cliff", even when they were on a flat desert section of road. But exciting isn't the correct term. Boring and annoying are. I am so sorry to say that there's little good in this picture. Even the tempo stays at an apathetic pace. The Alchemist is Band at his worst.
And, there's no good news coming with the cast. These guys and gals are as enthusiastic as the rest. At least nobody stands out above the rest - they are all shocking.
That said, I recommend casting a spell to keep this film out of your reach. You don't need to waste your time on this dross - I did it for you.
Please feel free to visit my Absolute Horror and Obsidian Dream lists to see where I ranked The Alchemist or to find a better movie to watch.
Take Care & Stay Well.
worth renting
jharrismo20 October 2001
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.
A befuddling film
davidemartin29 April 2001
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!
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!
It's a shame this film couldn't make itself disappear.
Shan-1225 December 1998
The epitome of a gem in the rough
tvcarsd19 September 2020
I knew I had seen this before when I saw it again recently. It's like a cross between Tales of the Unexpected, Phantasm, Nightwish and The Company of Wolves with that Dark Crystal type of fantasy musical arrangement. The special effects are way above what most movies of its time were pushing out especially for a movie like this.
There were some parts that needed some work like the dialog in the car scenes but I really thought the rest was very engaging. The movie glides along much like a dream matching the music perfectly. I liked it, it felt complete at the end and unraveled at a rate that isn't hard to follow.
A slightly surreal horror with a romantic story line with plenty of enjoyable special fx and good music. Enjoyable all the way till the end.
There were some parts that needed some work like the dialog in the car scenes but I really thought the rest was very engaging. The movie glides along much like a dream matching the music perfectly. I liked it, it felt complete at the end and unraveled at a rate that isn't hard to follow.
A slightly surreal horror with a romantic story line with plenty of enjoyable special fx and good music. Enjoyable all the way till the end.
Entertaining horror film from the early 80's
cllangkjaer18 December 2008
The Alchemist is a nice gem from back in the day. Directed by Charles Band in 1981 under the pseudonym "James Amante" This was just before he founded the company Empire Pictures. If memory serves me right, Empire was established then he was planning to make the movie Trancers, which he also directed and meant to be the self video distribution company for Charlie's direct to video movies. Sort of, Let's cut out the middleman. Due to the huge success of Trancers, the Empire name became the main label for future releases. The Alchemist was not released until 1986 in USA, under the Lightning Video label, this was two years after its European release. There might have been an earlier release under the Empire banner, but I have never come a cross one. Richard Band did the score to the movie and this was made back to back with the score to The House on sorority row. A CD is available with the music for both movies.
A bit better than it should be.
EyeAskance16 May 2008
1871- Robert Ginty's wife is hexed by an evil magician, and a duel ensues. Tragically, the wife ends up dead, and Ginty is cursed to eternal life as a Jeckyll/Hyde type beast. 1955- A woman en route and her male hitch-hiker have car troubles in the remote forest...but it may be more than mere chance that they are in Ginty's "neck of the woods".
What transpires is a watchable, albeit rather juvenile horror film, one that will be unlikely to surface as anyone's favorite film, but entertaining enough to be recommendable to most genre fans. Effects range from weak to fairly impressive, and performances are fairly serviceable for a minor picture of this type.
All in all, not too bad...though hardly essential viewing.
What transpires is a watchable, albeit rather juvenile horror film, one that will be unlikely to surface as anyone's favorite film, but entertaining enough to be recommendable to most genre fans. Effects range from weak to fairly impressive, and performances are fairly serviceable for a minor picture of this type.
All in all, not too bad...though hardly essential viewing.
Clear as a bell
sunburst7018 August 2001
The Alchemist is a simple, enjoyable, elemental morality tale, easily understandable for those (few, I guess) people who understand humanity and what we do to ourselves and our own souls in the name of "justice." I'm surprised and saddened that so many people seem to have missed the point of the film. It's worth seeing.
How bad can it be?
thebrumm12 July 1999
For twenty years, a friend and I have been going to movies every Sunday. We had seen everything when The Alchemist was released. Without seeing a review, we said to each other "How bad can it be?" That is now our catch phrase for movie going, and The Alchemist gave us the answer: "Not as bad as The Alchemist..."
UNDERRATED-Come On People!
horror777710 May 2001
Okay, so the acting was pretty bad, but this film had a weird and interesting storyline. One of Band's Original Empire Pictures releases, this film is interesting and mostly enjoyable. I found the scenery and locales to fit the storyline perfectly. People say it "doesn't get worse than this", but this is not so. I've seen much worse. Though some of the film drags on and gets boring, it still should manage to keep most patient people's interest. Not great, but not awful-especially for a B-Movie.
**1/2out of****OKAY Writing, BAD Acting
**1/2out of****OKAY Writing, BAD Acting
Sluggish supernatural horror pic
lor_1 March 2023
My review was written in January 1986 after a screening at UA Twin theater in Manhattan.
"The Alchemist is a dull, old-fashioned (with gore added) supernatural horror film. Onscreen credits are garbled: direction is attributed to James Amante, probably a pseudonym, since Craig Mitchell was listed as director when film went into production in February 1981 and Charles Band received the credit when pic was released overseas in 1983. Band opened the pic domestically beginning last May through his Empire Pictures banner.
Robert Ginty stars (though his role is abbreviated) as a Virginia maker of beautiful glass figurines who, in 1871, is cursed to live and kill forever as a beast when he accidentally kills his wife Anna (Lucinda Dooling) in a struggle with Delgatto (Robert Glaudini), who is using a spell to seduce her.
Ginty doesn't age and is cared for by his daugher (Viola Kate Stimpson) until 1955, when she casts a spell to free him by substituting another soul for his. Anna's lookalike (and presumably her reincarnation) Lenore is driving to Charlotte, North Carolina and becomes involved as the substitute soul until a contrived climax in the woods at a portal to the nether world sorts out winners and losers.
Whoever really directed tis junker, the screenplay by Alan J. Alder is extremely weak in failing to develop any tohe the alchemist's lore or to make credible the plot coincidences. As a hitchhiker who tags along with Lenore, John Sanderford acts as the audience's surrogate, continually striking poses of bewilderment as he witnesses each phony plot turn unfolding. Ginty is unconvincing in a period role, while Stimpson as his 90-year-old daughter engenders the most sympathy. Dooling, who was most impressive in her next film, starring as the karate expert of "Lovely but Deadly", is wasted here as a stock gothic heroine.
California lensing generates no atmosphere for the story's Southern setting and the 1955 dateline (with no period music) is presumably chosen to avoid the extreme silliness of such a hoary plotline in a contemporary setting.
"The Alchemist is a dull, old-fashioned (with gore added) supernatural horror film. Onscreen credits are garbled: direction is attributed to James Amante, probably a pseudonym, since Craig Mitchell was listed as director when film went into production in February 1981 and Charles Band received the credit when pic was released overseas in 1983. Band opened the pic domestically beginning last May through his Empire Pictures banner.
Robert Ginty stars (though his role is abbreviated) as a Virginia maker of beautiful glass figurines who, in 1871, is cursed to live and kill forever as a beast when he accidentally kills his wife Anna (Lucinda Dooling) in a struggle with Delgatto (Robert Glaudini), who is using a spell to seduce her.
Ginty doesn't age and is cared for by his daugher (Viola Kate Stimpson) until 1955, when she casts a spell to free him by substituting another soul for his. Anna's lookalike (and presumably her reincarnation) Lenore is driving to Charlotte, North Carolina and becomes involved as the substitute soul until a contrived climax in the woods at a portal to the nether world sorts out winners and losers.
Whoever really directed tis junker, the screenplay by Alan J. Alder is extremely weak in failing to develop any tohe the alchemist's lore or to make credible the plot coincidences. As a hitchhiker who tags along with Lenore, John Sanderford acts as the audience's surrogate, continually striking poses of bewilderment as he witnesses each phony plot turn unfolding. Ginty is unconvincing in a period role, while Stimpson as his 90-year-old daughter engenders the most sympathy. Dooling, who was most impressive in her next film, starring as the karate expert of "Lovely but Deadly", is wasted here as a stock gothic heroine.
California lensing generates no atmosphere for the story's Southern setting and the 1955 dateline (with no period music) is presumably chosen to avoid the extreme silliness of such a hoary plotline in a contemporary setting.
semi decent
callanvass24 March 2004
semi decent horror flick has lots of blood to satisfy gore hounds cheesy acting but it does have a lot of creepy parts too the script is pretty muddy at times and doesn't make much sense and can get kinda dull but this is a mostly watchable time that is kinda enjoyable it has a really awesome ending and good photography the effects are decent but this does get a little too confusing at times and the dialog is sometimes laughable although the characters are fairly amiable i just couldn't warm up to one of the performances so if you didn't have anything else to rent at your local video store ya might as well pick this up its a semi enjoyable rainy night/afternoon watch ** out of 5
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