The Alchemist, An Early Charles Band Offering

Before Full Moon Features was a thing, Charles Band made the film we will look at today. Maybe not quite as edgy and action-packed as the Full Moon features we know and love that were a staple of our Blockbuster video rentals in the 90s, but still an interesting one. This one stars the late Robert Ginty. The tall actor with the cute smirk portrays the most low-energy being ever captured by Charles Band in any of his films. Still, we like him, and if we were cursed through all of time, we'd be low-energy, too. Let us look at 1983's "The Alchemist."

You'll see the back story that dates back to 1871. An evil magician/alchemist, DelGatto (Robert Glaudini) entrances a babe (Lucinda Dooling), and the babe's husband, Aaron (Ginty), rushes to the rescue. Doesn't go well, and the babe dies. DelGatto is so furious, he curses Aaron with the unusual curse of never being able to die and having to kill to stay alive. Here we are in 1955 now and Aaron roams the woods killing deer in order to stay alive. He becomes a monster every night. He lives with his daughter Esther (Viola Kates Stimpson). Esther is an elderly woman and Aaron never ages...kind of like a "Highlander" motif. Enter a recently fired waitress, Lenora (also played by Dooling). She is driving across country and has weird visions of her death back in 1855...she has no idea what these visions are, but both Aaron and eventually DelGatto will see her as the fair maiden slaughtered back in 1855.

Lenora picks up a sweet hitchhiker, the unassuming Cam (John Sanderford). He soon realizes Lenora is mental and wants to be let out of the car. Because Lenora is so pretty, he agrees to stay and Lenora is mysteriously guided off road, through the woods, to Aaron's and Esther's cabin. There, both Cam and Lenora will be caught in an ages old battle between the evil alchemist DelGatto and the cursed Aaron. Aaron sees Lenora as the wife who died so many years ago and loves her.  Cam loves Lenora, though he's just being stupid. Worst of all, DelGatto, who dwells in Hell, loves Lenora. Now DelGatto opens a portal to Hell to lure Lenora through and Cam and Aaron must work together to protect Lenora, kill DelGatto and his demons, and then figure out who will get the entranced Lenora.

Would Cam be wise to run away and find some other babe who's issues don't have anything to do with demons and portals to Hell?  I mean, Lenora is a babe, but there are sultrier ones out there. Will DelGatto and Aaron have a rematch and if so, will Lenora be killed again? Will the return of his wife and the demon that is his nemesis manage to animate the low energy Aaron? Not the best Charles Band film, but it is pre-Full Moon.  Still, a fast-paced horror yarn which is, at very least, enjoyable.