Cronos (1992)

If there is a horror trope that is more played out than zombies it is vampires.  I am more than happy with the Universal and Hammer films as well as a handful of others, but it is rare that I look forward to seeing another vampire film.  It is around 150 years since Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu introduced them to popular culture with Carmilla, and the only true innovation over that time has been altering the rules.  Even so, altering the rules often means returning to the ones set out by Le Fanu and Bram Stoker, as the movies tended to ignore the books and just come up with their own.

There are times, though, where someone adds a new twist to the old story.  This is what Guillermo del Toro does in his feature film debut, Cronos.  

Jesus Gris (Federico Luppi) operates an antique store in Mexico City, often with his granddaughter Aurora (Tamara Xanath) in tow.  Some of his items include those that were sold off as a lot in the 1930s and had belonged to an alchemist (Mario Iván Martínez) that had searched for the key to eternal life.  When a young man comes into the shop looking at statues of angels and damages one it gets Gris's attention.  He realizes it is hollow and, after disassembling it, finds a strange clockwork device within.  When activated it attaches itself to his hand, and removing it causes a wound.

Soon his shop is visited by Angel de la Guardia (Ron Perlman), the nephew of a businessman that is looking for the device.  He purchases the angel hoping that his uncle (Claudio Brook) will have found what he is looking for.  When he realizes the device is missing he has Angel trash the shop.  The problem is that Jesus is already realizing that there is something unique about the device as he is starting to feel younger and gains more vitality after another use.  It turns out that the elder de la Guardia is dying and has been looking for the Cronos Device in order to regain his youth.  Using the device, Jesus soon finds, has consequences, as he begins to crave blood and have an aversion to sunlight.  He also finds out de la Guardia will stop at nothing to get what he wants, even if death is no longer an option. 

Though low budget by Hollywood standards Cronos was the most expensive horror film made in Mexico up to that time.  Guillermo del Toro had been running a successful special effects company up to that time so both the makeup work and the scenes showing what happens within the device while it is working look much better than one would think.  Even this early del Toro was an expert on both the visual and storytelling elements, opting to use the vampire clichés when appropriate but otherwise making the story more about pride and greed.  

What Ron Perlman offers is a bit of a dark comedic twist, being someone who obviously hates living where he is and being under the thumb of the rich uncle from whom he stands to inherit everything.  That means, among other things, he has more of a vested interest in de la Guardia not getting the Cronos Device than Jesus does.  Federico Luppi underplays his role, more frightened than delighted of what he is becoming, while Aurora, played memorably by Tamara Xanath is a role that is largely silent, becomes his familiar.  

There are some pacing problems here and there and it is obvious that this a first film.  However, del Toro pulls it off better than most directors have, and this does not feel like something outside of his normal realm of filmmaking.  Instead it feels embryonic, giving a taste of the visuals and narrative power he would put behind his later films, many of which had the advantage of bigger budgets that allowed his vision to be realized in full. 

Cronos (1992)

Time: 94 minutes

Starring: Federico Luppi, Ron Perlman, Tamara Xanath, Claudio Brooks

Director: Guillermo del Toro