Flashback Friday–Cronos

By: Kameron McBride
 
Guillermo Del Toro today is a celebrated director who is set to release one of this year's most anticipated films with Pacific Rim, which will be unleashed on theaters July 12th. However, he's been crafting great films for his entire career, including his first major film: 1993's Cronos, which puts an original spin on the classic vampire story.

In the opening we are told an alchemist in 1535 crafts a device that can grant eternal life. In 1937 the alchemist's body is found, chalk–white and dead with debris piercing his heart. The film then follows an elderly antique store owner named Jesús Gris (Federico Luppi) who happens upon a golden scarab found in the base of a statue of an angel. The scarab winds up and has legs jut out of of its body, along with a long needle that injects itself into Gris' body, first infusing a substance into his body and then drawing blood.

On the hunt for the device is Angel de la Guardia (Ron Perlman) who is trying to find the device for his uncle Dieter de la Guardia (Claudio Brook) who is trying to find the device to restore his decaying body. Angel doesn't know exactly what the device does but is acting as the muscle for his uncle. Meanwhile Gris find himself addicted to attaching the object to himself, along with a new found thirst for human blood.

The film looks an feels like it was ripped from the pages of a 70's horror comic with its scenery and neo–gothic story. The story is tight, focused and very clean. Information is paced well and gets to the audience right as it should.

You can see in Cronos how Del Toro can properly balance and leverage a classic horror story into a well–crafted film. I think Del Toro's strength is that he doesn't let the subject matter overwhelm his characters. By limiting himself to a few characters that he can develop, Del Toro keeps the story fresh and interesting. Here, he handles Perlman and Luppi terrifically; Perlman by utilizing his tenacity and Luppi by inspiring sympathy, while still maintaining a creepy edge to the character.

Overall I loved Cronos, loved every minute of it. It's a story that gets your attention and holds it for the entire 93 minutes with something so simple and yet so uniquely told.