Review of Cronos (1993) by Stuart K — 01 Feb 2011
The debut feature of Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro, who prior to this worked as a special effects make-up designer. It's a brilliant and compelling horror fantasy with some great moments of imagination on display from it's creator, it's a vampire film, but not as we know it, this is one with a twist.
Set in Mexico City, it has elderly antiques dealer Jesús Gris (Federico Luppi) discovering an unusual mechanical device inside a statue known as Cronos, it spikes Jesús with an injection that feeds an incest inside the device.
His encounter with the device makes Jesús feel and look younger, but it also gives Jesús a taste for human blood. Meanwhile, also looking for Cronos is dying businessman Dieter de la Guardia (Claudio Brook), who tells Jesús the device was made by a 16th Century Alchemist, but when Jesús refuses to hand the device over, Dieter sends his thuggish nephew Angel (Ron Perlman) after Jesús.
Strange things happen to Dieter and entrusts his granddaughter Aurora (Tamara Shanath) to hold on to the device. It's not often you see a film like this, and since Del Toro came on the scene, fantasy cinema hasn't been the same since.
The cast in the film are excellent, Luppi and Perlman especially, and the best is still to come from Del Toro.
This review of Cronos (1993) was written by Stuart K on 01 Feb 2011.
Cronos has generally received positive reviews.
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