Cronos Movie Review

Cronos (1993)

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Written by: Guillermo del Toro
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Federico Luppi, Ron Perlman, Claudio Brook
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
A mysterious device designed to provide its owner with eternal life resurfaces after four hundred years, leaving a trail of destruction in its path.

Verdict
It's an interesting twist on a vampire premise. Gris, an older man, unknowingly obtains the traits of a vampire through the cronos device. Gris wrestles with all the benefits and the one trade off, the thirst for blood. The story is a bit thin with a rich, sick man that knows exactly what the device does serving as the antagonist.
It depends.

Review
This starts with a prologue about an alchemist that develops a device that provides eternal life. Then we jump forward in time to antiques dealer Gris discovering a gold scarab in the base of an angel statue.

Federico Luppi plays Jesus Gris.

This is a backdoor vampire movie, re-imagining the origins of vampires. The gold scarab contains a bug that injects the user with a serum that provides youth and vigor. Unfortunately the user craves blood. One of the best scenes is Gris following a man with a nose bleed into the bathroom, waiting for him to leave to consume the blood. It's gross, but it's supposed to be. Gris would never have done that before. With all the benefits, this one drawback has the potential to undo him completely. The desire for blood in all consuming, but Gris doesn't want to give up the benefits. He looks and feels younger.

The antagonist is a wealthy man nearing death who wants to prevent it. His nephew is the lackey he sends to harass Gris. These scenes are more comical. I wish the movie focused more on Gris wrestling with the choice of continuing using the serum, determining what he's willing to give up.

I don't know how the rich old guy even knows about the cronos. He's amassed all these notes, but did he just stumble across some old tale of a special bug? How has the bug stayed alive for centuries? It doesn't seem to ever feed. All it does is inject the user with the serum of eternal life.

The most interesting aspect of this movie might be that it's Guillermo del Toro's first feature length film. His movies often explore fantasy and magic. This is where it started.