Cronos
Written and Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Federico Luppi, Ron Perlman and Claudio Brook

Lately it seems devout fans of The Criterion Collection have been divided by the inclusion of some of the more modern entries into the series. The works of Wes Anderson, Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Hausu (not technically modern but definitely an unusual choice), and most notoriously, Michael Bay’s Armageddon and The Rock, have all been called out as either cash grabs or minor works that dilute the otherwise classy collection. I was expecting the same reaction to their release of Guillermo Del Toro’s Cronos, but there’s no denying that he’s had a strong impact on genre filmmaking over the last decade and a half. His ability to elevate horror and fantasy stories have hit a note with both genre fans and critics. Cronos is certainly a worthwhile debut that deserves the Criterion treatment.

Del Toro’s love for anthology horror and science fiction is evident in Cronos as it feels like it could be an extended segment of The Twilight Zone or Tales From the Crypt. His stories are heavily influenced by moralistic fairytales and his early work is no different. The story begins with a prologue involving an alchemist who constructs a device resembling a golden scarab. Contained within is an alien looking insect that works as a blood filter, granting immortality to those who puncture their skin with its golden stingers. Hundreds of years later it gets into the hands of an unsuspecting antiques dealer. The white haired grandfather (Jesús Gris, played by Federico Luppi) and his granddaughter Aurora (Tamara Shanath) discover the device hidden within the base of an archangel statue. After winding it up, the scarab digs its claws into Jesús’ skin, drawing blood from his hand and simultaneously piquing his interest. When a goon named Angel (Ron Pearlman) shows up looking for the Cronos device on behalf of his wealthy, dying uncle, Jesus begins to realize the value of his discovery and slowly becomes addicted to the age reversing nature of the artifact. As his wrinkles begin to fade and his spirits rise, he suddenly finds himself facing an unusual side effect; bloodlust. To my surprise, Cronos is actually a thinly veiled vampire film. It focuses on the desires of its characters; whether it’s Jesus’ need for human blood, Ron Pearlman’s character’s obsession with taking over his uncle’s business and buying himself a new nose, or his uncle’s interest in overcoming his terminal illness by gaining everlasting life. Of course, in typical fairytale fashion, these desires are met with grave consequences.

As a debut feature, Cronos is an accomplished piece of filmmaking that firmly establishes Del Toro’s themes and aesthetics. It’s all there; hints of amber and gold, clockwork gears, ivory skinned vampires, a curious little girl set against a horrific fairytale backdrop, and of course, Ron Pearlman! Del Toro fetishizes his creatures and trinkets, apparently selling his own van in order to get a shot of the creature within the Cronos device. While the film’s budget was sizeable by Mexico’s standards, it’s safe to say Cronos is a passion project that found Del Toro wearing many hats and struggling to bring the story to the screen. He is one of the few directors of past decade that I feel comfortable with being referred to by ad men as ‘visionary’ — a term that’s thrown around WAY too much nowadays. While I wouldn’t say Del Toro’s aesthetics are totally up my alley, he definitely has a distinct style that bleeds over into almost every aspect of his filmmaking. Previous home video releases of Cronos have not sat well with the director and apparently Criterion had originally attempted to obtain the rights to release the film nearly ten years ago but was stopped by rights issues. According to Del Toro, after seeing this newly remastered edition of the film he has fallen in love with Cronos all over again.

While I didn’t do a direct comparison, I can only imagine the Cronos blu ray transfer must be a massive upgrade over the original DVD. While the film does show it’s age to a degree, the colours are quite vibrant and the picture is free from any source anomalies and seems to retain a fairly natural film-like look. Guillermo Navarro’s cinematography is actually a little more high key than you’d expect — I guess this is where the film might show its age — so there are plenty of vibrant scenes throughout the film. The extra features on the disc include two pretty awesome treats for fans of Del Toro and pop culture geekery in general; the first is a tour of the Bleak House, a self-proclaimed man-cave designed by Del Toro and filled with his many toys, books, props and various trinkets. It seems as though this house was designed specifically to contain his massive collection as to alleviate his family from having to live with such glorious items as a life-size statue of Zip (or is it Pip?) from Todd Browning’s Freaks. It’s definitely a unique and interesting special feature. Also included is Del Toro’s previously unreleased 1987 short film Geometria, presented in full 1080p. It’s about 7 minutes long and is a fun horror comedy with a twist ending (it also features an intense Bava-esque colour palette). The disc also features two commentary tracks and a series of interviews with the cast and crew. Another great package from Criterion.