Cronos (1992)

Directed by Guillermo del Toro [Other horror films: Mimic (1997), El espinazo del diablo (2001), Blade II (2002), Crimson Peak (2015)]

Quite a popular Mexican film, Cronos certainly brings an interesting story to the forefront. It’s unfortunate that I don’t care for the story, but it’s also likely not that much of a surprise.

Largely a dark fantasy with horror undertones (which isn’t a surprise, as it’s directed by Guillermo del Toro), the movie deals with a grandfather who, through no fault of his own, begins an odd, confusing transformation into – something. Whatever it is, it has white skin. Some people label this a ‘vampire’ film, and it may well qualify, but this isn’t your daddy’s Bela Lugosi.

What the movie focuses on is the grandfather’s relationship with his granddaughter, and while there are some touching moments toward the end, I largely didn’t find myself all that engaged. I mean, the story was interesting, but it just isn’t the type of thing I tend to gravitate toward, and I’d be lying if I said I enjoyed a lot of it.

I do think that Federico Luppi (The Devil’s Backbone, also directed by del Toro) gave a pretty good performance. He actually reminded me of Louis Ducreux’s character from 36.15 code Père Noël, and seemed a genuinely nice guy.

Both Claudio Brook (Alucarda, la hija de las tinieblas, The Mansion of Madness, The Bees) and Ron Perlman (5ive Girls, I Sell the Dead, Alien Resurrection, The Last Winter) seemed cartoonishly evil, but that was sort of the point. Tamara Xanath didn’t have much to do, but she was also a young girl, so that’s excusable.

The special effects here looked pretty swell. I mean, I could have done without the pulling off his skin thing toward the end, but I guess that it just increases the unease. We did get a little blood – which makes sense, as the main character finds he somewhat needs blood to survive – but not a whole lot. This film is more about the transformation’s impact on one’s psyche than it is about the actual transformation, though, so that’s to be expected.

I went into this one knowing it probably wasn’t going to be for me. I’ve not seen much of del Toro’s work, save Pan’s Labyrinth, and while I found that one okay, dark fantasy just isn’t my jam. Similarly, Cronos was an okay time, but I can’t say much of it is likely to stick with me, nor can I say I enjoyed much of it, nor can I say I’ll ever watch it again. It’s not a bad movie, but like My Boyfriend’s Back, I’m just not really the right audience for it.

5/10