Cronos (Film Review)

1993 October Films
Written and Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Federico Luppi, Ron Perlman, Claudio Brook, Margarita Isabel, and Tamara Shanath
MPAA Rating: R; Running Time: 92 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 7/10

Antiques dealer, Jesús Gris, lives a quiet, pleasant life in Veracruz with his wife and granddaughter. One day in his shop, he realizes that one of his antiquities has a hollow base, and a strange, golden scarab-shaped device inside. Jesús and his granddaughter investigate, only for the strange object to suddenly sprout golden, needled legs that violently attach themselves to Jesús' hand. As much as it hurts, Jesús can't deny that he feels a little more youthful afterward. Before he knows it, he's letting the device attach itself to him again and again...and the years seem to be coming right off his face. Jesús looks younger, feels younger, but there seems to be a catch. A wealthy, dying businessman also wants the device, and will do anything to get it. But that's not the only rub. As great as Jesús' feels, he now has a thirst that can't be satisfied with water...he needs blood.
Guillermo del Toro makes films that I like, but wish I loved. I generally enjoy the concepts and opening sequences, only to find myself a little bored halfway in. Cronos, del Toro's 1993 debut, strikes those same chords. The concept, melding the horror of vampirism and arcane technology with that of a family drama, is brilliant. The opening sequences, the introduction of the characters and the device, are very well done, brilliantly shot and staged, full of atmosphere, injected with dread by Javier Álvarez' foreboding score. And yet, 45-minutes in, after the film takes some twists and turns that seem straight out of the "Now, what if THIS happened?" screenwriters guidebook, I started tapping my feet impatiently. Some viewers may and do seem to appreciate the way del Toro's films settle in and take their time (this movie is only 92 minutes long, and still feels like it could have been 80), but I almost always find that I wish they'd zip along faster.
Then again, maybe some of the film's wry commentary on aging gracefully and accepting the inevitability of death are a shot at my impatient self. Del Toro is careful to show how Jesús has lived and could continue to live an emotionally satisfying life. The device, and its eternal youth implications are a threat to that, even without all of the bloodlust and danger it brings. Federico Luppi does an excellent job of conveying that Jesús is happy with his life, but that the temptation the device offers is strong. I also appreciated that the evil business man's nephew points out that if his uncle procured the device, he'd just extend his time on earth "pissing and shitting" all day. It helps that the line is delivered by the brilliant Ron Perlman, at his most sardonic. There's even commentary here about the way generations hold onto power too long, and don't allow the next to take over when it's the natural, proper time.
Yes, there is plenty of depth here, and the film received many accolades upon its release, just as most of del Toro's work has done. I just wish he'd dig faster.