Cronos: Guillermo del Toro's Intriguing Debut Feature Gets an Upgrade (Criterion 4K/Blu-ray)

The Film:

When most people think of the work of the great filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, they tend to think of his more popular fare, such as his awards hit "The Shape of Water" (winner of four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director), his recent adaptation of "Pinocchio" (which garnered him another Oscar for Best Animated Feature), the widely-acclaimed "Pan's Labyrinth," or his well-received "Hellboy" films. What far fewer moviegoers will be familiar with is the film that launched his incredible career, a little vampire flick called "Cronos," which was first released in Spain & Mexico in 1993 (1994 in the US). This week, Criterion is giving the film their incredible 4K upgrade, so now it's time to go back and see how this brilliant & unique filmmaker began his distinguished work in feature films.

Beginning with a brief prologue, we learn of an alchemist in 1536 who invented a device to prolong his life. In 1937, a building collapses and kills the alchemist, with a search of his home revealing bowls of blood and a corpse. In present day, antique dealer Jesús Gris (Federico Luppi) finds the device in an archangel statue. After winding it up, the scarab-shaped device stabs him, eventually causing him to become younger and healthier. However, it also comes with an appetite for blood, an urge he finds himself succumbing to.

Meanwhile, Dieter de la Guardia (Claudio Brook), a dying businessman who has been gathering information about the device and attempting to find it, sends his nephew Angel (Ron Perlman) to Gris' shop to purchase the statue. After finding the statue empty and trashing his shop, it doesn't take them long to realize that Gris has the device, leading Angel to more desperate tactics in his attempt to acquire it for his persistent uncle.

Del Toro is well-known for his unparalleled creativity when it comes to his incredible fantasy projects. Whether it's bringing to life an adaptation of someone else's material or an original idea from his own mind, you know you are going to be in for something unique and visually fascinating, a trait that we begin to see the earliest hints of in his debut feature. "Cronos" begins to tap into his vivid imagination in an attempt to put a slightly different spin on the old, familiar vampire tale, all the while giving us a taste of the dark fantasy elements that he would become so well-known for.

The question becomes, is he successful in changing it up enough to give us a satisfying experience? The most fitting answer is that the film is something of a mixed bag. There are intriguing elements to the tale that make it stand out from similar stories, including the whole concept of the "device" (which contains some kind of blood-filtering creature inside) and some well-done makeup effects that occur as Gris undergoes certain changes. However, looking at the story as a whole, there really isn't a whole lot to it.

We have an antiques dealer who comes across the device and starts to use it, causing him to become a vampire of sorts, and someone else who desperately wants it, leading to a somewhat basic conflict. As a foundation for the aforementioned fantasy elements and makeup effects, it works well enough, but in terms of it being enough to form a memorable story, it ends up being a little too simplistic to linger in your thoughts for very long.

It's hardly a bad effort, for it certainly shows us a glimmer of the greatness to come in his later films, with their wild designs and stronger narratives, but "Cronos" really ended up being a kind of stepping stone for him to get there, a piece that showed his skills as a filmmaker and made him someone to be on the lookout for. Even if it's not a particularly memorable outing, it still remains a fascinating experience to see where the marvelous, three-time Oscar winner got his feature start in a genre that he has since come to help define. For fans of his work, that alone will make watching it at least once worth the time.

Video/Audio:

This edition of "Cronos" comes with the film on both 4K (2160p UHD) and Blu-ray (1080p HD) in 1.85:1 transfers of outstanding quality. The new 4K digital restoration, supervised & approved by Del Toro himself, looks perfectly sharp & clear throughout the film's brief 90-minute runtime, even in the darkest of scenes. Likewise, the 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is marvelous, giving you all of the dialogue, sound effects, and music in excellent quality. Overall, Criterion has once again done a phenomenal job in both departments, making the film look & sound better than it ever has.

Special Features:

Commentary with Director Guillermo del Toro

Commentary with Producers Arthur H. Gorson and Bertha Navarro, and Co-producer Alejandro Springali

Geometria (6 Minutes) + Del Toro Interview (7 Minutes)

Welcome to Bleak House (10 Minutes)

Interviews: Guillermo del Toro (18 Minutes), Guillermo Navarro (13 Minutes), Ron Perlman (7 Minutes), and Federico Luppi (5 Minutes)

The 4K/Blu-ray release comes with all of the original archival material from previous releases, including two excellent commentary tracks with the director and producers, as well as several fascinating interviews with the cast & filmmakers.

Conclusion:

Guillermo del Toro's "Cronos" may be a little on the simplistic side when it comes to its vampire narrative, but with its intriguing dark fantasy/horror elements and well-done makeup effects, it remains a fascinating look at where the brilliant, three-time Oscar-winning filmmaker got his start in feature films, revealing a remarkable talent that would ultimately lead to bigger and better things.

Score: 3/5

Available on Criterion 4K/Blu-ray starting tomorrow.

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