Cronos (1993)

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

Director:

Guillermo del Toro

Writer:

Guillermo del Toro

Stars:

Federico Luppi, Ron Perlman, Claudio Brook

22 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Federico Luppi	...	Jesus Gris
Ron Perlman	...	Angel de la Guardia
Claudio Brook	...	De la Guardia
Margarita Isabel	...	Mercedes
Tamara Shanath	...	Aurora
Daniel Giménez Cacho	...	Tito
Mario Iván Martínez	...	Alchemist
Farnesio de Bernal	...	Manuelito
Juan Carlos Colombo	...	Funeral Director
Jorge Martínez de Hoyos	...	Narrator (voice)
Luis Rodríguez	...	Buyer
Javier Álvarez	...	Bleeding Man
Gerardo Moscoso	...	Drunk
Eugenio Lobo	...	Stoned Man
Adriana Olivera	...	Tango Student

Storyline

In 1536, in Veracruz, Mexico, during the Inquisition, an alchemist builds a mysterious and sophisticated device named Cronos to provide eternal life to the owner. In the present days, the antiques dealer Jesus Gris finds Cronos hidden inside an ancient statue while cleaning it with his granddaughter Aurora. He accidentally triggers the device and soon his wife Mercedes and he note that he has a younger appearance. Out of the blue, the stranger Angel de la Guardia visits Gris's shop and buys the old statue. On the next day, Gris finds his shop trashed and Angel's card on the floor. He pays a visit to Angel that introduces him to the eccentric millionaire De la Guardia that explains the healing power and the eternal life given by Cronos. Angel is sent by De la Guardia to hunt down Gris to get Cronos no matter the costs.

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Plot Keywords:

eternal life | antique dealer | invention | statue | alchemist | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for horror violence and for language

Details

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish English

Release Date:

May 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cronos

Filming Locations:

Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$621,392

Company Credits

Production Co:

CNCAIMC,Fondo de Fomento a la Calidad Cinematográfica,Grupo Del Toro

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Guillermo del Toro started writing on the script as early as 1984, where it was titled "Vampire of the Grey Dawn".

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Goofs

When Jesús searches for Aurora after she has taken the Cronos, as he walks through two doors, he stops. Behind him, reflected in the glass of the door, is crew and equipment.

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Quotes

[to Jesus, who is about to take the blood from her fingers]
Aurora Gris: Grandfather.

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Crazy Credits

Dedicated to the memory of Josefina Camberos

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Alternate Versions

Some explicit nudity was added in the US video release.

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Connections

References Inferno (1980)

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Soundtracks

Caminemos
Herivelto Martins y Alfredo Gil
(C) 1949, PHAM, Mexico

User Reviews

Arid,hackneyed and distasteful.

Guillermo del Toro being one of my favorite directors and having watched most of his movies felt bad to leave Cronos unwatched.As Cronos is regarded as Guillermo del Toro's first motion picture i was very much excited to watch this movie ,but my excitement quickly turned into dismay as Cronos was nothing like his other films,films which have rich characters of profound depth and background.

Having said that,the story and actors were promising but they ended up disappointing too by the end of film.

But its good to see that the writer/director quickly learned from his mistakes and gave some of my favorite hits.