Film: Cronos

Director: Guillermo del Toro
Genre: Horror
Source: Mexico (1993)
Rating: R
Location/Format: Hulu Plus
Grade: B

Del Toro's first outing goes a long way in laying out the kind of worlds he'll be dealing with in most of his movies so far--a blend of supernatural and folk tale with a heavy dose of childhood innocence. He's Spielbergian but with more of a horror grounding.

The film is one of the stranger vampire movies I've seen, and it clearly has elements of a "first film"--a little bit too loose in its pacing, a little low budget in its special effects, and a little flat in its climax. But it also delivers great characterization, a sharp sense of humor (another del Toro trademark), and a nice dynamic between generations. Here the question of whether immortality is a blessing or a curse is addressed (as it often is in vampire movies), but with a wholesome kindness that is all del Toro's own. I love the relationship betwen Aurora and her slightly-too-obviously-named grandfather Jesus Gris is tender and sweet, and it is the beating heart at the movie's core.

Federico Luppi is really excellent as Jesus, exploring both the joy and the terror of realizing the transformation he is undertaking. He has a haunted look about him, and that look gets even deeper as the movie slowly tears him apart. I bought into his journey, and so I bought into the film as a whole. 

Others are more of a mixed bag. Ron Perlman is a difficult actor. In most roles (exception: Sons of Anarchy and Hellboy), I have a hard time buying into his characterization because he's so, well, Ron Perlman all the time. Here he is a little heavy-handed in playing his character--becoming a bit more of a caricature that doesn't quite match up as belonging in the same world with Luppi's nuanced characterization. I like Perlman overall, but he was just a little heavy-handed here.

Still, overall it's a fine movie, and I really enjoyed seeing the beginnings of del Toro's strong visual style. There are a few great scenes--the internal workings of the Cronos device, the "coffin" scene, the mortuary scene, the final battle in front of a neon sign--that show what flair del Toro has and what is in store for the future. It's definitely not my favorite of his films, and it doesn't have the sophistication of something like Pan's Labyrinth) but it's a good sign of things to come. 

Alternate Film Title: "A Good Antidote to Sexy Twilight Vampires"