Guillermo del Toro's atmospheric feature debut is not only gory and stylish, but also charming and intelligent.

Cronos features all of the trademarks Del Toro's later become known for, such as a ghostly atmosphere, highlighted with a magical score filled with emotion, of course. You have the way of telling a story through a child's point of view. And also, there's elements of dark, twisted fantasy, mixed up with brutal violence. Last but not least, it's a heartfelt story, told with enthusiasm and passion.

A vampire classic, one of the best I've seen.

Intelligent, witty horror movie with many hallmarks of the director's creativity, which, disappointingly, is only moderately effective. I would suspect this one is for del Toro completists only.

A fresh look at the vampire genre, sort of? I think what I like most about this film is that it doesn't follow convention. Del Toro went his own route with a unique story, and I think it paid off. I enjoyed this film very much.

Guillermo del Toro's debut feature is a unique horror story dwelling on the widening destruction caused by one man achieving his dream.

A 16th century alchemist creates the Chronos Device, a clockwork scarab imprisoning an insect of unknown species; it can deliver immortality, but at a horrifically high price. The alchemist dies in an accident in the early 20th century, his possessions auctioned off. An aging antiques dealer comes into possession of the statue concealing the device, and thus runs afoul of the rich, cancer-ridden man who is in possession of the alchemist's tattered notes, and has been actively seeking the statue for years.

A remarkably assured first outing; it's lovely to see del Toro's motifs in their larval stage, as it were, and to watch the confident birth of what has become cinema's most remarkable voice of lyrical horror.

a vampire movie

The idea is good -a mythological artifact that gifts it's bearer with immortality, gets picked up by an elderly antique store owner who undergoes a transformation. All under the prying eye of goofy tough guy Ron Perlman,. Cronos is billed as vampire flick, but I didn't realize this until about half way through so take from it what you will. Me? Well, Del Toro's earliest flick is decent, but I guess oddly paced cause it made me yawn more often than amuse. As much as I enjoyed the Hellboy flicks and Pan's Labyrinth, Cronos was a bit of a struggle. I saw many flashes of the style that would evntually come from Del Toro, but it doesn't stand up well to.... say... another Perlman flick The City Of Lost Children

9th film for Around the World in May- Mexico

Cronos is one of the most original takes on the Vampire story and what stands out most is the fact that it came out in 1993 and still holds fresh as compared to most similar films that have come out by the dozen since then.

The film also brilliantly mashes up to great myths and serves it up in a story that stays with you for a while. The way the main protagonist interacts with his granddaughter is really beautiful and is a shining point in the film.

Though the story does overall get lost in between, but that can be forgiven as it was the first feature film for Guillermo Del Toro and shows the creativity and imagination that we have come to see from his successive films.

An unusual variation on the tired vampire genre, Cronos is a twisted hybrid of dark fantasy and icky, Cronenbergian body-horror.

Unfortunately, good ideas and a realistic approach aren't enough, as it's somewhat slow and a little on the slight side, like an hour’s worth of material has been stretched to 90 minutes.

Full review at: www.flixcapacitor.co.uk/film-review/cronos-1993

i knew this would be good, but i was surprised by how deeply touching it was - and also how much it works as a textbook example of how to make a successful film (regardless of genre) on a small scale...

Bastante bien para ser la primera película de Del Toro. Muy original idea de la inmortalidad.

Guillermo del Toro has quite an imagination. In Cronos he's paralleled a vampire story to that of Jesus Christ, and after having googled the matter, apparently the comparison between the two is often overlooked by other film makers bringing the vampire story to life.

This movie in unlike any others that I have seen. It's beautifully shot, witty, symbolic and has layers of complexity. Also some pretty impressive make-up artistry for 1993.

Em seu primeiro filme, del Toro já mostra características presentes em seus trabalhos posteriores, como a presença de crianças envolvidas em eventos sobrenaturais, a presença de mecanismos, Ron Perlman no elenco e o extremo cuidado com a construção visual da obra.