Customer Reviews

Cronos

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Guillermo Del Toro's modern Grimm's Fairy Tale "Cronos" focuses as much on character as it does horror. In many respects, it's a throw back to the horror comic books or movies he watched as a kid updated. Antiques dealer Jesus Gris (Federico Luppi) gets more than he bargains for when he covers a ornate gold "beetle" at the base of a decorative angel. He and his devoted granddaughter and wife discover the promise of immortality but also the horrible price one must pay when given a "gift" such as this.

Rich industrialist Dieter de la Guardia (Claudio Brook) has his brutish nephew Angel (Ron Perlman)searching for the device himself. Only Dieter knows about the history of the device, what it can do and the consquences of using it. When Jesus resists Dieter's offer for the device, it also puts his family in peril.

A rich, allegorical horror film that recalls the classic films of the 30's and 40's with its focus on character and the consquences of their actions at the expense of endless blood and gore, "Cronos" is a thoughtful, sad movie that demonstrated the considerable talents of Del Toro ("The Devil's Backbone", "Blade II", "Hellboy"). It's got its moments of gross out gore but Del Toro focuses his story on the delicate relationship between Jesus, his wife and granddaughter.

The film is presented with the original Spanish voiceover presented in English. After that, the film is a mix of Spanish and English as Dieter and Angel speak both sparingly throughout the film while Jesus and his family speak nothing but English. It would probably help to have on the subtitles if you don't speak English during the film as it switches back and forth pretty consistently.

The presentation and look of the DVD is very good capturing the nice textures and colors of the original film although it can't hold a candle to the high definition transfer of "The Devil's Backbone" that recently came out on DVD. Extras include an interview with Del Toro with clips from his very first short films made when he was a teenager up to and including his first 16mm production. There's also an interview with behind-the-scenes footage of Federico Luppi (a thoughtful and talented actor)from the production. There's also an Easter Egg included as well. Look for the Lion's Gate logo and click on it for a nice little surprise. We get a photo gallery and commentaries from both Del Toro and the film's producer. Del Toro's commentary is in English while the producer's commentary is in Spanish.

A haunting, atmospheric debut from Del Toro that deserves to be seen. It's not exactly a horror film (and why Del Toro is referred to as a horror film director is beyond me), it's more of a fantasy/suspense story with horror themes.

For some reason I developed an early low opinion of Mexican horror films and have since avoided them. Fortunately I didn't realize Cronos was Mexican ans so got to see this truly unusual film directed by Guilliermo del Toro. While it will never win a place on the heights there's a surprising amount of inventiveness and imaginative film work in something that probably has one-tenth the budget of the average Hollywood failure.

Imagine, if you will that a European alchemist fled Europe to Mexico in the 16th Century. Gaining appointment as the Governor's clockmaker he set about making a machine that would prolong his life. He succeeds and lives until a building collapses on him in modern times. His estate is broken up and sold and the real story begins when an antique dealer, Jesus Gris (Federico Luppi), acquires a statue of an angel. In it he finds a golden scarab-like machine. One with horrific powers that Jesus inadvertently activates.

Seeking the scarab for his own purposes is Dieter de la Guardia (Claudio Brook) and his last remaining relative Angel (Ron Perlman). They will stop at nothing, but a repeatedly foiled by the scarab's power over Jesus. Another key player is Aurora Gris (Tamara Shanath) who has no lines but seems to preside over the life and death drama that plays out before her.

There are a few grim and violent moments, but, for the most part, Cronos gains its momentum from its atmospherics. Imagine a screenplay written by Poe and directed by Fellini with echoes of Don't Look Now and you will have a sense of the film's feeling. Colors are dark, sets are detailed, and the minimal special effects are telling. Especially the insides and operation of the clockwork scarab.

The film is as much about the value of life as it is a horror or suspense story. Clumsy at some times and subtle at others, the message gets through with an ending which leaves just enough in question to haunt the viewer. The approach is novel, a very different twist on the vampire genre, and I found myself liking it more the longer I watched it. Definitely worth viewing.

A new vision of the vampire myth involving an insect trapped in a device that grants immortality (with a price of course), an innocent grandfather, his all but silent granddaughter, a human monster and his victimized nephew.

An elderly antiques shop owner, Jesus Gris, and his granddaughter, Aurora, discover an unusually device in a four hundred year old Archangel statue. Gris inadvertently triggers the device which begins a change in him that not only slowly makes him more youthful in look and energy but infects him with an addict's consuming fixation for blood. Unfortunately for Gris, he is not the only one with knowledge of the device's existence and power, and he becomes the target of the dying businessman De La Guardia's desire for immortality at any cost and his violent nephew Angel.

Loved this film! Loved it! I've always had a thing for vampires and I really enjoyed this new view of the vampire mythology. This isn't just a new story of vampirism though, it is also a tale of family. The love, devotion, and acceptance of family is beautifully shown through the grandfather Jesus and granddaughter Aurora, as is the dark side of family, with it's violence, abuse and victimization, as shown through the obsessed De La Guardia and his nephew Angel.

Ron Perlman is absolutely superb as Angel. He takes what could have been the average brute/thug character and gives him humor, depth, and the ability to evoke sympathy and, almost, forgiveness, from the audience. If you want to introduce a friend to Ron Perlman's work, consider doing so with this performance.

Frederico Luppi and the late Claudio Brooks are also entrancing in their performances as Jesus Gris and De La Guardia, respectively.

Favorite line (narration describing the death of the cronos device creator): "His skin was the color of marble in moonlight."

The DVD extras and commentary are wonderfully enjoyable in and of themselves (how they shot the interior of the cronos device and what happened to it later...eeeewwww, that the thirteen cronos devices used in the film were stolen on the last day of the shoot, that Ron Perlman did accidentally connect, fist to face, at one point with Frederico Luppi, etc). Guillermo Del Toro's commentaries are as spellbinding as his films.

Before Guillermo del Toro came to Hollywood to make big budget thrillers such as Mimic and Blade II, he was in Mexico making movies that are truly unique and filled with tension. His directorial debut, Cronos, is a hugely original movie and take on the vampire theme. Guillermo also wrote the screenplay.

The movie opens up with a narrator telling the story of an alchemist who made a metallic, beetle like device (the Cronos) that when placed against skin, has a scorpion like stinger that stabs the person and injects a tiny amount of bloody fluid. The injections cause the alchemist to live for centuries and only dies when he is in line at a bank in Vera Cruz during an earthquake and is crushed by falling debris.

Some time later, an antique dealer, Jesus Gris (Federico Luppi), discovers the Cronos device in the base of an old statue he has acquired. After wondering what the device might be for, he inadvertently sets it off and is pricked by it's stinger. The whole process of watching this happen is fascinating, and you are never quite sure if there is some sort of living insect inside the enclosure, thanks to Guillermo's David Lynch like photography and editing of the scene.

Jesus soon discovers that he has more energy and feels more youthful than he has in ages. But unbeknownst to him, there is an evil and rich old man, Dieter de la Guardia (Claudio Brook) who has been searching for years for the device. He has tracked it down to Jesus' shop and sends his simple minded nephew, Angel de la Guardia (brilliantly portrayed by Ron Perlman), to get the statue that has stored in it, the Cronos device. When the statue turns up empty, Dieter instructs Angel to get the device at any cost.

In the meantime, Jesus has become addicted to using the device. His young granddaughter has noticed him using it and decides for his own good to hide it from him. After spending time with her he realizes that maybe the sacrifices of the device, such as his wife not feeling as youthful as him, or his greedy and manic need to posses and have control of the device, are not worth the benefits.

The story is not fast paced by any means, but the development of the characters is superb. There are also slow moving scenes with huge amounts of tension, in particular a scene where Jesus is at a party where someone had cut himself and cleaned up in the bathroom. Jesus finds himself drawn to the blood that had dripped on the floor and after slowly considering it and getting his face closer to it, he has his cheek against the floor and extends his tongue and licks up the drops!

I have seen the video a couple times, but it is on DVD in region 2 PAL format only. The video is available in both subtitled and dubbed versions. I highly recalled the subtitles, because much of the dialogue is already in English. Ron Perlmans' character for example does not speak almost any Spanish.

Perhaps now that Guillrmo del Toro is more well known in the US, we will get a region 1 NTSC release on dvd.

`Cronos', written and directed by Guillermo Del Toro, his first film, is a really delightful find, similar to many other surprising little movies such as `La Femme Nikita', `The 13th Warrior', `Mad Max' and going back a ways, `The Hustler'.

One very important warning is that this is NOT the relatively poor sci-fi B movie of a few decades back, with a spelling, I believe, of `Kronos' and a plot vaguely suggesting world domination by computers.

The most amazing thing about this movie is that it gives AT LEAST two new twists to the old vampire story, if you interpret the vampire legend in its broadest terms. The first twist is the notion that vampirism can be induced by the inoculation of blood from an essentially immortal insect, with the assistance of a clockwork mechanism created by a very talented alchemist in Spain at the time of the Inquisition. The second major twist is the notion that a person, once infected with vampirism and benefiting from it's gift of long life, will want to be free of this `gift' and die for good.

Many of the other twists in this plot are somewhat predictable, except that they are implemented in a truly creative way. The story is realized in such a subtle manner that the level of graphic horror is so low, one wonders at how it deserved its R rating. On the other hand, I will give credit to the review board for appreciating the subtlety of the dread in many of the movie's situations.

One of the most effective cards played by this story is the `little girl in peril' card, so vividly done up in the movie `Aliens'. To the credit of Del Toro and company, he does not go as far as James Cameron does, but just far enough to have the gambit do its thing.

One of the very best things about this DVD is its subtitling in English and its director's commentary in English. I will give you the warning now that you should watch the whole movie through first with the original soundtrack before rewatching it with Del Toro's talkover. I was especially surprised to find such quality subtitling in a low budget movie. The English subtitles seem to be done not only for the benefit of someone who does not understand Spanish, but also for a hearing impaired viewer, as the subtitles include notes on background sounds and indications on when the lines are being sung rather than just being spoken.

This low budget movie realization is so good, one is not surprised that Del Toro does such a good job on big budget efforts such as `Hellboy' and `Blade 2'. The writing is so good, one wonders why, however, he takes on projects based on other people's material. The Spanish-speaking actors are unknown to me, but they do an excellent job, as does Ron Perlman whose dialogue, thankfully, is all in English. I say that not because I have any doubt that Perlman can't come across in Spanish, but as a thoroughly American actor, he is much more believable in English.

The other extras are pretty predictable. Note that while the credits give two commentary tracks, the track spoken by the producer is all in Spanish, which did me little good.

If you have a taste for good horror, this movie is not to be missed!

Currently everybody thinks of him as directing Pan's Labyrinth or the Hellboy movies. But at the very beginning of his career, Guillermo del Toro honed his directorial skills with a truly brilliant, unique movie called "Cronos," which expertly blended alchemy, vampirism and creeping psychological horror.

Antique dealer Jesús Gris (Federico Luppi) is handling an angel statue when he finds an insectile metal object in the bottom. And it bites him, injecting him with a strange fluid. Soon Jesús finds himself addicted to the device, and he finds that it's slowly restoring his youth and strength. And during a party, he also finds that it's giving him a hunger for blood.

Unfortunately, a wealthy but dying businessman is determined to find the device, and he sends out his brutal nephew Angel (Ron Perlman) to find it -- and Angel even kills Jesús when the old man doesn't tell him what he wants to know. Jesús rises again as an undead creature who is still determined to get the device back, but now his young granddaughter is in danger as well.

"Cronos" was the very first movie that Guillermo ever directed, and it's not surprising that it feels a little rough compared to his later work. But expect lots of del Toro trademarks -- mysterious golden items, insects, weird and grotesque vampirism, religious symbolism, and favored actors Luppi and Perlman.

The entire movie is beautifully directed, and del Toro paints every scene with shadows, gold and blood. And rather than going for over-the-top spookery, del Toro mingles vampiric horror (Jesus staring hungrily at his granddaughter) with more visceral psychological horror (Jesús returns to life with his mouth stitched shut). Even the gross-outs are subtle, like when we see that even Jesús' flesh is turning white and larvalike.

Federico Luppi is absolutely brilliant as Jesús -- he starts off as a genial, kindly old man with a love of antiques, but slowly he's eaten away by his lust for blood and addiction to the device. By the end of the movie, you only see a tiny flicker of what he was. Perlman gives a similarly awesome performance as a devious thug, and Claudio Brook is great as the dying businessman.

It took a long time, but this movie is FINALLY coming out in the Criterion catalog -- it will have a restored high-def digital transfer; del Toro's early short film "Geometria"; a tour of de Toro's house; audio commentaries by del Toro and the producers; video interviews with del Toro, Luppi, Navarro and Perlman, a stills gallery; trailer; new English subtitles; and a booklet with not only a Maitland McDonagh essay but del Toro's notes.

"Cronos" is a little more toned-down than Guillermo del Toro's later work, but it's still a powerful, haunting horror movie. An absolute must-see!

Cronos (1992) A vampire film without vampires? It's the story of Jesus Gris, a kindly antiquarian who comes across a mysterious ancient scarab which grants renewed vigor and immortality to its owner. But it all costs him a deadly price... Sensual in its overtones while sincerely moving and highly surreal, this is truly one of the most underrated horror films of the 1990's.

I feel like most people did a good job reviewing this movie on Amazon. Instead of reviewing what happened from start to finish in Cronos, I'm doing my best to describe what I liked about Cronos. It's a fine movie with a unique story that gives you something to think about. The actors and actresses were very well used in the movie. Ron Perlman was perfect as a thug doing the dirty work for his uncle. All of the locations in Spain were very well utilized by the director. I know some people were complaining about Jesus' granddaughter not saying a word throughout the whole movie. I believe her character was used as a reflection of sympathy and love for her grandfather. It was nice to see a movie taking a new approach on the Vampire mythology. Be sure to watch the special features on director Guillermo del Torro. He talks about the inscription on the Cronos device and it is a work of art. I think he's a very good storyteller and he really brought this movie to life. The characters were interesting and I liked them. Jesus Gris is a man who never dreams of committing a questionable act, but he makes a noble decision in the end to destroy the Cronos. The villains in the movie are people you love to hate. Ron Perlman is supposed to retrieve the Cronos for his greedy uncle, who wants to live forever. Jesus Gris doesn't stalk victims and unlike the typical vampire movies, he doesn't kill anyone to survive. Watch the movie and find out why it's unique and very well written.

This is without question one of the best vampire films of the 1990s, and definitely one of the most unusual vampire films of any time. Directed by Mexican Guillermo del Torro (no relation to Benecio), it's set in Mexico City where artifacts are plentiful. And in fact, the opening setting is an antique shop run by an older man, played well by Federico Luppi (he also starred in John Sayles' masterful Men With Guns).

Stumbling upon a bizarre thingamajig--the Cronos Device--he accidentally pricks himself with its "legs" (it resembles a huge golden beetle) that spring out from its squat body and plunge into the palm of his hand. Eventually, he extricates the thing, but it's difficult. Realizing this is no ordinary item, he wraps it up and takes it home, accompanied all this time by his granddaughter, to whom he's devoted.

The effect of the device, as it happens, is addictive. And, as they say, therein lies the rub. The sole non-Hispanic actor in the film, Ron Perlman, does a great job of portraying the crude, nasty nephew of a wealthy man as old as the antique dealer who must have this device no matter what the cost.

The transformation of the antique dealer is much more fascinating than frightening. Del Torro captures perfectly the subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle moods induced by the man's strange metamorphosis; his behavior follows these physical changes so closely that the sequence of events seems all too plausible.

The ending is truly bizarre, one of the most compelling images ever seen in a vampire film. The plot, pacing, script, and performances lift this well above the run-of-the-mill horror flick. Rather than spend money on tripe like Scream or Who Cares What You Did Last Summer?, take a look at this one.

It's brilliant.

Before the "Hellboy" films, "Pan's Labyrinth", "Blade II" and "The Devil's Backbone", Mexican filmmaker, screenwriter and novelist Guillermo del Toro would write and direct his first film in 1993 known as "Cronos".

"Cronos" would win various Golden and Silver Ariel Awards in Mexico and it would also be the first film which would feature a collaboration between del Toro and actor Ron Perlman who would later go on to work with del Toro in the "Hellboy" films and "Blade II".

Despite receiving a limited release in the U.S. in two theaters, the film grossed $17,538 during its opening weekend and over $621,000 when it played on 28 screens. The film received positive reviews from the critics and established director Guillermo del Toro's career in the U.S. As for "Cronos", way before the emotional films of "Twilight" and before "True Blood" and even the popular "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" TV series, "Cronos" was a vampire film unlike other vampire films that tend to focus on gore and the damsel being sucked dry by a vampire. Because "Cronos" was so fresh and new, it was and still is considered by some vampire film fans as one of the best vampire films of all time.

But what "Cronos" would be known for is del Toro's way of departing from previous vampire films by making it intelligent, featuring a unique relationship between a grandfather and his granddaughter and giving the vampire a sense of humanity without being a cold-blooded killer nor the usual, banal vampire storylines that have made it onto film for nearly the last century.
ts to get used to his new life, Dieter de la Guardia's want the Cronos device and will try to get it by any means necessary, even if it means killing Jesus to get it. Will Jesus survive the ordeal?

VIDEO:

"Cronos" is presented in 1:78:1. According to the Criterion Collection, Director Guillermo del Toro and director of photography Guillermo Navarro supervised this new high-definition transfer, which was created in 2K resolution on a Spirit 4K Datacine from the original 35 mm camera negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS system and Pixel Farm's PFClean system, while Digital Vision's DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain and noise reduction.

It's important to note that while the DVD does look good, one wanting better picture quality should definitely get the Blu-ray disc release of "Cronos".

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

"Cronos" is presented in stereo. Dialogue is clear and according to the Criterion Collection, the stereo soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from a 35 mm LT/RT magnetic soundtrack. Clicks, thumps, hiss and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube's integrated audio workstation.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Cronos - The Criterion Collection #551' comes with the following special features:

* Audio Commentary by Director Guillermo del Toro - A wonderful audio commentary from 2002 by Guillermo del Toro. Throughout the film, del Toro talks about the scenes and what he liked and what he didn't like (as he looks back on the film) because they were on a strict schedule, also interesting stories on construction of the Cronos devices and the things they had to go through to film on the morgue set. Also, we get to learn a few interesting facts, especially about young actress Tamara Shanath which was quite interesting and unusual. But Guillermo definitely gives us a good insight of why this film was created, a little story on his strict Catholic upbringing and how difficult his mother was and his fascination with horror films like "Videodrome", working with Ron Perlman and the various talent and more.
* Audio Commentary by Producers Arthur H. Gorson, Bertha Navarro and Co-Producer Alejandro Springall - The producers talk about the film being shot in Mexico, getting actor Federico Luppi and Ron Perlman, talk about the makeup and effects, memories of screening the film at Cannes and more.
* Geometria - (6:28) Guillermo del Toro's 1987 short horror film which was reworked with special effects. Featuring an introduction (6:54) by Guillermo del Toro talking about the making of this short film and what he wanted to accomplish then but was difficult with only a $2,000 budget.
* Welcome to the Bleak House - (10:15) Guillermo del Toro takes us on a short tour of his collections in his home and how he is expanding it to include his collection of toys, cinema but mostly a large collection of macabre movie and non-movie related items. Let's just say that some of the things that del Toro has in his home (especially preserved in jars), I don't see many people wanting to have them in their home or collection.
* Interviews - Featuring several interviews which include:

- Interview with Director Guillermo del Toro (17:35) in regards to working on "Cronos", the things he has learned since the filming (including some regrets that he has) and working with Ron Perlman and how he was fortunate to have him on his film but most importantly trust him.

- Interview with Guillermo Navarro (12:36) in regards to working as director of photography for "Cronos" and the longtime friendship and bond he and del Toro have in working on a film together.

- Interview with Ron Perlman (7:26) in regards to how he got involved in working on "Cronos", what he liked about the screenplay but also how he and Guillermo del Toro have continued to work in three more films since that first collaboration.

- Interview with Federico Luppi (5:26) in regards to working with del Toro, playing the character of Jesus Gris and working on "Cronos".

* Stills Gallery - With your remote, you can view the various stills, rare photos (of his crew working on several versions of the Cronos device) and storyboard illustrations from "Cronos" with captions by director Guillermo del Toro.
* Trailer - (1:28) The original theatrical trailer.

EXTRAS:

"Cronos - The Criterion Collection #551' comes with a 44-page booklet. Inside is an essay titled "Beautiful Dark Things" by film critic, film writer and horror enthusiast Maitland McDonagh. Also, included are excerpts from director Guillermo del Toro's notes for "Cronos" back in 1991 and shows us how much research he did in preparing for his screenplay for "Cronos".

JUDGMENT CALLL

Director Guillermo del Toro is one of the most prepared and quite intellectual filmmakers out there.

His life, even since he was a young child, has appreciated horror films, the macabre but also an appreciation for cinema that when he planned his version of a vampire film, he didn't want to go through the same path as other filmmakers who have done vampire films. No need for the brooding blood-sucking vampire in his films, everything must have a purpose and in this case, even before this film was created, he had done incredible research on alchemy, Gothic films and being a cinema fan, especially a horror film fan, he is a man with a vast knowledge of these type of topics.

But what makes "Cronos" succeed and what makes it so unique is that the film doesn't want to follow the banality of kitschy horror films. His vampires and for the most part, many of his films tend to make us feel sympathetic to those who have become the monster. In this case, Federico Luppi's wonderful performance as a grandfather turned vampire is not your average blood sucking killer. All he knows is that this Cronos device has given a chance of being younger and feeling more vibrant but at a cost that his body is constantly wanting human blood. But will he lose his humanity or what is left of his humanity to follow the rules of the alchemist, of what one would do to achieve immortality.

"Cronos" is well-written and despite not having a large budget, it's a film that works because it was created by a Guillermo del Toro who was not changed or deterred by the Hollywood studio system. He was man who knew what he wanted and got the performances that he wanted. Granted, he does explain on the audio commentary that they were short on time and they faced significant obstacles while filming "Cronos" back in 1993. And of course, with this release in 2010, Guillermo has said that he would have done things differently.

The fact is that director del Toro was able to tell a story with no studio telling him what to do and in someways, that ego of a first time director kind of helps in showing us his youth as director on this film. Personally, if del Toro was able to redo this film, having experienced several big budget films under his belt after "Cronos", I wouldn't be surprised if he utilized visual effects and other modern day technology to make "Cronos" seem a bit more violent and bloody.

Personally, I felt that del Toro has done a wonderful job and if anything, "Cronos" is an important film that introduced the world to his talent as a new filmmaker during the early '90s and since then he has reaped the rewards with other films such as "Pan's Labrynth" and "Blade II". And aside from being a well-known screenwriter and director, he has currently gone on to become one of Hollywood's most popular producers.

The film manages to capture emotion in a vampire film that many dare not try back then (granted, things have change now during these "Twilight", "True Blood" and "Vampire Diaries" years). But even today, if you pitched a film about a grandfather turning to a vampire who has a close relationship with his granddaughter, it probably wouldn't fly with today's film studios who want more style over substance, "Cronos" had style but it also had substance and most of all it was not a film that was put on del Toro's lap nor was there a studio and execs telling him what to do. "Cronos" was created because Guillermo had wanted to make this film and he did it his way and sure enough, it has paved the way for more films for the director to this day.

While some may question why "Cronos" was included on The Criterion Collection, for one, "Cronos" was an important film to come from Mexico. Although there are a few Mexican films that are included on The Criterion Collection, the fact is that Guillermo del Toro is one of Mexico's famous directors and that also, "Cronos" did bring in a lot of attention to Mexican cinema back in 1993 and also a Mexican filmmaker that has reaped the benefits of years of hardwork and it is this film that did help pave the way for the success that he has received thus far. "Cronos" was an audacious film at the time and one can easily watch and see why the film has received auspicious reviews.

For the faint of heart when it comes to horror films, "Cronos" is not a film with a lot of gore or bloody violence. Granted, it has its share of violence and bloody moments but it's nothing gory or sickening and quite pedestrian in what is shows considering what we see in today's horror films. I admit that there was one part which was gross. But I have no doubt that if del Toro had his opportunity to redo this film as he wants to do with all his films, I wouldn't be surprised if he would take advantage of things much more visually and make it possibly a bit more grotesque.

Fortunately, the film is what it is and whether or not one wants more gore is subjective to the viewer. Personally, I felt that the film didn't have to be another vampire film and showcase blood or gore, it was fine the way it is and if anything, the film builds on suspense and good old fashion storytelling. The most you are going to see in this film is skin peeling off and that's pretty much it. To tell you the truth, the only disturbing scene for me was mostly about a scene in which Jesus craves blood but where he finds it, I was just thinking of how unsanitary it would be for him to get his taste of human's blood in that area (I would explain more but I would end up spoiling that scene). But "Cronos" is not a film one would get scared or grossed out by. So, for the Criterion Collection fans that are wondering if there are any disturbing scenes ala "Salo", "Sweet Movie" or "Antichrist" in this film... the answer is no.

As for the DVD, "Cronos - The Criterion Collection #551' does have quite a few more special features than its older 2002 Lions Gate DVD counterpart. For one you get the 44-page booklet with an essay by "Flick Chick" Maitland McDonagh (who definitely knows horror films) and also notes that del Toro made in 1991 and just giving you a wonderful insight of what he had in his head at the time and also showing his intellectual side and approach to planning the film at a young age.

And also, you get two audio commentaries (which were part of the 2002 DVD) but possibly my favorite featurettes that show his collection at his home ala "The Bleak House" and several interviews with del Toro, his cinematographer Guillermo Navarro, Ron Perlman and Federico Luppi. And for del Toro fans, you also get to see his 1987 horror short "Geometria" for the first time. Although not as audacious as "Cronos", it does show you del Toro's willingness to do whatever he wanted and in this case, with a small budget, to create the most grotesque short that he can with the least amount of money.

Once again, if you want the better HD picture quality and lossless audio, I definitely recommend going for the Blu-ray version over the DVD version. Otherwise, this Criterion Collection DVD for "Cronos" is a solid release.

Overall, for fans of filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, "Cronos" does make for a wonderful release by the Criterion Collection. Many have demanded more Mexican films to be featured in the collection and "Cronos" was a wise decision. Definitely recommended!