Cronos

Directed by Guillermo del Toro, Cronos follows an aging antique dealer (Federico Luppi’s Jesús) as he undergoes an unusual transformation after uncovering a centuries-old mechanical device. It’s clear, ultimately, that Cronos benefits substantially from del Toro’s admittedly inventive approach to a premise that is, to put it mildly, awfully familiar, as the movie, which boasts some seriously impressive (and appreciatively disgusting) special effects work, is otherwise devoid of attributes designed to sustain the viewer’s attention through a narrative that grows less and less interesting as time progresses – with the increasingly arms-length atmosphere perpetuated by del Toro’s continuing reliance on unreasonably off-kilter elements. (This is particularly true of Javier Alvarez’s distractingly chintzy score and Ron Perlman’s often disastrously over-the-top turn as a far-from-convincing antagonist.) There is, as such, little doubt that the whole thing wears out its welcome long before it arrives at its decent (yet far from memorable) final few minutes, and although del Toro has clearly put a lot of effort into establishing the movie’s exceedingly unique universe, Cronos has long-since cemented its place as a striking debut that feels long even at 94 minutes and would’ve worked a whole lot better as a short.

*1/2 out of ****