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{{about-distinguish|the 1992 horror film|Chronos (film)|Kronos (film)}}

{{Infobox film
| name           = Cronos
| image          = Cronos.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Guillermo del Toro]]
| producer       = [[Arthur H. Gorson]]<br />Bertha Navarro<br />[[Alejandro Springall]]<br />Bernard L. Nussbaumer
| writer         = Guillermo del Toro
| narrator       = [[Jorge Martínez de Hoyos]]
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Federico Luppi]]
* [[Ron Perlman]]
* [[Claudio Brook]]
* [[Margarita Isabel]]
* Tamara Shanath}}
| music          = [[Javier Álvarez (composer)|Javier Álvarez]]
| cinematography = [[Guillermo Navarro]]
| editing        = Raúl Dávalos
| studio         = Fondo de Fomento Cinematográfico<br />Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía<br />Universidad de Guadalajara<br />Iguana Producciones<br />Ventana Films
| distributor    = Prime Films S.L. {{small|(Spain)}}<br />[[October Films]]<br />{{small|(United States)}}
| released       = {{Film date|df=yes|1992|11|27|XXV Muestra Internacional de Cine|1993|12|03|México}}<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.elojoquepiensa.cucsh.udg.mx/index.php/elojoquepiensa/article/view/35 |title=Cronos. El origen del alquimista - Estudio de caso |journal= El Ojo Que Piensa. Revista de Cine Iberoamericano |issn=2007-4999 |date=January 2011 |issue=3 |access-date=June 6, 2011|last1=Fernández |first1=Álvaro A. }}</ref>
| runtime        = 92 minutes<!-- Theatrical runtime: 92:15 --><ref>{{cite web |title=''Cronos'' (15) |url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/cronos-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0yotiwnja|work=[[British Board of Film Classification]] |date=29 August 1994 |access-date=29 October 2022}}</ref>
| country        = Mexico
| language       = {{Plainlist|
*Spanish
*English
}}
| budget         = $2 million<ref>{{cite news |last1=DePalma |first1=Anthony |title=From a Mexican Grave Comes 'Cronos' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/20/movies/film-from-a-mexican-grave-comes-cronos.html |access-date=30 December 2018 |work=New York Times |date=20 March 1994}}</ref>
| gross          = $621,392<ref name="Mojo">{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=cronos.htm |title=''Cronos'' (1993) |work=[[Box Office Mojo]] |publisher=[[IMDb]] |access-date=31 March 2015}}</ref>
}}
'''''Cronos''''' is a 1992 Mexican [[independent film|independent]] [[dark fantasy]] [[horror film|horror]] [[drama film]] written and directed by [[Guillermo del Toro]] and starring [[Federico Luppi]] and [[Ron Perlman]]. ''Cronos'' is del Toro's [[List of directorial debuts|first feature film]], and the first of several films on which he worked with Luppi and Perlman.

Critical reviews were overwhelmingly positive, praising the inventive direction and creative storytelling, and over time ''Cronos'' has been regarded as a classic. The film was selected as the Mexican entry for the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]] at the [[66th Academy Awards]], but was not accepted as a nominee.<ref>Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences</ref>

A [[stand-alone sequel]], [[We Are What We Are (2010 film)|''We Are What We Are'']], was released in 2010, its only connection to the original being [[Daniel Giménez Cacho]] reprising the role of Tito the Coroner.<ref name="Variety">{{cite journal|last=Frook|first=John Evan|date=29 November 1993|title=Acad inks Cates, unveils foreign-language entries|url=https://variety.com/1993/film/news/acad-inks-cates-unveils-foreign-language-entries-116185/|journal=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414014159/https://variety.com/1993/film/news/acad-inks-cates-unveils-foreign-language-entries-116185/|archive-date=14 April 2019|access-date=14 April 2019}}</ref>

== Plot ==
In the year 1536, an alchemist in [[Veracruz]] develops a mechanism that can give eternal life. In 1937, an old building collapses and the alchemist, who has marble-white skin, is killed when his heart is pierced by the debris. Investigators go to search the home of the alchemist, but they never reveal what else was discovered in the home: basins filled with blood from a corpse.

In 1996, an elderly antique dealer, Jesús Gris, notices that the base of an archangel statue is hollow. He opens it and finds the 460-year-old mechanism. After he winds the ornate, scarab-shaped device, it unfurls spider-like legs which grip him tightly and inserts a needle into his skin. An insect — entombed within the device and meshed with the internal clockwork — filters the blood. Gris eventually discovers his health and vigor are returning, as is his youth. His skin loses its wrinkles, his hair thickens and his sexual appetite increases. He also develops a thirst for blood. This initially disgusts him, but he eventually succumbs to the temptation. He uses the device later that night but says his nightly prayer as he does. His granddaughter Aurora notices this and begins to worry about Gris.

Meanwhile, a rich, dying businessman, Dieter de la Guardia, who has been amassing information about the mechanism for many years, has been searching for the statue with the device. He sends his thuggish American nephew Angel, who suffers his uncle's abuse on a daily basis for an inheritance, to purchase the statue at the antique shop.

During a [[New Year's Eve]] party, Gris sees a man bleeding from the nose and follows him into the men's room in order to reap his blood from the sink countertop. Another man comes out of one of the stalls, sees the blood and cleans it up. Gris notices blood on the floor and decides to lick it up, until an unknown man walks up and kicks him in the face, knocking him unconscious. He is found by Angel, who gives him some alcohol and tries to beat him into giving up the mechanism. When Gris faints, Angel places his body inside a car and pushes it off a cliff. Gris briefly awakens and prays for survival, but seemingly dies. He later revives in an undertaker's establishment and escapes before he can be cremated. He returns home, and Aurora lets him in. Dieter beats Angel for not ensuring Gris's heart was destroyed and sends him to check on the body. Gris works on a letter to his wife in which he comments on the changes to his body and tells her that after completing some 'unfinished business' he will return to her. He notices that his skin burns in the presence of sunlight and sleeps in a box to avoid it.

Eventually, Gris and Aurora bring the mechanism to Dieter's headquarters, where the businessman offers him a "way out" in exchange for the device. Gris comments on his damaged skin and the businessman tells him to peel it off because he has new skin underneath, which is marble-white like the dead alchemist. Gris threatens to destroy the mechanism but is told that he will die should that happen. Gris agrees to hand it over in exchange for knowing the "way out", whereupon Dieter stabs him. Before being able to strike the killing blow to the chest, Dieter is incapacitated by Aurora and Gris feeds on Dieter. Angel finds the dying Dieter and crushes his throat with his foot, tired of his abuse and waiting for his inheritance. Angel confronts Gris on the rooftop of the building and beats him severely. Gris throws them both off the roof, killing Angel.

Aurora finds Gris unconscious and uses the mechanism to wake him. Noticing that her hand is bleeding, Gris is tempted to feed off his granddaughter but he eventually controls himself. He then painfully destroys the mechanism, despite previous warnings. He returns to his home and is shown lying in bed, with Aurora and his wife in attendance, as the film ends.

== Cast ==
* [[Federico Luppi]] as Jesús Gris
* [[Ron Perlman]] as Angel de la Guardia
* [[Claudio Brook]] as Dieter de la Guardia
* Tamara Shanath as Aurora Gris
* [[Margarita Isabel]] as Mercedes Gris
* [[Daniel Giménez Cacho]] as Tito the Coroner, a character that also appears in the 2010 horror film ''[[We Are What We Are (2010 film)|We Are What We Are]]''.
* Mario Iván Martínez as Alchemist
* Farnesio de Bernal as Manuelito
* [[Jorge Martínez de Hoyos]] as Narrator

== Reception ==
=== Critical response ===
The film received acclaim by critics for its [[acting]], originality, [[mythology]], religious references, and its balance of horror & drama. When the film got the attention of international film critics including those from [[The United States of America|United States]], it has since been recognized as one of the greatest horror films and Spanish language films of all-time. [[Rotten Tomatoes]] reports a 90% approval rating based on 60 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The critical consensus reads: "Guillermo del Toro's unique feature debut is not only gory and stylish, but also charming and intelligent."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cronos |title=''Cronos'' (1993) |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=[[Fandango Media]] |access-date=24 February 2025}}</ref> [[Metacritic]] assigned the film a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web | title=Cronos Reviews | website=[[Metacritic]] | url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/cronos?ftag=MCD-06-10aaa1c }}</ref> It was also entered into the [[18th Moscow International Film Festival]].<ref name="Moscow1993">{{cite web|url=http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1993 |title=18th Moscow International Film Festival (1993) |access-date=10 March 2013 |work=MoscowFilmFestival.ru |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140403093721/http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1993 |archive-date=3 April 2014  }}</ref>

In the early 2010s, ''[[Time Out London|Time Out]]'' conducted a poll with several authors, directors, actors and critics who have worked within the horror genre to vote for their top horror films.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.timeout.com/london/film/best-horror-films |work=[[Time Out London|Time Out]] |access-date=13 April 2014 |title=The 100 best horror films}}</ref> ''Cronos'' was placed at number 96 on their top 100 list.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.timeout.com/film/best-horror-films |work=[[Time Out London|Time Out]] |access-date=29 October 2022 |title=The 100 best horror films: the list |author=NF}}</ref>

The film has become part of [[The Criterion Collection]]. The film's Blu-ray disc includes the film with both the introduction in English, and a version in its original Spanish language. In the website's plot synopsis of the film, it's described as "A dark, visually rich, & emotionally captivating fantasy".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.criterion.com/films/27534-cronos |title=The Criterion Collection: Cronos (1993) |access-date=18 June 2017}}</ref> The film is sold both individually and as part of the box set ''Trilogía de Guillermo del Toro'', which includes del Toro's other Spanish language horror films ''[[The Devil's Backbone]]'' & ''[[Pan's Labyrinth]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/1209-trilogia-de-guillermo-del-toro |publisher=The Criterion Collection | title=Trilogía de Guillermo del Toro |access-date=31 May 2021}}</ref>

=== Box office ===
In the United States, the film was given [[limited release]] to only 2 theaters where it grossed $17,538 its opening weekend and grossed a total of $621,392 playing at a total of 28 screens. After many critics viewed the film, they felt it deserved a wider release.<ref name="Mojo" />

=== Year-end lists ===
* Honorable mention&nbsp;– David Elliott, ''[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]]''<ref>{{cite news|last=Elliott|first=David|date=25 December 1994|title=On the big screen, color it a satisfying time|newspaper=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]]|edition=1, 2|page=E=8}}</ref>

== Home media ==
''Cronos'' was first released on [[DVD]] by [[Lionsgate Home Entertainment]] on 14 October 2003 as a "10th Anniversary Edition", which includes two commentaries, one by del Toro, and the other by three of the four producers, two behind-the-scenes featurettes, two galleries for production photos and concept art, and an easter egg which plays the theatrical trailers of four films, including ''Cronos''.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bovberg|first1=Jason|title=Cronos: 10th Anniversary Special Edition|url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/7907/cronos-10th-anniversary-special-edition/|website=DVD Talk|publisher=DVDTalk.com|access-date=15 July 2016|date=14 October 2003}}</ref> On 7 December 2010, [[The Criterion Collection]] released ''Cronos'' on both DVD and [[Blu-ray Disc|Blu-ray]] with a new cover by [[Mike Mignola]]. The disc contains two [[Audio commentary|audio commentaries]] by cast and crew, a video tour of del Toro's home office, several interviews, and ''[[Geometria (film)|Geometria]]'', a 1987 [[short film]] (although finished in 2010) written and directed by del Toro.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.criterion.com/films/27534-cronos|title=Cronos|publisher=The Criterion Collection|access-date=25 May 2015}}</ref> The Criterion Collection also released the film as a part of the boxset ''Trilogía de Guillermo del Toro,'' which includes three of Guillermo del Toro's Spanish films, the other two being ''[[Pan's Labyrinth]]'' and ''[[The Devil's Backbone]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/1209-trilog-a-de-guillermo-del-toro|title=Trilogía de Guillermo del Toro|publisher=The Criterion Collection |access-date=30 December 2018}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Vampire film]]
* [[List of submissions to the 66th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film]]
* [[List of Mexican submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|0104029}}
* {{TCMDb title|id=71861}}
* {{Mojo title|cronos}}
* {{Metacritic film}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|cronos}}
* [http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1679-cronos-beautiful-dark-things ''Cronos: Beautiful Dark Things''] an essay by [[Maitland McDonagh]] at the [[Criterion Collection]]

{{Guillermo del Toro}}
{{Mexican submission for Academy Awards}}

[[Category:1992 films]]
[[Category:1990s Spanish-language films]]
[[Category:1992 English-language films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Guillermo del Toro]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Guillermo del Toro]]
[[Category:Films shot in Mexico]]
[[Category:Mexican independent films]]
[[Category:Mexican vampire films]]
[[Category:1990s Christmas horror films]]
[[Category:Gothic horror films]]
[[Category:Films set in Mexico]]
[[Category:Films set in Mexico City]]
[[Category:Films set around New Year]]
[[Category:1992 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:Mexican supernatural horror films]]
[[Category:1992 Mexican films]]
[[Category:Films about immortality]]
[[Category:English-language horror films]]
[[Category:Saturn Award–winning films]]
[[Category:Mexican psychological thriller films]]
[[Category:1992 psychological thriller films]]
[[Category:1992 horror films]]
[[Category:Mexican horror films]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Cronos (film)|access_date=2026-03-01}}