Debutante Corner: ‘Cronos’ and Guillermo del Toro
Best known for his unique visionary style and a sweet love for misunderstood monsters, Guillermo del Toro is undoubtedly one of the most celebrated and beloved film directors of our time. A man embraced by the horror community as much as he has embraced the genre itself, who treats horror, the most stigmatized of the major genres, like art. Watch any interview with him and I dare you not to love that man.
A born storyteller, since the moment del Toro stepped behind a camera and typed out his first script he has shared pieces of himself with audiences in a way that manages to reflect what many have felt since the first time they watched The Creature of the Black Lagoon or Frankenstein; what are monsters if not just lonely creatures searching for a connection? Every film del Toro creates follows this philosophy and it all started in 1993 with his very first film, Cronos.
Prior to Cronos, the only official projects del Toro had on his resume were two short films, Doña Lupe and Geometria, both of which can be found on Youtube, but it wasn’t until 1993 that he made his debut on the big screen. Starring Federico Luppi, Tamara Shanath, and Ron Perlman, the film follows an antiquer who unknowingly turns himself immortal after finding an ancient device hidden away inside an angel statue. Things pretty much turn awful for him after that. It’s a horror film not meant to horrify but to detail loss and love, the loss of innocence, humanity, and the sense of self, and the way people can love each other no matter the circumstance. This is–spoiler alert–a vampire tale that is not so much about being a vampire as it is about the sadness of becoming something of that nature. We as humans are not meant to be live forever so when we lose the very thing that defines our existence, our mortality, are we even us anymore?
Hardly anyone seems to know about this film and even if they do, there is a wide disinterest in it. A factor to consider was that it was made before del Toro’s name hit the ears of even the most disinterested of moviegoers. Many people didn’t even hear the name “Guillermo del Toro” until he exploded on the scene with Pan’s Labyrinth in 2006. Probably his first “original” film to get major attention from the festival circuit that was granted the widest release outside of Hellboy, Blade II and Mimic which were all big budget studio films with pre-existing source material. Another factor is just the tone, and how it feels much gloomier than his usual horror fairytale atmosphere.
Upon release, Cronos was a critical success that won many awards including several Ariel Awards and the Mercedes-Benz Award at Cannes. It was also selected as the Mexican entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 66th Academy Awards but was not nominated. Even though it didn’t give him much international attention it certainly caught the eye of those in the industry including the heads at Miramax who gave him his second film, the $30 million dollar monster flick Mimic to both direct and adapt for the screen during a time when “creature features” were hot.
Yes, Cronos is considered a masterful piece of cinema that would become a blueprint for the films that del Toro would later follow up with, however, despite all that, it not only remains largely unknown but was something of a disappointment for its creator.
If you know anything about Guillermo del Toro you’ll know that all his films are personal. Each film, even the commercial ones contains pieces of himself that he’s exploring. It’s why they feel so visceral, so emotional, so passionate and beautiful, and though not nearly as polished as his later stuff, it’s all there in Cronos.
This is the outline for del Toro’s filmography. A horror-based study on relationships with a touch of mythology. It’s probably the weakest of all his films (in my personal opinion) but there is something so incredibly memorable about it, an image that stays with you like a scar you didn’t feel but can see in the mirror after it’s already stopped bleeding. In a way, it feels almost too organic. The fact that it’s being made by a first time director is not lost on me, the story and every theme it includes are raw and wild in their eagerness. There is almost too much that he wants to say and do.
On one of the special feature interviews on the Criterion Collection DVD of The Devil’s Backbone, del Toro admits that he views The Devil’s Backbone to be his real debut film from which he gained “independence” because he’s never been 100% satisfied with Cronos. Not to say that he hates it, or even thinks it’s a bad film, but that it’s a creation he thinks could’ve been done better. Although significant to his life, a personal project dedicated to his grandmother, the film’s shortcomings are forever highlighted whenever he watches. As he explains it, Cronos features everything he wants to put in a movie, it’s the combined essence of his storytelling. To a certain degree, you can even argue that he’s forever remaking it, from The Devil’s Backbone to The Shape of Water a lot of his work can be seen as variations of Cronos, films that share one universal backbone.
“Cronos is a movie that if I ever had a chance to do something else to it, to make a better transfer, to make a better sound mix or to find a little extra. Every time I find something archival almost, I try to put out a DVD or put a new edition, why, because I think the most important movie in your life, there are two that are very important- the first one and the last one. The first movie articulates your universe. To me Cronos contains the essence of what I want to do[….]I think the worse thing that can happen to a filmmaker is to be given everything that he needs. I think it entirely destroys the basic hunger of the storyteller and it quenches the fire to tell a story against all odds.”Guillermo del Toro
As a film alone, Cronos deserves attention, and as the debut feature of Guillermo del Toro, it deserves much more than that. While looking at his career as a whole, too many people omit the film. For whatever reason, whether people think its not as good as his other stuff or not enough people know about it, it’s too often overlooked. Seek out Cronos people, and if you’ve already seen it, watch it again.
We’ve reached the final episode of American Horror Stories, season three. After the ups and downs of the season, I didn’t know what to expect. I felt that we were due a big finish, Killer Queens. But I feared we were in for a big letdown.
As it turns out, The Thing Under The Bed was neither.
The story
We begin our story with a little girl named Mary, who is scared of something under her bed. She sneaks out of her room, only to be caught by her father and sent back to sleep. And of course, there is something horrible waiting for her under her bed.
This scene cuts away to a woman named Jillian. She has strange dreams, including one about Mary. But her husband, Mark, doesn’t want to hear about it. He’s only interested in a little lovemaking because he wants a baby. Jillian doesn’t, which makes total sense because she’s already married to one. But her irritation with her childish husband goes away when he goes away. And by goes away, I mean he’s sloppily devoured by something vicious under their bed.
What worked
In short, this episode just worked. The acting was professional and believable. The cinematography and lighting work were wonderful, adding spooky effects and startling moments without impairing visibility.
Best of all, the story was solid. There were no plotholes to be found. Our main character, Jillian, was relatable and sympathetic.
This was maybe my favorite part of the story. I thought Jillian was a remarkably sympathetic character. She was dealt a hand she never asked for, having her husband slaughtered in their bedroom. I don’t think she missed him, so much as she was afraid of the legal ramifications of being caught with literal blood on her hands.
Then, when it would have been safest for her to just lay low and save up for a good defense attorney, she instead goes into unlikely hero mode. She does her best to save people, putting herself in legal and physical danger. It’s hard not to root for her.
It’s also a little hard not to root for the antagonist, too. I don’t want to ruin the twist for you, so I’m going to tread lightly here. But it’s great when you have an antagonist who might be off their rocker, but also maybe has a point.
What didn’t work
I can only really think of one complaint with this episode. And that is how frequently one character says the word Chickadee. And if you’ve seen the episode, you know what I am talking about.
I get it, he has a pet name for his daughter. It’s adorable. It’s meant to convey that the two of them have a healthy loving relationship and I get it. We all get it. Blind monks get it. But the fact remains that no parent on Earth calls their kid by their pet name every single time they speak an individual sentence to them. It was just too damn much.
All in all, this was a good episode. It was a classic story, turned on its head, told by professionals from start to finish. And I hope that if there is another season, we see more stories like this one. But after the efforts put into this season at large, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the last we see of American Horror Stories.
(4 / 5)
If you’ve watched enough short-form horror anthology shows, you’ll notice that some stories are mainstays. Each show seems to put on the same sort of episodes, with the occasional surprising storyline that we’ve never (or at least rarely) seen before.
Leprechaun was an example of a repeated story—the story of a greedy thief whose punishment far outweighs the crime.
The story
We begin our story in 1841, with a drunk man leaving the bar one late night. He’s distracted by something glowing at the end of the well. When he reaches down for the glowing thing, he falls in. Moments later, he screams.
We then cut to the modern day. The well is still there, and now it’s surrounded by a dying town. In this town lives a young man named Colin. He’s married, his wife is pregnant, and he’s out of work. Like many of his friends.
Desperate for cash, Colin and his friends decide to rob a bank. They put together an Equate version of Ocean’s Eleven, and break in one night. But, of course, they find that the gold is nothing more than bait. And the creature waiting for them is something they never expected.
What worked
The first thing I want to point out is how real this episode felt. At least to anyone currently living in the same small town they grew up in. These characters felt like guys I went to school with. Guys I would see at the bar.
I appreciated the real anger and frustration these characters are feeling. Especially Colin. He’s bitter, and maybe he has a right to be. He did exactly what he was supposed to do to succeed. He went to school and invested in his career, and yet now he’s out of work and struggling to support his family. I probably don’t need to tell you how that feels. Because of this, we can all kind of understand why he was tempted to rob a bank.
I also want to talk about the fact that this was, as I said, an often-explored story. That can be a bad thing, but it can also be a good thing. This story is told over and over because it’s a good story. A relatable story. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
What didn’t work
That being said, this version didn’t try to do much to break out of the mold.
Because we have seen this story so many times, most of us could tell the story themselves. I would have expected something new, or some twist. But, in the end, the story didn’t bring anything new to the discussion.
Maybe because of this, the ending left a lot to be desired. Trapped in the basement of the bank, everyone just sort of stares at everyone else, until the thieves give up. And that’s it. The ending wasn’t scary, shocking, or funny. It was just sad, on multiple levels.
Overall, this was an okay story. It was entertaining, if not surprising. I would compare this episode to homemade macaroni and cheese. Everyone’s got their own version, they’re all pretty good, and none of them are exciting.
There’s just one episode left in this season of American Horror Stories. Let’s hope they’ve saved the best for last.
(3.5 / 5)
It happened. It finally happened. We got another good episode of American Horror Stories.
The story
We begin our story late at night, with a hospital security guard named Malcolm. He is frightened one night when he sees a woman with a distorted face in the hospital parking lot.
We then joined an RN named Claire. She’s doing her best to explain to a struggling mother that the hospital will not be able to treat her son with cancer because she can’t afford the treatment.
Not like she’s happy about it.
Fortunately, Dr. Nostrum, played by the legend Henry Winkler, swoops in at the last moment to tell the mother that her son qualifies for a special place in his cancer treatment clinic.
Claire is lamenting the fact that she became an RN to help people, but it feels like she isn’t doing anything good. Then, she and her friend Lilly stumble upon the same woman who menaced Malcom the night before.
While Claire is trying to figure out what’s wrong with this woman, she brutally slaughters an orderly and vanishes into the hospital. But not before struggling to say two words to Claire. Ward X.
What worked
I want to start by praising the effects of this episode. Because they were fantastic. Aided by the black and white filming, the bloody and distorted faces of Alice and her fellow victims are nightmarish. They look like a horrific version of Lockjaw taken to a terrifying extreme.
I also want to discuss the fantastic work of Henry Winkler. He is an absolute legend and never has a bad project.
Winkler’s character in this episode was exactly what we’d expect from him. He seems genuinely warm and kind, concerned about others’ well-being. Even when he’s planning to kill Claire, he comes off as such a caring guy.
Finally, I want to talk about the historical significance of this story. Because, like I always say, the scariest stories are the ones based on truth. And I’m sorry to say, this story has a basis in truth.
Mankind has a dark and twisted history when it comes to medical advances. Most doctors and scientists are good, moral people who abide by the first line of the Hippocratic oath, to first do no harm. Some, historically, are little more than monsters in white coats. Consider the Tuskegee Experiment, Unit 731, and the horrific acts of Josef Mengele. If you’re going to look up that middle one, be warned that it is NSFL.
While this episode of American Horror Stories was a work of fiction, it wasn’t that far off. I don’t think many of us want to admit how close to real life it was. This is the gift of good horror, to force us to come face to face with the worst aspects of humanity. To acknowledge them, accept them, and change them.
All in all, this was a perfect episode. The acting, the effects and the story were all top-shelf. And it’s certainly a story that will stick with you.
There are just two episodes left in this season of American Horror Stories. Let’s hope that they reach closer to the quality of X, and away from the dull and dismal episodes that began the second half of this season.
(5 / 5)
-
Book Reviews7 days agoReview: Don’t Eat the Pie, Monique Asher’s delicious trope fest.
-
Movies n TV4 days agoAmerican Horror Stories, Leprechaun
-
Original Creations4 days ago
Religious Icons Revisited for the Second Second Coming
-
Movies n TV2 days ago
American Horror Stories, The Thing Under The Bed
