Cronos

+ intro by Guillermo del Toro

Del Toro’s debut is a stylish, original and politically potent vampire fable.

  • Director

    Guillermo del Toro

  • With

    Federico Luppi, Ron Perlman, Claudio Brook, Margarita Isabel

  • Mexico 1992. 92min

  • Digital 4K

  • Certificate

    15

  • English subtitles

  • A BFI release

Fresh and bracing, del Toro’s feature debut announced the arrival of a strikingly original cinematic voice. Antiques dealer Jesús Gris discovers an ancient mechanical scarab artefact, but is unaware of the power it holds. While the parasite inside the device grants eternal life to its new host, it also causes an aversion to daylight and an unquenchable thirst for human blood. With its interest in family and the true nature of horror, Cronos set a course for things to come in del Toro’s career. Inventively employing vampirism in its assessment of the relationship between the USA and Mexico, this darkly comic work remains a highlight within the filmmaker’s incredible body of work.

Jason Wood, Executive Director for Public Programmes and Audiences

This screening will have descriptive subtitles and the intro will have live captions and a BSL interpreter.

Cronos has been scanned and restored at 4K resolution using the original 35mm camera negative, by Les Films du Camélia and BFI, with the supervision of Guillermo del Toro, and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1.

See other screenings of Cronos.

Also available on BFI Player