Cronos

What would you give to live forever?

In the 16th century, an alchemist discovers the solution to one of history’s greatest questions: an object that can, in theory, grant eternal life.

When an accident kills him four hundred years later, his invention goes missing. It eventually falls into the hands of Jesús Gris, an aging antiques dealer. Unaware of what he has found, he accidentally activates it. Mysteriously, he becomes younger and healthier than he has been in a long time, but these changes come with an unexpected urge: a thirst for human blood.

Cronos is director Guillermo del Toro’s first film. It was greeted with great enthusiasm in its native Mexico and by international critics, and received the top prize at Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival. Although Cronos lacked the budget for the grand visual style del Toro would later become known for, many of his recurring interests are already present, including the film’s depiction of religion and the relationship between humans and monsters.