'A MUST-SEE FOR HORROR FANS.'
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

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An ancient device. A modern discovery. A terrifying tale of the eternal.

Mexican auteur Guillermo Del Toro's astonishing feature film debut from 1992 - a stylish, gory and politically potent vampire fable - announced the arrival of a strikingly original cinematic voice and is a work regarded by many as an early masterpiece. The stuff of classic horror films combined with a colourful Latin magic realism, it radically rewrites the romantic tropes of gothic vampirism and sets in stone themes that would resonate throughout Del Toro's subsequent features such as the Spanish-language tours de force The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth and the Oscar-winner The Shape Of Water.

★★★★☆
'A wonderfully baroque, gleeful subversion of the days of Hammer. A unique, terrifying mini-masterpiece.'
Empire Magazine

Guillermo Del Toro, then 29 years old, made an auspicious and audacious debut with Cronos, a highly unorthodox tale of guilt, religion, addiction, betrayal, loyalty, and the seductiveness of the idea of immortality.

This absolutely gorgeous 4K release lifts each elaborate, intricate vista, furthering the almost painterly feel of Del Toro's sets and direction, and elevates the film's beautiful soundtrack, with its meticulous layering of ticking clocks, shifting levers, slicing stingers, and oozing blood.

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Kindly Jesús Gris (a superb performance from veteran Latin American star Federico Luppi), an ageing antique dealer, spends his life in his shop serving customers or playing hopscotch with his serene orphan granddaughter Aurora (Tamara Xanath).

When he discovers a centuries-old alchemical artefact in the form of a gilded mechanical scarab, he soon finds himself the possessor and victim of its sinister, addictive powers. While the insectile demonic parasite hidden deep within the clockwork device grants eternal life to its new host, it also causes an extreme aversion to daylight and an unquenchable thirst for human blood.

Desperate to claim the scarab for himself, a dying, cadaverous industrialist (Claudio Brook, favourite Mexican actor of Luis Bunuel) and his brutish, sartorially correct nephew named Angel (a delightfully crude and deranged Ron Perlman) are soon in hot pursuit.

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Released in 1992, Del Toro's take on the vampire movie has become regarded as one of the most important Mexican films and horror films of all time. Produced with a combination of government money, private donations and credit cards, Cronos won nine Ariel Awards (the Mexican equivalent of the Academy Awards), including best picture and director, and the Cannes Critics' Week Grand Prize.

Cronos, with its focus on family and the true nature of horror, paved the way for future projects in Del Toro's shimmering screen career. Inventively employing vampirism in its assessment of the relationship between the USA and Mexico, this darkly comic, visually rich, and emotionally captivating fantasy remains a highlight within the filmmaker's incredible body of work.

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★★★★☆
'Bears all the marks of Del Toro's brush – it can be queasy and claustrophobic in places and yet, at the same time, bears a levity and a bizarre sense of optimism through the darkness.'
Starburst Magazine

★★★★☆
'A fascinating introductory course on Del Toro, the humanist, someone wholly concerned with juxtaposing symbols of innocence (children, fairy tales) with the horrors of the adult world (war, greed), all while finding the dark comedy underneath the madness.'
Slant Magazine

'A most startling genre piece: tender, imaginative and wholly its own.'
Time Out

'Establishes Del Toro's flare for reimagining mythological archetypes to create an accessible strain of fantastical cinema that addresses down-to-earth personal and political issues head on.'
Mark Kermode, BBC Radio 4 Screenshot

Cronos appears on Edgar Wright's (Shaun Of The Dead, Last Night In Soho) list of 100 Favourite Horror Movies (Entertainment Weekly).

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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 it is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1.

The CUBE Of Wyrding is the CUBE Microplex's ongoing transnational folk horror/urban wyrd/dark fantasy film series. It showcases the best in rural eerie, metropolitan fright, and occult fable cinema from around the world, including classics, lesser-known greats, intelligent trash and freaky oddities from the margins, and delves into the darker recesses of these genres. It additionally features silent films brought to life with spectacular live musical accompaniments, lively screen talks, and opportunities to immerse yourself in obscure horror soundtracks.

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Venue doors open 30 minutes before the advertised start time. All film screenings are ad-free and 18+ unless otherwise stated and start with no more than a 10-minute curated selection of trailers.

The CUBE is a membership venue; please remember to bring your card. You can join at the door for £1 (life membership). Attend six events and receive a free drink.