Cronos
The debut film of Guillermo de Toro. An old antique dealer, Jesús Gris, and his granddaughter Aurora find a 450-year-old mechanical device shaped like a scarab in the base of a statue. Gris is pierced by the device's legs and stinger and finds himself growing younger but also plagued with cravings for blood. Meanwhile, a dying businessman sends his thuggish nephew (future Hellboy Ron Perlman) to claim the device for himself.
Tropes used in Cronos include:
- Affably Evil: Angel is pretty charming when he wants to be.
- Alchemy Is Magic
- Clockwork Creature: The Cronos Device is operated by multiple gears and houses an immortal insect inside it.
- The Dog Bites Back: Angel, tired of waiting for his inheritance and fed up with the abuse, kills Dieter.
- The Dragon: Angel to Dieter.
- Friendly Neighborhood Vampire
- Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday: Though it's more subdued, "normalcy of family is gone" type of thing.
- Little Miss Badass: Aurora proves to be this in the end.
- Not Using The V Word
- Our Vampires Are Different
- The Quiet One: Aurora does not speak for most of the film.
- Trailers Always Spoil: The US trailer spoils most of the film's major plot points.