Cronos

This is a tale of an ancient precison instrument that inexorably tick-tocks its way into the soul of its owner. Del Torro's film is pieced together like clockwork using imagery familiar to those who have seen Hellraiser.

The story telling machinery is constructed with two key elements: Firstly, witholding information to create suspense and secondly, keeping family life and routine intact in order to suspend our disbelief in the supernatural. In the final scenes, however, the incongruous actions of the main character occur outside this framework. The viewer is left puzzled and bemused. It would have been preferable if, as in Nosferatu, our leading man rode out into the night leaving his ex-framework actions to the imagination.

Watch now if you are not squeamish. When the plot no longer seems to make any sense there is no need to carry on watching. 3 Stars.