'90s Horror Movie I Just Saw for the First Time

I first heard about Cronos (two and a half stars total) on the Pan's Labyrinth (2006) DVD special features. Then I read somewhere that it's director Guillermo del Toro's twist on vampires. I'm finally getting around to it now, not because of the current vampire craze in books, movies and TV, but because I couldn't think of much to say about The Blair Witch Project (1999), another '90s horror movie that I just saw for the first time. I wouldn't say that Cronos (1993) is better than The Blair Witch Project. The former has more heart and humor while the latter has more memorable images and mystery. Both have more humanity and ingenuity than most horror movies these days. Both have dark epic fantasy backstories that are only made mention of in the first half of each movie. What's scary in Cronos is not the alchemist's device that turns an old man into a vampire or his body's decay after he's murdered and brought back to life. What's scary is that old man lapping up a pool of blood on the floor, in front of his granddaughter, and her mute acceptance of his death and transformation. Take that, Twilight!

Trivia: After Ron Perlman's title role in TV's Beauty and the Beast (1987-1990), he had a supporting role in Stephen King's Sleepwalkers (1992), but his next major role was in Mexico's Cronos. It's interesting to note that he speaks mostly English in this Spanish language movie. It's also worth noting that this is the first Guillermo/Ron colloboration and it was released a year before the first Hellboy (1994) comic book was published.