This is a short that I didn't know existed. I went to see Cronos in the theater at the Gateway Film Center and they showed this before. I didn't even realize what it was until settling in that this is one of the first things writer/director, Guillermo del Toro, made so that intrigued me as I'm a fan of his work.
Synopsis: a boy is tired of failing geometry, so he summons a demon.
There isn't much more that I can saw as to what we get here. This runs for 9 minutes and it starts with the mother, played by Guadalupe Del Toro who is the mother to Guillermo in real life. She tells her son that he needs to study for this geometry test. The son is played by Fernando Garcia Marin. He tells his mother he has a plan.
So, where I want to start with my recap and breakdown is that despite how low budget this it, you can tell that del Toro has talent. I love the stinger at the end of this short. It made me laugh audible in the theater. What is funny about it, without spoiling, is that it is in line with the concept of the short.
Something else that impressed me were the effects. You can tell that there wasn't a lot of money available to do this. There is homage to The Exorcist with a demon that shows up. Her character's name is Linda B. (Rodrigo Mora) and the makeup matches it. There's another entity that shows up that is gross looking. There is blood and an attack scene that looked good to me. I was impressed there.
I should say that the rest of the filmmaking is fine. You can see the talents that del Toro has and it isn't shocking to see where he is now. I'll finish out then with the acting here to say that no one is great. This is an amateur effort so I won't harp too much. There is an element of comedy so the performances reflect that.
In conclusion, I had fun with this short. It's not the best made work you'll see from del Toro. What I like here though is that we're seeing the beginnings of what he would become. The effects were good for the budget. There is a creepy feel there. I do love the premise and how things play out. It made me laugh. The acting isn't great, but I'm also not going to harp on it either. I'd recommend this to fans of del Toro who are out to see his filmography.
My Rating: 7 out of 10.
Synopsis: a boy is tired of failing geometry, so he summons a demon.
There isn't much more that I can saw as to what we get here. This runs for 9 minutes and it starts with the mother, played by Guadalupe Del Toro who is the mother to Guillermo in real life. She tells her son that he needs to study for this geometry test. The son is played by Fernando Garcia Marin. He tells his mother he has a plan.
So, where I want to start with my recap and breakdown is that despite how low budget this it, you can tell that del Toro has talent. I love the stinger at the end of this short. It made me laugh audible in the theater. What is funny about it, without spoiling, is that it is in line with the concept of the short.
Something else that impressed me were the effects. You can tell that there wasn't a lot of money available to do this. There is homage to The Exorcist with a demon that shows up. Her character's name is Linda B. (Rodrigo Mora) and the makeup matches it. There's another entity that shows up that is gross looking. There is blood and an attack scene that looked good to me. I was impressed there.
I should say that the rest of the filmmaking is fine. You can see the talents that del Toro has and it isn't shocking to see where he is now. I'll finish out then with the acting here to say that no one is great. This is an amateur effort so I won't harp too much. There is an element of comedy so the performances reflect that.
In conclusion, I had fun with this short. It's not the best made work you'll see from del Toro. What I like here though is that we're seeing the beginnings of what he would become. The effects were good for the budget. There is a creepy feel there. I do love the premise and how things play out. It made me laugh. The acting isn't great, but I'm also not going to harp on it either. I'd recommend this to fans of del Toro who are out to see his filmography.
My Rating: 7 out of 10.