Geometria

Geometria (1987)

*** (out of 4)

This short from Guillermo del Toro has a teenager failing geometry once again so he decides to bring up a demon in hopes of gaining a wish.

GEOMETRIA isn't a ground-breaking film but it's a rather nice one that at least gives you a chance to see where del Toro's sense of humor was at this early stage of his career. The film is technically well-made and features some nice use of colors. I also thought that the demon itself looked quite good and that the story contained a few nice twists that made it interesting. The story itself isn't the most original thing but it's easy to see why del Toro's neighbors and friends probably found him to be strange.

Until today I had not heard of this short eight minute something movie but came across it whilst reading an article about world renowned Mexican film maker Guillermo del Toro. It is easy to find on a free well known streaming website that begins with the letter "Y". I don't speak Spanish, apart from a few words, but thankfully it has English subtitles. Geometria translates into English as "geometry" and this short story is of a teenage student that is struggling with his school geometry so he summons a demon! This does not bode well for his mother! I am not giving it away but as well as being well made and quite funny it comes with a neat twist at the end.

I am not the best at math, or Geometry for that matter, so I could really relate to it. I really loved it and the twist at the end is just wonderful! It is a very short film, but it does not need to be a 3-hour lord of the rings movie. It's in Spanish with English subtitles. I saw the new 2010 version on the Blu-ray edition of Cronos. The song used for the end credits does not really fit the movie, but I really liked the effect it gave, which was similar to the end credits in Evil Dead. In an interview I watched before the film, Guillermo del Toro said that the use of magenta and dark blue colors really gave the film a nice effect. I can still remember watching the Dario Argento films like Susperia and Phenomena, and feeling that they had the same use of colors. The music in Geometria is very 1980's electronica with great use of synthesizers. I would rate the film a 10 out of 10. It's my favorite short foreign film.

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.

The second short film directed by Guillermo del Toro is an amusing and funny dark humor horror comedy. Despite the extreme low budget, young Del Toro has been able to portray a nice magic realism atmosphere in the living romance, and also to present creepy make-ups.