Tuno Negro (2001) from Tuna
Tuno negro (2001), or Dark Minstrel, is a thriller set in Spanish universities, and has been compared to Scream, and others of the genre. Early tunos were less affluent students who banded together and sang to make a little extra money to pay for their studies. The idle rich found that it was fun, and formed tunos that were really more like social fraternities. The original tunos formed the Tuno Negro to eliminate the false tunos, who were usually bad students, wasting University resources. All of this was hundreds of years ago. Now, either a serial killer is on the loose, or someone has revived the Tuno Negro, as the worst students are being murdered on exam days.

NUDITY REPORT
Silke shows breasts, and is seen in bra and panties, and an Carla Hidalgo is shown topless early in the film.
The new Tuno Negro communicates with the person who will be the final victim via Internet chat, and uses mini-cam video to show the crimes and induce fear. It looks like the next victim will be Alex, played by Silke, who has become the contact point for Tuna Negro. Several members of a medical Tuno try to help her, as does a special police investigator, whom she sleeps with.
not available on Region 1 DVD

Most of the negative comments saying it is too much derivative of the US slasher genre. I may be one of the few to enjoy it, although it probably helped that the locations and customs were new to me, which gave the film a certain newness. I also thought they had the gore level about right, and didn't overdo the suspense, making it too exhausting. The surprise ending did, in fact, surprise me. I am fast becoming a Silke fan. and, since she averages two films a year, will probably be doing more of her work.  

The Critics Vote

  • no major reviews online.

The People Vote ...

 
IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, I think this is a solid genre effort, and the proper score is C.

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