Title: Tarot
Directors & Writers: Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2/5 stars)
In the new supernatural horror flick Tarot, directors Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg bring us a movie that, despite a shaky grasp on the actual workings of tarot, delivers an entertaining ride filled with creative horror looks. Drawing clear inspiration from the beloved Final Destination franchise, Tarot provides a fun, but very predictable, horror experience.
Plot Summary
Tarot follows a group of college friends who rent a mansion in the Catskills through Airbnb, only to discover an ominous deck of tarot cards. These aren't your run-of-the-mill tarot cards; each one is hand-painted with grotesque images of skeleton monsters, stabbed figures, and melting ghost-like entities. Curiosity gets the best of them, and they encourage their one Astrology loving friend into performing readings for the whole group with the deck, inadvertently sealing their fate.
As it turns out, the deck is cursed, and the gruesome fates predicted by the cards start manifesting in reality. The movie delights in its corny dialogue with lines like “don’t let it hang you up” and “you could suffer a crushing blow,” which set the tone for the impending doom. One by one, the friends meet their end, with the cursed creatures from the tarot deck phasing into reality to deliver their grisly demises.
Performance and Execution
While the acting leaves much to be desired—with the exception of Jacob Batalon who provides comic relief and Avantika from Mean Girls: The Musical—the film's charm lies in its self-awareness. Cohen and Halberg know exactly what they’re creating: a fun, silly horror movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The film’s PG-13 rating does limit the gore, but some of the creepier scenes push the boundaries of the rating, bordering on experimental in their style and execution.
The Good and the Bad
Positives:
Visuals: The tarot cards themselves are a visual treat, each one a mini horror masterpiece that adds to the film’s eerie atmosphere. As well as making the figures from the cards come alive in real life was visually creative.
Negatives:
Acting: Aside from Batalon, the performances are lackluster, even by popcorn flick standards. The rest of the cast fails to bring much depth to their roles, making it hard to root for their survival.
Predictability in Story: The plot follows a well-worn path familiar to fans of the genre, offering no surprises along the way except for one of the friends making it out alive that is not the predictable two that everyone can guess right.
Final Thoughts
Is Tarot a great movie? Not by a long shot. But in its self-aware absurdity, it finds a niche that’s entertaining. It may not reach the heights of horror-defining films like Saw or Final Destination, but Tarot secures its place in the tradition of corny at home, entertaining horror films. Watch it at your own leisure but don't expect much. This movie is located on Netflix by the way!
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