When a group of friends recklessly violates the sacred rule of Tarot readings, they unknowingly unleash an unspeakable evil trapped within the cursed cards. One by one, they come face to face with fate and end up in a race against death.
In the chilling film “Tarot,” a group of friends, including Haley (Harriet Slater), Grant (Adain Bradley), Paxton (Jacob Batalon), Paige (Avantika), Madeline (Humberly González), Lucas (Wolfgang Novogratz), and Elise (Larsen Thompson), rent a sprawling mansion in the Catskills to celebrate Elise’s birthday. As the night wears on and boredom sets in, they stumble upon an old deck of tarot cards in the basement. Haley, who has a background in astrology and the occult, is eventually convinced to read their fortunes. But what begins as a harmless diversion takes a deadly turn when the friends start to die in ways that eerily mirror their tarot predictions.
Desperate for answers, the surviving friends – Haley, Grant, Paxton, Paige, and Madeline – turn to Alma Astron (Olwen Fouéré), a mysterious expert in tarot and the occult. Alma reveals that she survived a similar tragedy years ago and has been searching for the cards ever since. According to her, the cards were once owned by an astrologer whose daughter was brutally murdered by a wealthy Count in the late 18th century, prompting her to place a deadly curse on the deck. With time running out, the friends race back to the mansion to destroy the cards, but the curse claims more lives along the way. Ultimately, it’s up to Haley, Grant, and Alma to break the curse before they become its next victims.
“Tarot” boasts a captivating premise that draws comparisons to the “Final Destination” series, where characters must use their knowledge of impending doom to try and cheat death. However, the film’s PG-13 rating places limits on its ability to deliver the kind of graphic, intense death scenes that are a hallmark of the horror genre. While the film features some unsettling creatures brought to life from the tarot cards, most of the deaths occur off-screen, leaving much to the viewer’s imagination. A more challenging R rating would have allowed the filmmakers to craft more inventive and shocking death sequences.
On the plus side, the acting is generally strong, and the cinematography is crisp and evocative. The monsters are frightening initially, but their impact lessens as they appear more frequently. One refreshing aspect of “Tarot” is its conclusion, which provides a sense of closure and does not set up the possibility of a sequel, a rarity in the horror genre. Despite garnering largely negative reviews from critics (it holds a mere 19% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes), “Tarot” was a commercial success, grossing $48.8 million worldwide on a budget of just $8 million. This could pave the way for a sequel, though it remains to be seen if future installments could improve upon the original.
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