[Rating: Minor Rock Fist Up]
I am superstitious, I’ll admit it. I love scary movies about demonic possessions and all that, but actually participating in events like what I see on screen? HELL NO. Even if it’s something as innocent as tarot cards that read your future are freaky, since I just need a horoscope to tell me if I’ll win the lottery, not when I’ll die. A group of college friends in a new flick called Tarot (directed by Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg) discover the horrors of playing with a deck of cards that have more sinister consequences than they ever bargained for.
Friends Haley, Grant, Paxton, Page, Madeline, Lucas and Elise (Harriet Slater, Adain Bradley, Jacob Batalon, Avantika, Humberly González, Wolfgang Novogratz, Larsen Thompson) rent a mansion in the woods for Elise’s birthday. In the basement, they find a deck of tarot cards in a box and beg Haley to give them each a reading. Based on their zodiac, each receive a reading and their future from the cards drawn. What could go wrong?
The next day, things begin to happen to the group. Each are starting to experience strange occurrences, and with deadly outcomes. Elise and company are noticing that her readings are reflecting what is happening to each of their friends. They soon discover from tarot expert Alma Astryn (Olwen Fouéré) that the tarot cards they used are possessed by a scorned astrologer and that the only way to outlive her curse is to destroy the cards. A battle between good and evil begins.
Tarot is a standard, run-of-the-mill horror flick. Youth do something they shouldn’t, and it leads to shit happening to them. This is one dark movie, literally. I couldn’t see half of it because of the lack of lighting. Maybe that made the scares a lot more intriguing or maybe it’s just me being super picky with things. In fact, the scares were some of the better parts of the movie. I would also attest that Jacob Batalon is such a treat to watch in anything he’s in. He added a depth of humor to all the scary things happening.
So, word of warning…NEVER use somebody else’s tarot deck. It’ll lead to misfortune and unhappiness for all. And NEVER expect a 90-minute movie about a cursed tarot deck to do anything extravagant or new to the genre.
Christian Ramos is a classic film fan, having had the dream to host Turner Classic Movies for years now. He also has a large amount of Oscar trivia in his head, remembers dressing as Groucho Marx one Halloween, and cherishes the moment Julianne Moore liked his tweet.
Comments on this entry are closed.