From inventive death sequences to sinister creature design,Tarotis certainly thesurprise package of 2024’s horror offerings. The movie pushes the boundaries of PG-13 horror and is catching a wide audience in its curseon Netflix. With a cast of both recognizable faces and lesser-known names, including the likes ofAvantika,Jacob Batalon, andHarriet Slater,Tarottakes an interesting premise and turns into something unexpectedly chilling. When a group of friends finds an old tarot deck at their AirBnB, they decide to have their spiritual friend, Haley (Slater), read their horoscopes.The movie then follows aFinal Destination-inspired structure as the group gets killed off one by one in ways eerily similar to their readings in a supernatural slasher-type format.The explanation behind the force executing their deaths eventually reveals itself as the result of a big ol' dump of lore. Did anyone manage to escape the astrological curse set upon the group or do they all become victims of fate? You don’t need to ask the stars as I’m about to tell you.
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.
What Is ‘Tarot’ about?
Tarotbegins in less of a cabin and more of a mansion in the woods as the group of college friends is playing drinking games. It is revealed that two of the characters, voted most likely to get married, Haley and Grant (Adain Bradley), have broken up. That is important to their character arc, so a big emphasis is placed on it. Eventually, they run out of alcohol and decide to look around the creepy old house in search of some more. They may not find any booze, butthey do stumble across another horror trope: a huge basement filled with creepy relics; it feels very similar toTheCabin in the Woodsbut not played satirically.They find an old box of tarot cards and, individually, the group have their horoscopes read by Haley, with these readings feeling eerily similar to the set-up ofFinal Destinationpremonitions.Tarot,at times, does feel like an amalgamation of tropes and ideas from other horror movies, but there is a comfort in it that makes it familiar and easy viewing.
The readingsfeature cards that depict a creaturethat connects to each character’s personality traits; the high priestess, the fool, the hanging man, the devil, the magician, and the hermit. There are a lot of characters in the main group to keep track of, all with different star signs and thus, disparate personalities. Although it can be difficult to keep up with the different names and personas, that doesn’t take away from the big set pieces. The card design is one of the best parts of the movie, and the later interpretations of the creatures are equally impressive. The movie plays out as a supernatural slasher, as each of the group gets picked off one by one by their tarot card creature come to life. Even if you don’t quite make the connection of the card to the character, the movie loves an exposition dump to explain it to you.
The Death Sequences in ‘Tarot’ Are the Highlight of the Movie
The majority ofTarot’sruntime is dedicated to its death sequences, and they have to be given credit for how scary they are.The first person to get picked off is Elise (Larsen Thompson), who was the most enthusiastic about getting her reading done by Haley. She feels like a core group member, which makes her early death effective both emotionally and mechanically for the plot, particularly for her girlfriend Paige (Avantika). The two have quite an endearing relationship, making it being ripped away so early on all the more jarring. Elise, while on the phone with Paige, investigates a noise in her empty attic. Up there, she gets attacked by a terrifying creature in the form of the high priestess, who repeatedly and brutally pounds her with the attic ladder until she finally dies. The second death scene involves Lucas, taking place in an abandoned subway, and it showsthe movie’s ability to utilize a variety of different settings for its kills. These distinct moments take care of the nuances of the tarot readings, and although they can feel a bit too on the nose, it is satisfying to see the earlier dump of information pay off.
‘Tarot’: Everything You Need to Know About the Horoscope Horror Movie
What fate do the cards have in store for you?
Terrified and helpless, the group visits the reclusive older woman who has lived through the experience before, Alma Astron (Olwen Fouéré) who they tracked down online.Her friends died in the ’70s through the cursed tarot cards, and she has been trying to find the deck ever since.Alma tells them to destroy the cards, so they travel back to the house to find them. But they don’t make it there without another causality. Madelyn (Humberly Gonzalez) falls victim to the hanging man in another frightening death scene — this time on a bridge. The scene starts by reiterating that Madelyn’s tarot reading would lead her to run into technical difficulties, as the car stops and a hangman game is drawn onto the steamed-up window. Her zodiac sign, Pisces, supposedly gives her the urge to run to her imminent death.
The Creatures in ‘Tarot’ Were So Terrifying, They Scared the Cast
A lot of the effects inTarotwere done practically, particularly the creatures who were physically played by actors on set. This is what makes the character design come across so viscerally and effectively in the movie. For the hanging man scene in particular, Gonzalez spoke toThe Directabout how terrifying it was to see the monsters on set, explaining they “had real people who were like contortionists and knew how to scare you in real life”.Seeing the contortionist bend was so scary to the actress that there were moments she couldn’t even look. In the same interview, Batalon highlighted that the eerie atmosphere of the movie transcended filming and continued even when the cameras stopped. He praised the prosthetics of the costumes and noted that “when all the scary people are having coffee by the truck, and they’re all in their costumes, it’s terrifying.”
Following Madelyn’s death, a stubborn and rattled Paxton (Batalon) walks off on his own. He is skeptical of the tarot revelations — despite the fact his friends are dead. Deciding not to go with his friends to the AirBnB he heads back to his accommodation.What follows is the most terrifying scene of the movie as the apartment’s elevator doors open and his tarot figure — the fool — gets closer and closer to him. As the elevator turns red, the fool appears on top of Paxton, and it is very much game over… although his death is off-screen. Grant, Haley, and Paige make it to the house. A quick Google search —something this movie is very fond of—reveals that destruction by incineration will be the most effective method to end the curse. However, the cards don’t burn in the fire, and Alma, having met them at the house, realizes she must read the horoscope of the woman who cursed the cards, the astrologer.
How Does ‘Tarot’ End?
Tarothas more lore than it probably needed, but its commitment to explaining the reason for everything is admirable. It turns out that in the 16th century, a woman, known as the astrologer, read the tarot of a Hungarian Count. His wife was pregnant, and the cards kept showing the same thing: death. Distraught by this fortune, the count banished the astrologer and killed her daughter.The astrologer was so angered that she performed a dark ritual and bound her soul to the cards. Now, she embodies the cards like a shape-shifter and vows to kill anyone who uses the cards disguised as the figure on the card they pull. When Alma starts to perform the reading of the astrologer, she tells Haley, Grant, and Paige, that they are not alone in the room. In the corner of the room, the astrologer sits silently in all black. It is a sinister image that creates a foreboding sense of dread for the finale. The creation of the astrologer and her backstory is convoluted, but the execution of her character iscertainly creepy and impressive for a PG-13 horror.
Paige is killed in what is easily the best sequence of the movie, and Avantika proves she needs to lead a horror movie immediately. She runs from the astrologer, who has taken the form of the magician, and hides in a box.The magician drags the box out in front of an audience and slowly saws her in half. Although the scene isn’t overly gory,Avantika’s squeamish performance is nauseating.It is the movie’s big moment and the one that it will be remembered for. With Alma also falling victim to the astrologer, specifically the six of swords card, it is left to Haley to read the astrologer’s horoscope. There is a touching moment where we learn Grant has begun to read up on astrology, despite spending most of the movie as a skeptic and the two rekindle their romance.Haley lays down the tarot cards and reveals they are all reversed, with the death card in the center; and with that, the astrologer’s power is gone. Haley recalls losing her mother, something that is mentioned earlier in the movie but kind of feels like backstory for the sake of backstory. She uses this to level with the astrologer and tells her she must let go of her pain and grief. As the astrologer is finally destroyed, Haley falls into Grant’s arms and they make it out of the mansion as the last two standing… or are they?
As the two walk along the road, a car pulls up, andit is revealed that Paxton isn’t dead. It is a huge relief, as Jacob Batalon is super entertaining and if a sequel is ever made, you’d want him in it. However, what makes the moment really fun is the description of how Paxton survived. He tells Grant and Haley that it is all down to his cat-like reflexes. He then adds the caveat that his roommate opened the lift door he was trapped in and the astrologer just disappeared. That off-screen death trope came back around and the movie’s comic relief lives to have his tarot read again. It shows this movie really did consider every question the audience could have, whichgives it a level of self-awareness. It is a little bit flashy and serious in its tone at times, but at its core,Tarotis a lot of fun and the conclusion is satisfying enough to leave the viewer content. Although the movie is ambiguous and introduces an interesting premise that is rife for expansion, a sequel has not officially been announced. However,the directorsSpenser CohenandAnna Halbergare set to work on a movie with horror giantsJason BlumandJames Wan.
