• Release year: 2024
• Director: Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg.
• Producers: Scott Glassgold, Elysa Koplovitz Dutton and Leslie Morgenstein.
• Screenplay by: Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg.
• Cinematography by: Elie Smolkin.
• Music by: Joseph Bishara.

Shotgun Commentary: interesting, tense, horror scenes but quite lacking in character development.

Review

Tarot tells the story of a group of friends, seven people, to be precise, who meddle with obscure powers and pay the ultimate price for it. While the horror scenes of the film are spine-chilling, the rest of the footage will leave you quite indifferent, if not bored or frustrated at the character’s nonsensical behaviour.

Simple, yet effective

The story is quite simple, and the takeaway to the point: don’t touch other people’s stuff. Of course, one can take many lessons from the story, but to be honest, that is the most applicable to anyone’s life, really. The film is quite formulaic, combining moments of calm and horrible danger, the first turning more and more into panic as more deaths take place, much like in every other curse-themed movie. After all, why fix something that is not broken?

In general terms, the feature is engaging and aesthetically interesting. It invites you to look closer into the appearance of the evil entity that chases them instead of hiding it away, like many others do. Additionally, you get a nice reminder of the clues mentioned at the beginning about what is about to happen to the next victim. This is useful information that almost makes up for the ridiculous amount of times the same phone videos are shown.

The elephant(s) in the room

Sadly, this pretty adequate film has two big issues that relegate it to a lower standard. The first one is the modus operandi of the deaths. According to the script, the readings of their future are a pretty literal narration of how they will meet their end. Essentially, they are playing Final Destination (2000) in easy mode. This is incredibly entertaining at first, but it quickly becomes proof of how stupid a person can be, which leads us to the second big error.

From the moment the wise character reveals the background and motivation of the evil entity, the solution is clear. However, it takes them over a third of the movie to reach the obvious conclusion.

How to hate

While these are less relevant, the character creations and development has a lot of issues. Starting with the fact that a university student, specially in the US, is able to afford a mansion for the weekend just to celebrate a birthday and go camping in the garden. This makes them unrelatable and unlikeable from the beginning. You will be wishing for their deaths within the first minute of the movie, which might actually be a world record in cinema.

Furthermore, just in case you decide to take the high road and not hate them for being absurdly rich so young, they decide that breaking the property they have rented for two days is a better idea than a short drive or calling a delivery service to get more alcohol. Apparently, they are so out of touch with real life that they think paying for the damage of breaking a door makes the fact completely acceptable, especially when their intentions are simply to steal from their hosts… As already mentioned, their deaths are not that sad when you put them from the right perspective.

The pot and the kettle

This might totally be an age thing but, since when do kids smoke marijuana on vapes? Isn’t smoking regular tobacco on a vape ridiculous enough? Moreover, no one is going to point out how absurd that is, but they are all in with shaming the same guy for wanting to call his parents when death is obviously near? Overall, their whole behaviour is preposterous. Either the writers have never seen a group of friends in their lives, or the new generations are unnervingly dense.

Then again, they are facing a pretty brainless evil themselves, so the odds are quite even. You are a spirit that materialises and dematerialises, moves things with its mind, breaks and makes reality at will, but you get stuck on a door frame when it can’t open all the way? Sorry, what?!

All in all, Tarot is a good horror movie if you are not expecting too much. The tense horror situations are very well-made and the bad guy is interesting. Just don’t expect to be surprised, nor for the characters to make any sense at all. Other than the love interest mansplaining to the protagonist a situation that he absolutely doesn’t understand, every thing else is hilariously surreal.

Advice to take from this movie:

• Don’t play with other people’s stuff.
• If you have a clear description of your death, and you don’t want to die, maybe avoid whatever fits the description?
• In case it’s not clear, between vandalism and getting delivery, the second one is usually preferable.

What’s your take? Have you watched Tarot? How did you find the ending? What’s your favourite curse-themed film?

Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀