Tarot Movie Review: Death Divination Cards

For some, reading fate through fortune-telling cards is an enjoyable pastime. It allows us not only to imagine what the future holds but also to reflect on ourselves if the predictions are unfavorable. However, prophecies do not always come true and often miss the mark.

But what if every grim prophecy becomes a reality? This is the central premise of the film "Tarot" that we are reviewing today.

The story of "Tarot" is based on the novel "Horrorscope" by Nicholas Adam, released in 1992 and distributed by Sony Pictures. Curious about the plot? Read on to find out more!

Synopsis

Haley (Harriet Slater), Paxton (Jacob Batalon), Paige (Avantika), Grant (Adain Bradley), Madeline (Humberly González), Lucas (Wolfgang Novogratz), and Elise (Larsen Thompson) rent a luxury mansion in Catskills, New York, to celebrate Elise's birthday. The atmosphere is very pleasant.

However, things get a bit tense when it's revealed that Haley and Grant's relationship has ended, making both of them awkward in front of their friends. To lighten the mood, they decide to continue drinking.

Unfortunately, they run out of beer. Instead of going to a store, they wander around the mansion, hoping to find the host's supply. They don't find any beer, but they do discover something intriguing: a box of tarot cards in the basement.

Paxton then asks Haley to read everyone's tarot cards. Haley is reluctant at first, knowing that using someone else's tarot cards can bring bad luck.

Elise and the others persist, begging Haley to read their fortunes. Despite her initial hesitation, Haley gives in. She starts with Elise, who draws The High Priestess card.

Lucas gets The Hermit, Madeline gets The Hanged Man, Paige gets The Magician, Paxton gets The Fool, Grant gets The Devil, and finally, Haley draws the Death card. After the readings, everyone goes to sleep.

The next day, they return to campus and their dorms. Elise takes a shower and gets ready for bed. When she enters her room, she hears a strange noise in the attic. When she goes there to check, she is attacked by a terrifying version of The High Priestess and meets a gruesome end.

Elise's death is considered an accident. All of Elise's close friends are shocked, especially Paige, who had just talked to Elise on the phone the night before. Paige is very sad, so Haley decides to stay with her in the dormitory while the others go home.

On his way home, Lucas is attacked by The Hermit. Confused and frightened, he ends up being hit by a train at the underground station. Hearing about Elise and Lucas' deaths, Haley feels something is wrong and tries to piece together what happened.

While reflecting on the events, Haley realizes that Elise and Lucas' deaths might be connected to the tarot readings. She feels something was off with the tarot cards from the beginning. Grant is skeptical of Haley's hypothesis, but the others are a bit uncertain.

They decide to find more information about the tarot and the terrible results after the reading. They come across Alma Astryn (Olwen Fouéré), an expert in the occult and tarot readings. The five decide to visit Alma to seek answers and a way out.

When they meet Alma, Haley explains what happened and describes the tarot cards she read. Alma identifies the cards as belonging to an 18th-century fortune teller who was asked to predict the future for a Baron's family in Hungary.

The prediction was shocking: the Baron's pregnant wife would die along with the baby. The fortune teller tried to read the cards again, but the result was the same. Furious, the Baron banished the fortune teller from his land; however, the prophecy came true.

The Baron's wife and baby died during childbirth. Devastated, the Baron ordered his troops to kill the fortune teller's son in revenge. In retaliation, the fortune teller locked his spirit in a tarot card.

Alma read these tarot cards when she was in London, and after each reading, her friends died. Fortunately, Alma didn't read the cards for herself, unlike Haley. After hearing Alma's story, Haley and the others decide to find the card and burn it.

On their way back to the mansion, their car breaks down, and they are attacked by The Hanged Man, who kills Madeline by hanging her on a bridge. Terrified, Paxton runs away, refusing to continue the search, leaving Haley, Grant, and Paige to proceed.

When they arrive at the mansion, they try to burn the tarot cards, but it doesn't work. Instead, they are attacked by the characters from the cards. Paige is killed by The Magician, while Paxton, who escapes to the dormitory, is attacked by The Fool.

Meanwhile, Alma is killed by the fortune teller, leaving Haley and Grant to try to escape. Realizing that everyone who had their destiny read by the tarot cards dies, Haley comes up with a plan. She searches for the cards to read the fortune teller's prophecy, hoping to break the curse.

Haley's idea works. When she reads the fortune teller's tarot, the final card is The Death, which causes the fortune teller to die and lifts all the curses. As Haley and Grant prepare to leave the mansion, Paxton arrives to pick them up. It turns out that The Fool didn't harm him, so he survived.

Cliché

Almost all horror films with young characters follow the same plot. They gather in a cottage or mansion, party until they get drunk, and start exploring. There is always a place they shouldn't enter, but they ignore the warnings.

This film is no different. They find a basement door with a clear "no entry" warning. Instead of leaving it alone, they go in, and the rest is history. They die as a result of their actions. Stupid, right?

Alma's Role?

When Haley finds information about Alma, I thought she would help the young people escape the curse. But I was wrong. Alma's role is only to provide information. She doesn't do much beyond telling the story behind the tarot cards and summoning the fortune teller's spirit.

After that, Alma dies, leaving Haley and the others still confused about escaping the curse. That's it. Haley is left to figure it out alone. Luckily, she reverses the curse by reading the fortune teller's destiny. It works!

The Fool

Paxton's survival from The Fool is a bit confusing. While the others die horribly because of the tarot figures, The Fool doesn't harm Paxton at all. He is only being "disturbed".

Paxton is freed from the curse when his roommate arrives unexpectedly, making The Fool disappear. That's it! Just because of that trivial matter. Most likely, The Fool stops attacking because Haley reverses the curse and burns the tarot cards.

For sheer entertainment, this film is worth watching. The plot is neat, though predictable. It's not too boring and provides decent jump scares. Showpoiler gives this film a score of 3.7/5. Watch it soon!