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Tarot is a 2024 supernatural horror film based on Nicholas Adams's 1992 novel Horrorscope. Written and directed by Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg, the film follows a group of college friends who discover a strange deck of tarot cards. However, after using the cards, they start gruesomely dying one by one. They must solve the mystery behind the murderous cards before it's too late.
Instead of one malevolent ghost, the Tarot movie adds horror and intrigue by having multiple mysterious demons haunt each character according to their chosen card. By the end of the film, only three out of seven friends survive the horror.
The film stars Harriet Slater, Adain Bradley, Avantika Vandanapu, Wolfgang Novogratz, Humberly González, Larsen Thompson, and Jacob Batalon.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the Tarot movie.
Out of seven, only three friends survive in Tarot
Tarot uses conventional horror tropes to keep the audience hooked. A group of college friends spend one night in a remote mansion that is being used as a vacation home. The group has seven members: Haley, Grant, Paxton, Paige, Madeline, Lucas, and Elise.
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The tension within the group has been high following Haley and Grant's recent breakup. To keep things light, the friends decide to distract themselves by having Haley read their horoscopes with a box of strange tarot cards discovered in the basement. Although Haley says that using someone else's deck is against the rules in Tarot, they decide to proceed.
Haley becomes the card reader, and everyone else picks a card for her to read. Elise receives The High Priestess, and Lucas gets The Hermit. Madeline gets The Hanged Man. The Magician and The Fool fall into Paige and Paxton's fate. When Haley reveals Grant has The Devil card, he questions her credibility and intentions. At last, Haley reads her own horoscope and gets the Death card.
What follows next is a series of unfortunate and horrific events, where each member is haunted and brutally killed by the demon in their horoscope. Four of the seven die, while Haley, Grant, and Paxton survive.
The tarot cards belonged to a medieval astrologer
Following the days of their night at the mansion, Elise is attacked by a monstrous version of The High Priestess, who bludgeons her to death with a ladder. Her brutal death is considered as an accident. But later, when Lucas is found dead on the railway tracks, the remaining members of the group decide to investigate.
They visit a lady called Alma Astryn, who was considered an expert on occult and tarot readings. She reveals that the cards belonged to a medieval astrologer who served a Hungarian baron and would predict the future for him in the 18th century. She once predicted that his pregnant wife would die in childbirth, and the prediction came true.
The baron ordered his men to kill the Astrologer's daughter on account of witchcraft. The angry, grieving astrologer killed herself and cursed the deck to kill anyone who used them. The same cards have killed many people following her death, eventually reaching their current target.
Paxton survives because of his roommate
Alma Astryn had advised to destroy the cards for the remaining group members to survive the curse. While driving back to the mansion to do the needful, the group is attacked by The Hanged Man, who kills Madeline. Paxton decides to leave the others and returns to his dorm but is pursued by The Fool and eventually cornered in an elevator.
The remaining four members try to burn the card with Alma's assistance, but the Six of Swords kills Alma after she tries to contact the spirit of the astrologer. Paige is killed by The Magician in the basement, leaving only Haley and Grant alive. Haley successfully confronts the astrologer, and after letting go of her personal grief, the card is burned alongside the spirit of the astrologer.
Haley's success saves Grant at the last moment, who was being dragged away by The Devil to his death. When they both return, they are surprised to find Paxton alive. It is revealed that while he was in the elevator facing The Fool, his roommate, Todd, opened the elevator door at the last second, which made the demon disappear.
Final thoughts
Tarot is a standard horror film with a conventional story and narrative flow. All the tropes used in the film are familiar, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The film knows what it is and stays true to its genre, providing enough moments of thrill to keep viewers' attention until the last minute.
The film also has an underlying commentary about fate and how one is not a slave to one's fate and horoscopes. Each person is capable of changing their destiny with their own hands.
The horror film is currently being shown in nearby theatres.
