No number of cards drawn can suggest a bright future for this film.
Tuesday evening, the IPIC theater hosted a special screening of the film Tarot, hosted by DJ Suss One.
In the film, a group friends vacationing in the Poconos stumble upon a deck of tarot cards. One friend, obsessed with tarot, decides to give each person a reading from the deck. Unknown to everyone, the readings are premonitions of each of the respective deaths. The group must band together to uncover the mystery behind the deck before it kills them all.
The premise is about as basic as they come for horror films of this kind. And, like many of these films, Tarot feels unoriginal and lacking in personality. Almost everything in the film feels borrowed from other, more entertaining films with no sense of purpose. The premise, itself, is just a pale imitation of the Final Destination films. The scares, on the other hand, feel more akin to films like Annabelle and Quija. One would think that after 10 years, these kinds of films would cease to exist. But here we are, once again.
The film is the feature directorial debuts of Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg, who have previous writing and producing credits. This is not surprising, because of the poorly set up and executed scares. Not even the look of the film feels special and feels like a mishmash of desaturated colors and shadows. What is surprising is a lack of passion behind tarot, itself. Despite characters talking about tarot and doing readings, there is no sense of genuine interest in the subject. So, this begs the question of why is it about tarot, and not a magic 8 ball? This film may be based on a novel, but it so unoriginal, that it could have been about anything.
Being unoriginal is one thing, but Tarot cannot even provide a comprehensible story. Although it has a simple premise, the film’s story is hard to follow or care about. One of the many reasons for this is the editing, which is some of the worst for a mainstream film. From the start of the film, the story moves at an overly brisk pace, and it never slows down. There is no possible time for a viewer to appreciate the setup of scenes or even follow them. The editing also contains cuts that plainly show unnatural movements between takes. All these problems suggest that this is the result of severe damage control. Once the illusion breaks, how can anyone invest in a cheap horror film again?
As for the performances, no one in the cast can stand out. Their characters are stock, even by typical standards for horror films, complete with backstories are neither memorable nor interesting. Even Jacob Batalon, who had a strong screen presence in the MCU Spider-Man films, couldn’t save this trainwreck.
Of course, not all horror films have to be extraordinary, so long as they provide some form of entertainment. Unfortunately, Tarot fails in that department, too! Not only does the film have scares lacking in fright, but it also has comedy lacking in laughs. One wouldn’t know because, despite the film being a horror comedy, the laughs are few and far between. Unless viewers like jokes about iPad passwords, scratch off tickets, there is not much laugh at. The final scene of the film is funny, but for the wrong reasons. It has a tone that is completely unlike the previous scenes, as if another film took over. Perhaps more unconventional tonal shifts like this could have benefitted the film? Sadly, as is, this is a film where one can take a long bathroom break and miss nothing.
So, in the end, what is there to say about Tarot? Let’s ask the deck and find out. We shall do a “past present future” reading. And our first card is……the two of cups. There is one person in the picture, and cups usually represent feelings. So this could mean one feels like doing something for self-love, perhaps like going to movies. So, our next card is….uh-oh, the “Death Card”! Now death is not always a bad thing, as it could mean just the end of something. Maybe the third card will bring everything together, and it is…. ah! the fool! So, in conclusion, if one feels like seeing this movie, in the end, you will be a fool. I don’t think we need to draw another card.
Special thanks to IPIC theater and DJ Suss One for curating this screening!
