The latest addition to this year’s supernatural horror releases, Tarot follows a familiar storyline of the genre: a bunch of teenagers somehow end up being cursed and consequently set out to find a way to revoke it as the body count goes up. There is a satisfaction that the audience finds in familiarity as the expected chills and thrills are rolled out. The problem with Tarot, however, is its overdependence on the horror film tropes.
Based on Nicholas Adams’ 1992 novel Horrorscope, the story unfolds when a group of college friends stumble upon ancient tarot cards kept in the forbidden part of a secluded cabin. As they naively draw their fortunes, the lines between prediction and grim reality blur. The predictions made with the help of these cards by Harriet Slater’s character, unleashes an evil spirit of an astrologer and sets off a chain of deadly consequences. The friends, now fighting for survival, must find a way to render the curse powerless.
Even as Tarot banks on a tried-and-tested formula, there are some sequences which are well-designed to give the scared and screaming characters an apt setting to show their histrionics. Yet, as the cast’s performance remains uneven — shifting from being convincing to monotonous — the actors are not able to create a lasting impact. That’s a missed opportunity since horror movies, of late, have been excelling in storytelling as well as characterisation.
In Tarot, the characters remain sketchy as little effort has been made to developing them. The atmosphere is moody and mysterious. But without many engaging dramatic moments or twists, it fails to engage the audience. The shape-shifting evil spirit appears in a string of fearsome avatars but they barely manage to spook the audience after the initial jump scares.
The film could have been this summer’s teen melodrama, set in the world of horror. But the 93-minute long feature does not do justice to the initial promise of delivering a dark and twisted nail-biter.
Tarot cast: Harriet Slater, Avantika Vandanapu, Jacob Batalon and Adain Bradley
Tarot director: Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg
Tarot rating: One and half stars
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