Jul 282024
 

Tarot is just another run-of-the-mill supernatural-horror film that doesn’t break any new ground with the well worn genre but worse, has not one ounce of entertainment value with cardboard cutout characters with superficial personalities.

 

 

Tarot
(2024)


Genre(s): Horror, Supernatural
Sony Pictures| PG13 – 92 min. – $38.99 | July 9, 2024

Date Published: 07/28/2024 | Author: The Movieman


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MOVIE INFO:
Director: Spencer Cohen & Anna Halberg
Writer(s): Nicholas Adams (book ‘Horoscope’); Spencer Cohen & Anna Halberg (written by)
Cast: Harriet Slater, Adain Bradley, Jacob Batalon, Avantika, Humberly González, Wolfgang Novogratz, Larsen Thompson


DISC INFO:
Features: Featurettes, Outtakes
Slip Cover: No
Digital Copy: Yes
Formats Included: Blu-ray
Number of Discs: 1


Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), French (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 2.39
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Codecs: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A, C


Sony Pictures Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.

THE MOVIE — 2/5


Plot Synopsis: When a group of friends — Haley (HARRIET SLATER), Grant (ADAIN BRADLEY), Paxton (JACOB BATALON), Paige (AVANTIKA), Madeline (HUMBERLY GONZALEZ), Lucas (WOLFGANG NOVOGRATZ) and Elise (LARSEN THOMPSON) — recklessly violates the sacred rule of Tarot readings — never use someone else’s deck — they unknowingly unleash an unspeakable evil trapped within the cursed cards. One by one, they come face to face with fate and end up in a race against death to escape the future foretold in their readings.

Quick Hit Review: Tarot is just the latest cheap, half-assed supernatural horror movie to come down the pike along the lines of Truth or Dare that has little to no redeeming value from a basic direction with zero creativity, basic character development, zero chemistry with the cast and visual effects that seemed to be leftovers from The Conjuring Universe. The acting is also pretty bland but given the script even actors with great gravitas couldn’t helped. This is the kind of movie that could’ve leaned into the more comedic and laughable aspects of the genre (Happy Death Day is still one of my favorites) but instead takes itself a bit too seriously until the literal end scene. Not that this would’ve made for a better movie, I might’ve found it to be more watchable.

The film was written and directed by the duo Spencer Cohen and Anna Halberg, making their feature-length debuts and also wrote the script on The Expendables 4, so there’s that I guess. I can’t say there’s much going on in terms of the direction with lots of shot, counter-shot and a lot of darkly lit scenes, probably to cover the bad CGI.

With all that said, Tarot isn’t the worst supernatural-thrillers I’ve come across as I never once was either bored or angry but it’s not one I’ll ever revisit. However, with a budget of only $8 million, it managed to gross nearly $50 million worldwide so it was certainly profitable and will lead to more of these inane movies, my only hope they at least give us something that is even somewhat entertaining.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES – 2¼/5


No slip cover with this release but there is a Digital Copy redemption code. Features include A Twist of Fate: Making the Film (6:10), Circle of Friends (6:41) and Killer Outtakes (2:26).

 

VIDEO – 4¼/5


Sony Pictures releases Tarot onto Blu-ray presented with a 2.39 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. For the most part this looks decent with sharp detail and black levels well balanced while colors are on the more muted side as the bulk of the movie takes place in darkness or at night.

AUDIO – 4/5


The included DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track offers up clear dialogue coming from the center channel with the front and rear speakers are nicely utilized, however this isn’t exactly a dynamic lossless track as when there is supernatural elements going on, the depth is lackluster.

 

OVERALL – 2¼/5


Tarot is just another run-of-the-mill supernatural-horror film that doesn’t break any new ground with the well worn genre but worse, has not one ounce of entertainment value with cardboard cutout characters with superficial personalities. This is one to skip.

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