Summary
- Tarot characters make questionable decisions that frustrate the audience but drive the plot forward.
- Despite a vague ending, Tarot doesn’t offer much clarity on the plot or set the stage for a sequel.
- The characters’ one-dimensional thinking leads to avoidable problems and deaths in the film.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Tarot cards
The characters of the 2024 horror movie Tarot He makes some questionable decisions throughout the film. While these decisions have frustrated many viewers, they do move the plot forward. Tarot Follows a group of college students who are haunted by a spirit that embodies their horoscope and tarot reading. Reviews of Tarot Criticizing the characters and their one-dimensional way of thinking. Many problems with the film, including the entire plot, could be avoided if the characters took the time to think and listen to each other.
Despite a vague resolution, Tarot The ending doesn’t offer much plot clarity or set the stage for a sequel. For those curious about the film’s execution, Tarot is streaming on Netflix and available on VOD, though the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and critics are pretty discouraging. Many of the characters’ decisions in Tarot It doesn’t hold up, even by horror movie standards.
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| Character | Actor |
|---|---|
| Haley | Harriet Slater |
| Grant | Adam Bradley |
| Paxton | Jacob Batallion |
| Paige | Avantika |
| Madeline | Humberly Gonzalez |
| Luke | Wolfgang Novogratz |
| Elisa | Larsen Thompson |
6 The group uses the stranger’s tarot deck
They do it even though they were warned not to.
Near
After the group finds the deck of tarot cards, Haley admits that she knows a lot about astrology and readings. Interestingly, this is a fact she has kept secret about herself since her ex-boyfriend Grant didn’t know about this hobby. After the group sets up the room and Haley prepares to read everyone’s fate, she reveals some essential plot information. She says that it is a “Unspoken rule of not using someone else’s deck” and could lead to “Really bad luck.”
Despite admitting this, Haley continues to read the cards at the insistence of her friends, particularly Elise, whose birthday they are celebrating. Naturally, for the sake of storytelling, they must use the deck to incite the film’s plot. But someone as superstitious as Haley, who makes it clear that she believes deeply in astrology, would know better than to use the mysterious cards. Had she held firm to her beliefs, she could have prevented the deaths of many of her friends.
5 They don’t tell anyone what’s going on
Instead, the group meets a stranger online.
After Elise’s body is found as the film’s first fatality, a newspaper article Grant is reading states that the death was an accident. According to the report, the police suspect that Elise fell down the stairs and that the ladder hit her in the head, causing blunt force trauma. Given the blood at the scene of her death, it’s likely that her injuries were far more gruesome than just a hit from the ladder, but the police still don’t suspect foul play and the group gives them no reason to do so.
After Lucas is found dead, the police call the group in for questioning. Despite the group’s protests that something strange is going on, the police insist that there are still no signs of anything amiss and tell the students to go home. Once the group realizes that their fates are intertwined with the tarot readings, they quickly argue over who to tell. They quickly reject the suggestion of calling their parents because they are old enough to handle it themselves. Another idea of calling the police is dismissed, as the police have already told them that they do not believe the circumstances are suspicious.
If it is the case that the spirit does not attack in the presence of a stranger, then telling others and having that extra reassurance might have been the perfect thing to do.
Then again, even if they did tell the police or their parents about the tarot-related curse, there would be no solution, as any protection offered would be of no use. However, later in the film, Paxton reveals that he was saved by the appearance of his roommate Todd, who makes The Fool disappear. If it is the case that the spirit will not attack in the presence of a stranger, then telling the others and having that extra security might have been the perfect thing to do. But of course, the group doesn’t know about this loophole until the end of the film.
Instead of telling anyone what they suspect, they find Alma Astra, the first person who appears when they look up.Death horoscope.“When she doesn’t answer the phone, they drive over three hours to her home to ask for advice, all based on a hunch that she might have useful information. Fortunately, their guess is correct and she provides them with the exact information they need.
4 Lucas’s deadly journey home
Lucas continues to enter the train station despite the visible dangers
After walking Madeline home, Lucas plans to take the train back to his apartment. On his way to the subway station, he hears a strange growling sound behind him but decides to continue on anyway. As he enters the station, he sees that it is remarkably empty and spotless. Even the passing train has its lights off despite the normally heavy traffic of the Boston subway system. Undeterred, Lucas continues walking through the abandoned train station without communicating his fears or suspicions to anyone, which would be especially heightened after the death of his close friend the night before.
Once Lucas realizes he’s not alone in the station, noticing the lights flickering and a dark figure in the distance, he doesn’t leave the station right away. He’s left terrified as the figure grows more sinister and darkness takes over the station. Several times in this chase scene, Lucas stops running to turn around and see if he’s still being pursued, giving the monster time to catch up to him before running away again. This action, and stumbling while running (which doesn’t happen in this scene), are common horror movie tropes.
3 Madeline runs away from the car
Despite warnings, Madeline faces her fate
Madeline is told that because she is a Pisces, she might feel the need to run when faced with pressure. Despite being told this in the reading and reminded again in the car via a recording, Madeline still chooses to flee in the face of danger. When the group’s car breaks down on a bridge and an ominous message about The Executioner appears on the window, Madeline decides to flee the vehicle. This choice is especially questionable given that she is not running anywhere specific, just across the bridge.
This random decision to go against her reading leads to Madeline’s death by hanging. Perhaps this was to prove that Haley’s reading had been correct all along and that Madeline couldn’t help the impulse to run away from danger. However, it doesn’t make much sense for her to decide to run away, given that she now knows that the tarot readings have something to do with their deaths, and she was told that running away would lead to more trouble. Instead of thinking rationally about the meaning of her reading, Madeline’s impulse is to run, just as Haley predicted.
2 Paxton leaves the group
He decides to go alone
After being the most paranoid member of the group, even initially insisting that one of them could be the killer, Paxton decides to leave alone. When the rest of the group wants to go back to retrieve the letters, Paxton declares that he doesn’t believe in the curse and says he’ll go home to wait. This happens immediately after everyone sees Madeline hanging by The Executioner, showing that they are being hunted. Splitting up or leaving alone is another classic horror movie trope that often makes little logical sense in the story.
Paxton is played by Jacob Batalon, best known for playing Ned in the MCU’s Spider-Man.
Haley said that as a Taurus, Paxton would be “be stubborn” and “make hasty decisions. “Just as Madeline acted directly on the horoscope she was telling her to by running, Paxton’s behavior also reflects the cards. Despite his fear throughout the film of being trapped in an enclosed space, Paxton plans to lock himself in his room for safety. When he returns to campus, it is inexplicably deserted, and not even campus security is around to help him. Paxton’s decision is another plot device, as it provides the terrifying elevator scene with The Fool and allows Paxton’s death to be faked.
1 Haley saves herself with a monologue
She decides to use logic instead of fighting.
In the film’s climactic battle scene, Haley attempts to stop the curse by transferring it to the Astrologer. To do so, she gives one last reading of the Astrologer’s fate. While this seems to slow the monster down, it doesn’t necessarily stop it, and it approaches Haley and lifts her off the ground by grabbing her by the neck. While physically fighting back may be futile, Haley decides to continue talking to the Astrologer and try to use fate to kill him in time to save her own life.
While suspended off the ground about to die, Haley finishes the reading, which has mostly become a monologue. After finishing with the line “It only means death,“The spirits seem to get the hint that it’s time for The Astrologer to die. Even though the deaths seem to follow an order throughout the film, the spirits decide to kill The Astrologer before he can kill Haley, thus sparing his life. Instead of putting up a physical fight, Haley is able to use logic to avoid dying, which barely works.
Despite its logical and character-driven inconsistencies, Tarot is a solid horror film with some tense scenes. Despite a poor box office performance and bad reviews, Tarot tripled its budget in just 10 days. Although the characters and plot sometimes fail, especially in their ability to judge, Tarot is a fitting addition to the extensive list of horror films for 2024.
Tarot (2024) PG-13HorrorMysterySuspense
The plot centers on a group of college friends who begin dying in ways related to their fortunes after having their tarot cards read to them. Before time runs out, they must work together to uncover the mystery.
Director Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg Release Date May 3, 2024 Cast Harriet Slater, Jacob Batalon, Avantika Vandanapu, Adain Bradley, Humberly González, Olwen Fouéré, Wolfgang Novogratz, Larsen Thompson Running Time 92 minutes