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While we’ve already had nearly ten major theatrical horror releases in 2024, none of them, and I mean not a single one, have been all that fun to behold. Even Abigail, the latest from team Radio Silence, fell a little bit short of offering audiences a popcorn-flying, prestige-free horror experience.
In a monotonous landscape of uninspired A24-hijacking elevated horror showcases, arrives a little Sony Screen Gems callback unlike anything we’ve gotten ahold of in the past twenty years. Tarot, a back-to-basics teen fright-fest, is a nostalgic bat out of hell for millennial horror hounds. It feels like a complete fish-out-water in 2024; a handsome medieval knight drop shipped into downtown Manhattan, unsure how to hold a smartphone or navigate the subway. This jarring horror anachronism is utterly pure-of-heart, has very little to say, and is an absolute blast for the horror fan willing to let go of all pretension and cosplay like it’s 2006 all over again.
Part Stay Alive and part Thirteen Ghosts, this unabashed low-concept release is a delightful throwback that the genre needed.
In the film, a group of college friends find themselves at a remote Airbnb in the Catskills. Like so many of their horror ancestors before them, the group finds themselves searching for booze in the vast and isolated estate. It’s not long before they encounter a locked basement crammed with spooky and undoubtedly cursed objects, the creepiest of which is a wooden box with a pentagram housing a deck of macabre hand-painted tarot cards. These things look like they were drawn by Scary Stories (to Tell in the Dark) illustrator Stephen Gammell, and they’re anything but friendly.
Inexplicably versed in the art of the tarot/horoscope hybrid reading, protagonist Haley (Harriet Slayter) uses the obviously cursed deck of cards to map out the fates of each of her friends, one by one. Using their star signs and a single tarot card, Haley reads the group down boots and assigns them each a dedicated monstrous assassin.
While the standouts include a mean dancing jester and a ghoulish magician with a penchant for pain, there is a whole slew of creative creatures reminiscent of a lost DTV Thirteen Ghosts sequel. The script wastes no time before the ensemble faces their gruesome fates, as spelled out by the cards.
And it’s just this, the film’s lean, straight-to-the-point action, that I most appreciate. From its brief setup to its onslaught of kills, there is never a second of screen time wasted on unnecessary character development, gloomy trauma-informed backstories, or useless B / C stories. Like the golden era of Screen Gems, Rogue Pictures, and Dark Castle Entertainment, Tarot has zero investment in the scenic route. This is a teen-centric horror movie that knows exactly what it is and refuses to waste our time. And by God, I respect it.
Anna Halberg and Spenser Cohen co-created Tarot alongside writer Nicholas Adams, and its slick execution, self-aware silliness, and fun world-building point all signs to a fruitful future for the creatives. I suspect there may be a majority of fans and critics who cannot clock the tone for what it is: a perfectly crafted callback to early/mid-2000s lowbrow horror. A long-lost realm of cinema that modern genre could learn a thing or two from while it’s busy taking itself far too seriously.
A standout score by composer and horror hero Joesph Bishara (the Insidious franchise) helps to rifle the tension when it’s needed most, and an original track by songwriter Daniel Knox helps one particularly grisly kill steal the show in the movie’s exciting final act. Avantika Vandanapu as Paige is a particular standout among the film’s young cast, constantly anchoring her scenes with more pathos and relatability than they likely deserve, showcasing her talent and dedication to the role.
With a revolving door of spooky creatures, a script that refuses to take a smoke break, a cute ensemble of young talent, and the addition of some otherworldly musical contributions, Tarot allows itself to be exactly what it is. A fun, unpretentious throwback to mid-aughts lowbrow horror at its finest.
Summary
‘Tarot’ is a fun return to 2000s-era spookshows like ‘Stay Alive’ and ‘Thirteen Ghosts;’ a wholly entertaining and unpretentious good time.
