Netflix and Chills: Tarot (2024)

“Tarot” (2024) shuffles onto the horror scene with a fresh take on the supernatural genre, dealing out equal parts suspense and visual style.

Tarot leverages a unique plot and plenty of visual style to deliver a clever twist on the supernatural horror subgenre. First-time directors Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg craft a visually striking and atmospheric movie experience that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

The story unfolds with a group of young adult college students—Haley (Harriet Slater; Pennyworth), Grant (Aidan Bradley; The 100, Wrong Turn 2021), Paxton (Jacob Batalon; Spider-Man: No Way Home), Paige (Avantika; Mean Girls), Madeline (Humberly González; A Hundred Lies), Lucas (Wolfgang Novogratz; Assassination Nation), and Elise (Larsen Thompson; The Midnight Club)—renting a mansion in the Catskills Mountains for Elise’s birthday. Haley and Grant are the perfect couple, but they have just ended their relationship, much to the surprise of their friends. 

The friends spend a typical weekend enjoying campfires and drinks, making them instantly relatable.

When they run out of beer, they search through their rented house. This leads to a mysterious, musty basement, where a creepy wooden box with an even creepier deck of Tarot cards is discovered. Elise knows Haley can read the cards and urges her to do readings for the group. However, Haley is resistant, insisting that using someone else’s deck is bad luck.

Using her birthday as leverage, Elise pressures Haley to ignore her instincts, which causes her to unknowingly release an ancient curse. 

Elise gets the first reading, revealing The High Priestess card.

She’s told to be careful; The High Priestess can lead you to the ladder of success, but she can also deliver a crushing blow if you slip up. The readings are engaging, offering clues as to what terrors soon await each of the doomed friends.

Each card pulled is from the Major Arcana, a set of 22 cards in a tarot deck considered the most powerful and influential in a tarot reading. The cards are all reversed, which adds a compelling bit of lore to the story for those familiar with Tarot readings. As Haley will explain during her in-depth readings, a reversed card can be read as a warning sign—a cautionary tale of what may happen if you don’t heed important life lessons and pay attention to messages from the universe.

When the friends head back to civilization, the film wastes no time, throwing the group into turmoil and tragedy. Two of their friends—Elise and Luke—quickly meet a grizzly fate that seems eerily connected to their Tarot readings.

Haley is convinced it’s not coincidence but fate, and the cards are trying to warn them. Her ex-boyfriend, Grant, is skeptical and urges them to be rational. But the rest of the group is anxious to find answers before anyone else falls victim to their twisted fates. This leads them to try to reverse-engineer their readings to stop their readings from manifesting.

The film’s clever use of tarot symbolism and inventive death scenes help it stand out.

The writing and directing team of Cohen and Halberg use inspiration from the book Horrorscope by Nicholas Adams to create a unique aesthetic and mythology that sets it apart from standard fare. Halberg is a producer-turned-filmmaker, and Cohen is a writer-turned-director, having previously worked on films like Moonfall (2022), Extinction (2018) and The Expendables 4 (2023).

While Tarot feels original thanks to its central plot device, horror fans will recognize echoes of other genre staples. The structure and pacing recall Final Destination (2000), with its elaborate death sequences and the overarching theme of the inescapability of fate. There’s also a hint of Talk to Me (2024) in the film’s depiction of young people dabbling in the occult with disastrous results.

In the beginning, you’ll want to pay close attention to each reading. This will make it fun to guess how fate will intervene in each person’s life in gruesome and unexpected ways. Don’t worry if you miss something, however, as the film repeats these prophecies throughout the film (perhaps a bit too frequently).

The performances are all serviceable, even if the characters are thinly drawn. Harriet Slater is a capable lead as the reluctant psychic, bringing depth and vulnerability to a character that could have easily fallen into cliché. Aidan Bradley is believable as the skeptical but loyal and caring boyfriend. 

Avantika is an unsurprising standout in the mostly paint-by-numbers cast. She was easily the best part of the much-maligned 2o24 Mean Girls musical remake (besides Renee Rapp’s impressive pipes), and she shines again here. Thus, it makes sense that she also gets one of the coolest and most impactful, tensely directed death scenes, set to the tune of Joseph Bisara’s and Daniel Knox’s intensely creepy song “I Saw You.”

Speaking of great music, the score by Bisara is outstanding and adds to the film’s strong atmospheric vibes.

A decision made early on to visit a widely discredited internet divination guru, Alma, stretches credulity. Yet, it leads to a creepy and entertaining backstory that adds visual style and dark intrigue to the plot, so it’s not too hard to forgive. Plus, Alma is played by genre stalwart Olwen Fouéré, who horror fans may recognize as Sally Hardesty in 2022’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre or as a creepy cultist in Mandy.

The plot occasionally relies too heavily on convenience, and some character decisions are baffling to the point of frustration. Even after each character is fully aware that the readings are coming true and overtly reminded of actions to avoid, they do exactly what they know they’re not supposed to do. Still, this can be explained by the power of fate and their inability to stop what’s coming and fight their innate tendencies — whether to run at the first sign of danger or unwisely separate from the group.

Horror purists might find the film’s PG-13 rating restricts it from fully embracing its more gruesome potential. The kill scenes aren’t particularly scary or gory. The effects are competently executed, if not groundbreaking, and some scenes impress far more than others.

Slasher fans may be disappointed by the relatively tame death scenes, and those looking for a tightly plotted or genuinely terrifying horror experience may find it lacking. Still, its atmosphere and style offer enough entertainment, making it an enjoyable film for viewers who are more forgiving of its narrative shortcomings.

Overall, Tarot is a worthy popcorn fare for those who enjoy horror films with a strong visual identity and relish the tension of a good, old-fashioned death game. It offers a visually engaging experience with a unique concept that should appeal to horror fans who appreciate atmosphere and style over substance—especially those with more than a passing interest in divination.

While not a perfect hand, Tarot deals out enough thrills and striking visuals to make it a fun and entertaining watch. 

This review was co-written by guest contributor VL Jones and editor-in-chief Stephanie Malone.