Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Generic, un-scary, but violent cursed-cards horror tale.
Parents Need to Know
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Tarot
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 4 parent reviews
Based on 22 kid reviews
Kids say the film is a mix of opinions, with some viewers enjoying it as a light starter horror movie for teens due to its mild scares and lack of graphic violence, while many find it painfully generic and predictable, relying on clichéd jump scares and a thin plot. The creature designs and some creative deaths are appreciated, but overall, criticism centers around its lack of originality, emotional investment, and coherence, leading to a divide in viewer enjoyment.
- generic horror film
- predictable storyline
- mild scares
- mixed reviews
- teen-friendly
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
In TAROT, seven college friends—Haley (Harriet Slater), Grant (Adain Bradley), Paxton (Jacob Batalon), Paige (Avantika), Elise (Larsen Thompson), Lucas (Wolfgang Novogratz), and Madeline (Humberly González)—spend a three-day weekend in a rented house in the Catskills, celebrating Elise's birthday. When they run out of liquor, they start exploring the house looking for more—and stumble upon a secret room filled with astrological artifacts. They find a wooden box containing an ancient set of tarot cards, and it's suggested that Haley, who has experience in this sort of thing, do a reading for everyone. Back at school, Elise and Lucas quickly meet their ends, and Haley realizes that their deaths—Elise by ladder and Lucas by subway train—perfectly match their tarot readings. The rest of the group realize that they need to seek help before their number is up, too.
Is It Any Good?
An ineffective, shameless copy of tons of other "group of friends makes a mistake and gets stalked by a killer one by one" movies, this horror tale offers nothing new, not even a decent homage. Walking vaguely in the footsteps of Evil Dead, Final Destination, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream, Wrong Turn, and others, Tarot first makes the mistake of introducing a group of friends who don't seem to have much in common—and, given that they're largely underdeveloped and paper thin, there's not much to care about. Then they make a series of dumb choices. First, no one notices that they've finished all their drinks. Then they decide to break into a room that's clearly marked "Keep Out." Then they play with the clearly sinister cards. Honestly, it's hard to blame the malevolent spirit behind the cards for taking umbrage.
We also get the typical "seeking help" sequence and the discovery of a quirky shut-in who's been obsessed with the killing for years but is eventually unable to help. She's played here by Olwen Fouéré, who speaks, for some reason, like a TV newscaster, saying things like "Mexico City. 1961. Six people dead." There's also lots of arguing among the friends, many cheap jump scares that aren't scary, and lots of twitching monsters that charge at the camera. There are far cleverer movies—like The Cabin in the Woods, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, and Bodies Bodies Bodies—that poke fun at clueless films like this. "This is definitely a bad idea," one character says at a certain point in Tarot. Too bad the filmmakers didn't listen.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Tarot's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of horror movies? Why do people sometimes enjoy being scared?
Haley talks a lot about fate and how fate can't be changed. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
Do you believe in the tarot and in horoscopes? Why, or why not? Why can they be so convincing?
How are drinking and drug use portrayed? Are they glamorized? Are there realistic consequences? Why does that matter?
Movie Details
- In theaters : May 3, 2024
- On DVD or streaming : May 28, 2024
- Cast : Harriet Slater , Adain Bradley , Jacob Batalon
- Directors : Spenser Cohen , Anna Halberg
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Director(s) , Female Movie Actor(s) , Black Movie Actor(s) , Asian Movie Actor(s) , Female Movie Writer(s)
- Studio : Screen Gems
- Genre : Horror
- Topics : Fantasy
- Run time : 92 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : horror violence, terror, bloody images, some strong language and drug content
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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