In many ways representative of a lot of what's wrong with modern day horror movies (what with its intolerably dark cinematography, lame comic relief, watered-down violence and general sterility), "Tarot" manages to be better than the likes of "Imaginary", but it's still a by-the-numbers affair. It follows a group of friends who unleash a nefarious supernatural force when they misuse a dusty old tarot set they find, which naturally begins to pick them off in ways reminiscent of the readings main girl Haley (Harriet Slater) gave. A la "Final Destination" (a vastly superior movie, by the way), the friends frantically try to unravel the origin of their foe and escape their fates. There's a hint of a compelling horror story here, but its not capitalized on by flat, flavorless direction and neutered death scenes that are more reminiscent of those in the lesser 2000s PG-13 horror movies than the more adventurous and thematically similar "Final Destination" movies. There's nothing particularly novel about the film either, unless you count its fealty to astrology. As for the characters: they're a personality-deprived bunch, even if the cast put in a good shift. Give this one a miss unless you're just looking for background noise.
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