“Tarot,” the new horror flick from Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg, might leave you scratching your head. While the buzz is undeniable, the film itself leans heavily on tired horror tropes, leading to a predictable and, frankly, kind of funny experience. The characters drop like flies in increasingly outlandish ways, more reminiscent of a bad “Final Destination” sequel than anything genuinely scary. Ultimately, Tarot’s flawed story fails to deliver the chills horror fans crave. Still, with all the chatter, let’s delve into the plot instead of dwelling on its flaws.
Spoilers Ahead
Tarot (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
“Tarot” starts with seven friends sitting around a bonfire where they record a video to capture the moment. They are there to celebrate their friend Elise’s birthday. Paige has rented this very old huge house where they have planned to spend the night. Soon, they find out that they have run out of alcohol, and it is already very late at night. Hence, they think that since this is a very old house, it must have its own cellar where they can find something. They all start searching each corner of the house and end up in front of a private doorway.
Lucas breaks the lock of the door, and they find the stairs that lead to the basement of the house. Inside the basement, they find random old stuff, perhaps bought from auction or something like that. Finally, Paxton comes across a wooden box that has tarot cards. It is later revealed that Haley knows how to read tarot cards. Subsequently, everyone gets very excited about this as they all want her to read their fate. Haley tries to resist for a while. However, since there is no alcohol inside the house, they are not left with many entertainment options, so she agrees to read the tarot cards after all.
What does Haley Read about her Own Fate?
The ambiance is set after Haley places the wooden box. A shimmering wind blows around the room, and soon, the reading begins. Before starting, however, Haley states that using someone else’s deck is against the rules in tarot. Nevertheless, they decide to proceed. With utmost interest, they all start to learn about their fate. Elise receives The High Priestess card, and Lucas gets The Hermit card. Meanwhile, Paxton goes to the bathroom, and he feels the presence of someone. However, he is not harmed. Madeline gets The Hanged Man card, while Paige and Paxton get The Magician and The Fool cards, respectively.
When Haley reveals that Grant has The Devil card, the two argue. Haley and Grant have just broken up with each other. Moreover, when Haley starts saying things about Grant’s fate, he thinks that she is indirectly complaining about him in front of everyone. But Haley fails to make him realize that she is only reading whatever is written on the tarot cards. Grant then tells Haley to read her own fate rather than spend time on others, and he leaves the place. Haley finally reads her own horoscope, which one should not do, and she gets the Death card. Haley says that she had seen her fate previously, and each time, she received the same card.
What Happens After Reading?
The next day, the group returns to their places, and something terrible happens to Elise. She sees a stair coming down from the attic while no one is around the dorm. Later that night, Elise hears strange noises in the attic and thinks that the other residents are toying with her. She decides to take a look. Suddenly, she is attacked by a monstrous version of The High Priestess, who tortures her to death with the attic ladder. Her death is seen as an accident that completely shocks Haley and others. Paige tells everyone that she was on the phone with Elise and she never had any clue that something like this may happen.
Soon after, Lucas is attacked by The Hermit at a train station. Lucas is guided to the wrong track and later killed by a train while he attempts an escape. Right after this death, Haley realizes that each death is happening exactly like her tarot readings. She remembers that she began reading tarot cards while her mother was ill, and every time, the cards predicted her mother’s death, resulting finally in her death. The whole group now fears that something really bad is going to happen to them as Haley has read all of their fates. Grant, however, remains very rigid about this all being a bizarre coincidence and nothing else.
What does Alma Astryn tell Haley and Her Friends?
Haley tries to find out on the internet whether any known person will be willing to help them. In this process, the name of an old woman pops up: Alma Astryn. She is neglected for her theories. However, some consider her to be the best in the field. Therefore, no matter what Grant says, they all should go visit Alma. Alma basically shows no interest in interacting with them. But when Haley says that she has read tarot cards and her friends are being killed out of nowhere, Alma opens the door and invites them in.
She says the cards belonged to an astrologer who worked for a Hungarian Baron in the late 1700s. This astrologer would predict the future for the Baron. One day, she predicted that the Baron’s pregnant wife would die during childbirth, along with the child. The Baron told her to change their fate, but the astrologer failed to do so. The Baron removed them from his house, leaving them abandoned inside the forest.
Tragically, the reading came true, leaving Baron in grief and anger as he witnessed his wife and newborn die. He then ordered his men to bring the astrologer and her daughter and kill them. The men killed the daughter, leaving the astrologer to suffer in pain. The astrologer then uses a dark spell by mixing horoscope and tarot that predicts the Baron and his close friends will die. After that, she killed herself and cursed the deck. From that time onward, whenever anyone used the cards to read fate, they all died.
Tarot (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
What Happens to Alma and Paige?
Alma shares her experience of knowing how many people died by using the same cards, including one in London that she was a part of. She barely survived that massacre because she never had her fate read by those cards. This is the only way to secure oneself from getting killed by the astrologer, later known as the High Priestess. However, Almsa suggests that if Haley and her friends could destroy the cards once and for all, the curse may go away.
Coming back from Alma’s house, their car stops in the middle of the bridge. They are confronted by The Hanged Man, who has come to kill Madeline. Haley and others tell her not to run because if she runs, she will be following what the tarot cards have predicted for her fate. But Madeline runs anyway, and the Hanged Man kills her. Seeing all of this, Paxton gets very scared as he leaves the others and goes back to school. Soon, The Fool confronts him, just as predicted by the tarot cards, as he follows him and traps him inside an elevator.
Meanwhile, Haley, Grant, and Paige go back to the old house to destroy the tarot cards along with the box. But, soon, they find out that fire can not burn these cards, and they ask Alma to come over for help. She tries to call the spirit of the astrologer, aka the High Priestess, who owns these tarot cards. But, even though she manages to communicate with her, the High Priestess reads Alma’s future resulting in her death as predicted by the Six of Swords card. As they try to escape, Paige separates herself from Grant and Haley and gets tricked into going to the basement, where The Magician cuts her in half.
How Does Haley Get Rid of The High Priestess?
On the other hand, Grant and Haley are separately attacked by The Devil and Death as they try to outrun them. When Haley has nowhere to go, Grant comes to her rescue and somehow saves her from Death for the time being. Soon, Grant is attacked by The Devil, and he is taken away to some unknown place. Haley fails to secure Grant but she thinks of an idea in the meantime. She realizes that if she reads the High Priestess’s fate, the curse can be broken once and for all. Haley does so, and the tarot cards show Death to the High Priestess. Every other time, Death can mean various things like the end of the past and the beginning of the new, but Haley says, for the High Priestess, death only means death.
By the time we reach the film’s climax, Haley has let go of the grief she has preserved long after her mother’s death. The High Priestess also releases her memories of seeing her daughter being killed by the Baron. Along with her dark spirit, the tarot cards are finally burning. Haley finds Grant and leaves the house as they are confronted by Paxton right outside. Just like the tarot cards had predicted, Paxton will be there when his friends need him the most. He tells them when The Fool attacked him, his roommate Todd had opened the elevator, saving him from a certain death.
