Tarot Curse (2025) – Film Review
Tarot Curse is a Tubi Original horror film that was released direct to the internet on 21 February 2025. Although it doesn’t break any molds, and many scenes seem rushed, the film is not without redeeming features and is far from being unbearable to watch.
However, Tarot Curse gets off to a questionable start thanks to a short introductory section that adds no real value to the film and, if anything, only serves to cause confusion. In it, a businessman phones his significant other to let her know he’s just sold the company, and they are now rich. Then the electricity goes out, and it isn’t long before he has a horrible death that’s obviously the result of supernatural intervention, and is reminiscent of the deaths that occur in Final Destination films. The big difference being, in this case, a tarot card appears on the floor next to a section of skull containing the dead man’s upper teeth.
After the opening credits roll, there is a short scene featuring, high school student and wannabee journalist, Tara (Lauren Chanel), who appears to be having difficulty coming to terms with her father’s death, resulting in an emotional detachment that is interfering with her ability to produce copy readers will be able to relate to. At this point, most viewers will probably presume Tara’s father was the guy who lost his life in the opening scene, but this is not the case. The ill-conceived scene appears to have been tacked onto the front of the film to deliver the message tarot cards are bad news, a fact that quickly becomes blatantly obvious anyway.
During Tara’s interview with the school Deacon (Kwame Feaster), whose role appears to be part principal and part priest, the Deacon urges her to make positive changes in her outlook, and, as the final bell of the day—and the week—rings, he tells her to try and have a great birthday.
Tara already has plans for her birthday, she and her friends Jordan (Triston Dye), Quinn (Evelyn Kim), Chloe (Selena Turner), and Preston (Kamarion Miller) are travelling to New Orleans for the weekend. As soon as they get out of school, they all meet up at Tara’s camper van, nicknamed The Turd Burglar, and are soon underway.
The gang is a mixed bunch, Jordan is a part-time drug dealer without any academic aspirations or plans for college; Chloe is obsessed with excelling as a swimmer; Quinn is a cheerleader who volunteers at the local hospital; and Preston is a smart guy, who likes watching old VHS videos from the 1990s, and, due to his lack of popularity outside his small circle of friends, has a burning desire for people to like and accept him.
Jordan was tasked with getting the gang some fake IDs, so they can get into the best bars. Unfortunately, when they arrive at New Orleans, the IDs don’t hold up to inspection, so the five friends end up drinking in a bar that’s somewhat less lively than they’d hoped. The evening takes a turn for the weird when a strange guy (Mikhail Keize) turns up and crashes their party. Listed as “The Bone Daddy” in the film’s closing credits—though never referred to by that or any other name during his few short scenes—dressed in black and with his face made-up to look like a skull, the interloper, who looks like Baron Samedi, soon entices Tara and her friends away from the bar, promising to introduce them to the real New Orleans and “the answers it has for them”. He then leads them to a basement, where they encounter a strange, old, tarot card reader (Anna Talakkottur), who also appears to possess additional abilities that allow her to throw her visitors into the five empty seats around her table. She then forces them to reveal their secret desires. Jordan wants love; Quinn wants to know if she will ever “be enough”, and be able to stop doing things just because people expect her to. Preston wants to be popular, and Chloe wants to increase her swimming speed by five seconds. As for the birthday girl, she asks if she will ever feel like herself again.
The tarot reader answers their question by handing out tarot cards. Jordan gets The Lovers, Quinn gets The Wheel of Fortune, Preston gets The Emperor, and Chloe gets The Chariot. Finally, the old woman hands Tara the Death Card. Then she slices open her hand and smears her blood over Tara’s arm. When the deacon told her to have a good birthday, this probably wasn’t what he had in mind.
Things then rush forward to the next scene, which finds the gang heading home, appearing tired and shell-shocked; the events after the tarot reading having become somewhat of a blur. However, one by one, each of them gets what they wished for, only to die horribly shortly afterward.
The quality of acting in Tarot Curse is good, and the characters are easy to like. Tara is the only possible exception, but she should grow on most viewers as they get further into the film.
The special effects, though not perfect, are reasonably good, However, Tarot Curse would have benefited from a slightly longer runtime. The rushed feel, that is all too apparent in places, does not work in its favor. The scenes involving The Bone Daddy are a good example. He’s one of the most interesting characters in the film. However, after he forces his company on Tara and her friends, there is a brief somewhat surreal scene that shows the five friends drinking and dancing then—when they all look like inebriated zombies—he rushes them to his friend the tarot card reader, dancing weirdly between them as they are walking. It all happens quickly. The scenes would have benefited from more interaction between the characters. Rushing things along resulted in a missed chance to increase apprehension and help stoke up some fear.
Tarot Curse is also notable for the lack of certain important supportive characters—the parents. The central characters are students, yet their parents are never shown or appear to have much part in their lives. Tara is the only exception. In the early stages of the film, she receives a text message from her mother, and her reply suggests a state of role reversal, where the daughter is taking care of the parent. However, although this is hinted at, other than a brief follow-up phone call before the trip to New Orleans, the mother is never heard from again, and a potentially good sub-plot becomes nothing more than a throw-away thought.
The lack of mourners at the funerals is also notable, as is the omission of a funeral when one of the characters dies. However, the funeral scenes serve to introduce a mysterious woman called Maeve (Shazia Pascal), and it later turns out she is the only one who has any idea what is really going on. Having said that, after the first funeral, Preston is quick to state a possible connection with the tarot reading, an idea he won’t let go, but the others don’t buy it, even though their friend’s death was so strange and, in no way, could ever been seen as “normal” or the result of an accident.
Tarot Curse is an okay film that, with a little extra thought and effort, could have been much more. In addition to a longer runtime, it would have benefited from a slightly greater emphasis on The Bone Daddy and Maeve, The first because he is so visually striking, and it would have been good to learn his full role in the tarot reader’s game; the second because she appears to be the mentor-type character that is integral to all good films. Unfortunately, her role in the proceedings is minimal, making her almost a throw-away character.
Nevertheless, Tarot Curse has more good points than bad, and, because it comes courtesy of Tubi, there is no need to part with any money to view it. If Tubi is available in your region, you should be able to watch Tarot Curse on the Tubi wesbsite.
~~~