LIKES:
The Pacing For Entertainment Purposes
Creature Design
The Card Design
The Atmosphere Setting
The Acting Is Fine
The Comedy To An Extent
The Story Is Better On Some Parts
Summary: Tarot's strengths come in finding new monsters to bring to life and putting them in a means to maximize that design. The cards held illustrations that were chilling, simple pictures with shading and craft that were menacing, disturbing, and a nightmare-inducing illustration that served as a proper gateway to the horrors at hand. When the beasts arise, most are quite chilling and very interesting, a blend of nostalgia and terror that at times was very fitting and other times a bit kiddier, but certainly memorable. Whatever the avatar, our directors brought an atmosphere they played well in, with the modern setting offering plenty of venues to pursue our "heroes" and test their fate. Once the story starts to find some "deeper" qualities, the pairing of the creatures with the kids holds a little more bite and adds some more purpose and drive.
Monsters aside, Tarot is a PG-13 pacing that works to entertain and get you in and out of the theater in the shortest time. It doesn't get too deep in plots, avoids getting too convoluted with the explanations, and leaves the horror elements to do most of the lifting with the loud visuals. Acting-wise, the cast is very pretty and plays the college collaboration well. They can scream, doubt, complain, and banter with the best of them, though they were funnier than some of the movies I've seen with a young cast. Batalon in particular had me cracking up, his style from Spiderman carrying over to a more stubborn and jerk nature that somehow works on many levels for viewers like me. The others have some heart and design that I rooted for them and had only wished for more time to get to know them
DISLIKES:
The Suspense Doesn't Last
Not Scary
Characters Can Be Annoying
The Story Needs Work
The CGI Comes Off Corny At Times
Many Scenes Ruined By The Trailer
Cheesy In The End
Summary: With all that said, the movie fails to live up to the hype of the trailers on many levels for this reviewer. For one thing, the film is not scary. I don't think it's the PG-13 rating as some will blame, and I have to account for my desensitization to being scared by these movies. However, the movie doesn't have enough build-up, teasing, and tactics to make it scary and utilize the horrors to the fullest extent. In addition, most of the moments hold little suspense, quick bouts drowned out by comedy, or cheesiness that felt robbed by editing. Some of the characters did have those elements, there just needed to be something more to accomplish the full effect of what they were going for. And though the designs are good, the CGI effects become too fake for my liking, and could have used some live-action moments to help spice up the bland animation. It's not horrible, but it has enough fake look that some of the horrifying designs were better left on the cards than in real life. Throw in that many of the scenes have already had a lot of showcasing in the trailer and the edge is further dulled by over-presenting.
In terms of the other areas, the story is again okay. Some elements do work when they try to put some layering on their characters and give them some emotions beyond terrified and disbelieving. When the origin story appears, again there was some decent presentation and building I enjoyed and the potential to find solutions to their problems. That potential was lost in my opinion. Any story and engaging plots again weakened by the pace and CW antics that just didn't deliver the horror punch that other movies have done better. Many of the characters started annoying and remained annoying, making them more cannon fodder than engaging to watch. Not the actor's fault at all, but just shallower characters that needed a lot more time and details to thrive. Sadly, in the end, the movie cuts out what little thrills are left for a very emotional, teenage drama, that uses words and some cop-outs to finish the tale. It's not the worst, but again just fell flat from the build-up I had hoped would come after a slow middle trek.
The VERDICT: Tarot accomplished much in the PG-13 department and came out feeling like an Are You Afraid Of The Dark Episode with a bigger budget. Its low levels of scare are brought out mostly by some creepy designs and a shadowy atmosphere than anything else. The cast does its best with writing that is very linear and full of comedic relief, but with enough lines to help give some depth. Sadly, the scares, the plot, the characters, and the suspense are very diluted by the pacing and atmosphere of this movie. A series by Netflix would have been key, with 9-10 episodes to give it everything allow more play with the story, and give this talented cast more time to shine. That or perhaps have fewer kids and a more creative solution or two to fight fate. Either way, the movie's theater-quality lies in design and shadows, but the rest is best seen from the comforts of your home. My scores for this film are:
Horror: 6.5 Movie Overall: 6.0.
The Pacing For Entertainment Purposes
Creature Design
The Card Design
The Atmosphere Setting
The Acting Is Fine
The Comedy To An Extent
The Story Is Better On Some Parts
Summary: Tarot's strengths come in finding new monsters to bring to life and putting them in a means to maximize that design. The cards held illustrations that were chilling, simple pictures with shading and craft that were menacing, disturbing, and a nightmare-inducing illustration that served as a proper gateway to the horrors at hand. When the beasts arise, most are quite chilling and very interesting, a blend of nostalgia and terror that at times was very fitting and other times a bit kiddier, but certainly memorable. Whatever the avatar, our directors brought an atmosphere they played well in, with the modern setting offering plenty of venues to pursue our "heroes" and test their fate. Once the story starts to find some "deeper" qualities, the pairing of the creatures with the kids holds a little more bite and adds some more purpose and drive.
Monsters aside, Tarot is a PG-13 pacing that works to entertain and get you in and out of the theater in the shortest time. It doesn't get too deep in plots, avoids getting too convoluted with the explanations, and leaves the horror elements to do most of the lifting with the loud visuals. Acting-wise, the cast is very pretty and plays the college collaboration well. They can scream, doubt, complain, and banter with the best of them, though they were funnier than some of the movies I've seen with a young cast. Batalon in particular had me cracking up, his style from Spiderman carrying over to a more stubborn and jerk nature that somehow works on many levels for viewers like me. The others have some heart and design that I rooted for them and had only wished for more time to get to know them
DISLIKES:
The Suspense Doesn't Last
Not Scary
Characters Can Be Annoying
The Story Needs Work
The CGI Comes Off Corny At Times
Many Scenes Ruined By The Trailer
Cheesy In The End
Summary: With all that said, the movie fails to live up to the hype of the trailers on many levels for this reviewer. For one thing, the film is not scary. I don't think it's the PG-13 rating as some will blame, and I have to account for my desensitization to being scared by these movies. However, the movie doesn't have enough build-up, teasing, and tactics to make it scary and utilize the horrors to the fullest extent. In addition, most of the moments hold little suspense, quick bouts drowned out by comedy, or cheesiness that felt robbed by editing. Some of the characters did have those elements, there just needed to be something more to accomplish the full effect of what they were going for. And though the designs are good, the CGI effects become too fake for my liking, and could have used some live-action moments to help spice up the bland animation. It's not horrible, but it has enough fake look that some of the horrifying designs were better left on the cards than in real life. Throw in that many of the scenes have already had a lot of showcasing in the trailer and the edge is further dulled by over-presenting.
In terms of the other areas, the story is again okay. Some elements do work when they try to put some layering on their characters and give them some emotions beyond terrified and disbelieving. When the origin story appears, again there was some decent presentation and building I enjoyed and the potential to find solutions to their problems. That potential was lost in my opinion. Any story and engaging plots again weakened by the pace and CW antics that just didn't deliver the horror punch that other movies have done better. Many of the characters started annoying and remained annoying, making them more cannon fodder than engaging to watch. Not the actor's fault at all, but just shallower characters that needed a lot more time and details to thrive. Sadly, in the end, the movie cuts out what little thrills are left for a very emotional, teenage drama, that uses words and some cop-outs to finish the tale. It's not the worst, but again just fell flat from the build-up I had hoped would come after a slow middle trek.
The VERDICT: Tarot accomplished much in the PG-13 department and came out feeling like an Are You Afraid Of The Dark Episode with a bigger budget. Its low levels of scare are brought out mostly by some creepy designs and a shadowy atmosphere than anything else. The cast does its best with writing that is very linear and full of comedic relief, but with enough lines to help give some depth. Sadly, the scares, the plot, the characters, and the suspense are very diluted by the pacing and atmosphere of this movie. A series by Netflix would have been key, with 9-10 episodes to give it everything allow more play with the story, and give this talented cast more time to shine. That or perhaps have fewer kids and a more creative solution or two to fight fate. Either way, the movie's theater-quality lies in design and shadows, but the rest is best seen from the comforts of your home. My scores for this film are:
Horror: 6.5 Movie Overall: 6.0.