On the Film Tarot
Moving stuff from Facebook for archival purposes.
Review: Tarot
Before I review this film: What the fuck is going on with cinema prices these days? I paid 400 pesos for a single 2D non-VIP ticket, though that's a Robinsons Mall. No freebies like popcorn and small drinks either. I still remember watching a movie in Davao for 150 pesos about ten or so years ago. Has inflation gone that way up? It's a shame because watching a movie in the cinema is really good, especially for someone like me with bad vision. It's these moments that I miss having a PWD card.
(Edit after the fact: SM is selling 2D non-VIP tickets to the same movie for 320-380 pesos, which is still quite high.)
Anyway, for the review: Tarot is a horror movie surrounding a group of friends and a pack of cursed tarot cards. It's.. okay. All but one of the characters are shallow (and indeed, praising the "final girl" with depth is pushing it), some still make idiotic decisions, and the plot is straightforward, but it's all par for the course of a young adult horror film.
I usually judge horror films by their deaths and monsters, but Tarot failed in both areas. It's a PG movie, so there's little blood and "crazy" kills. The monster (or witch, or ghost, or onibaba) is also lackluster, with the best of them being a jester changing theater faces. A note to filmmakers: Please be proud and show your monsters in broad light. Casting them in shadows is boring and just shows you're trying to save costs in CGI.
Tarot is the type of horror film that "Cabin of the Woods" is poking fun at: A bunch of foolish teenagers (or, in this case, young adults) picking up a terrifying artifact that judges their fate. I can almost sense the laboratory people in "Cabin of the Woods" working their magic and casting their bets on what monster will kill the teenagers to appease the Ancient Ones.
The movie is not a cinematic masterpiece, but let me just say that it isn't that bad, either. I don't think the directors are aiming above "entertaining" when they made this, and that's okay. Not all films have to be "Casablanca." Tarot is an okay film to watch with your friends. You will not remember this film a year from now, but you will probably remember the fun you had. Unfortunately, I watched this alone, so see ya later, alligator, Tarot.
3/5, it's good as a summer horror flick to watch with the family or the gang. Not gamechanging.