(Updated 04/15/2024)
Tarot cards and readings are a pretty frequent aspect of horror movies, but we don't see too many films where the tarot is at the center of the story. Enter TAROT, which follows all the terrible things that go wrong after a group of friends breaks some of the core rules of using the cards relied upon by fortune tellers, serious students of divination, and probably several of your friends.
Opening in early May, TAROT expands the year's already rich slate of new horror movies. Check out the trailer below and we'll introduce you to the story, the cast, and the filmmakers.
What's the Tarot Release Date?
Sony Pictures and Screen Gems will release TAROT in movie theaters on May 3, 2024.
Watch the Tarot Trailer
This trailer sets up TAROT as a scary good time. There are hints of a weird-looking killer, a bit of FINAL DESTINATION-style terror, and a creepy overall vibe that
Tarot Is Based on a Horror Novel
Originally, TAROT was going to be called HORRORSCOPE, largely because that is the name of the 1992 young adult horror novel on which the movie is based. The book is credited to Nicholas Adams, but that was a penname used by multiple authors. In the case of "Horrorscope," the book was written by John Peel. (Not that John Peel.)
The book features a serial killer (dubbed The Muffin Man) who targets a group of rural high school students. His actions are, naturally, pegged to their astrological signs and related horoscopes.
How closely does the movie follow the book? Right now, we don't know!
What's Your Sign's Tarot Reading?
In the spirit of TAROT's story, Sony has put together readings for the twelve Zodiac signs. Find yours in the playlist above!
The Cast of Tarot
TAROT has been cast with a cast that features an impressive array of new talent and actors who are just on the cusp of a breakout.
The cast includes Harriet Slater ("Pennyworth," "Belgravia: The Next Chapter"), Jacob Batalon (best known as Ned Leeds in the current SPIDER-MAN movies), Avantika (MEAN GIRLS 2024, "Big Girls Don't Cry"), Adain Bradley, Humberly González, Olwen Fouéré (THE NORTHMAN, THE WATCHERS), Wolfgang Novogratz (Netflix's THE HALF OF IT), and dancer Larsen Thompson ("The Midnight Club").
The Tarot Filmmakers
TAROT is directed by Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg, who also scripted together. Cohen wrote Roland Emmerich's MOONFALL, and the movies EXTINCTION and the forthcoming DISTANT. Halberg has worked as a producer on a variety of movies, including a few with Cohen. So they have a well-established working relationship, even if TAROT represents their first co-directorial effort.
TAROT opens on May 3.
All images courtesy of Sony Pictures.