MOVIE NEWS – Despite making a respectable $49 million at the box office against its modest $8 million budget, “Tarot” failed to impress critics. Released on May 3, 2024, the film, featuring Jacob Batalon of “Spider-Man: Far From Home” fame, is now headed to Netflix in hopes of finding a new audience on the streaming platform.

With a dismal 18% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes (compared to a 59% audience score), “Tarot” also stars Harriet Slater, Adain Bradley, and Avantika. The film follows a group of college students who inadvertently play with a cursed tarot deck and start dying one by one. They must uncover the deck’s secrets before it’s too late for all of them.

The plot revolves around a group of friends whose fortunes come true in deadly ways after their tarot cards are read. They must work together to solve the mystery before time runs out.

“Tarot” will arrive on Netflix on August 1, 2024, just three months after its theatrical release. Greg Archer of MovieWeb commented on the film, saying, “Much like the infamous Tower card depicting a crumbling structure, ‘Tarot’ lacks the solid creative foundation to stay upright.” His review echoes those of other critics who have dubbed the movie as “Final Destination with tarot cards,” “frustrating,” and “full of clichés, flat characters, awkward dialogue, and no real scares.”

Jacob Batalon: The Only Redeeming Feature of ‘Tarot’

Let’s face it, “Tarot” is not a great movie. But is it entertaining? To some extent, yes, and that’s entirely due to Batalon’s performance. Known for his role as Ned Leeds in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Batalon also stars as the titular character in Syfy’s “Reginald the Vampire.” At just 27 years old, Batalon shines in “Tarot,” making the best out of a weak script and elevating what would otherwise be a forgettable horror film. His scenes provide much-needed humor in a movie that is otherwise devoid of genuine scares. One memorable moment is when he boasts about his “cat-like reflexes,” showing that he doesn’t take himself or the film too seriously.

Unfortunately, Batalon won’t be reprising his role as the overweight vampire Reginald Andres, as Syfy announced earlier this month that “Reginald the Vampire” will not return for a third season. Despite receiving positive reviews – holding a 70% rating on Rotten Tomatoes – the network decided to cut the horror-comedy due to low viewership. Perhaps it’s for the best, as Batalon’s wonderful performance often felt overshadowed by the show’s attempts to mimic “What We Do in the Shadows,” whose final season premieres on October 21.

However, don’t count Batalon out just yet. He will next appear in the action-thriller “Novocaine” alongside Jack Quaid from “Oppenheimer” and Amber Midthunder from “Prey.” While it might be a supporting role, it gives Batalon more screen time to showcase his talent, hopefully catching the eye of a keen Hollywood executive who will recognize what we’ve seen all along: Batalon has the potential to be a leading man in any project.

Source: Movieweb