Final Destination + Ouija: this film will make you jump! The Cards of Evil is to be seen at the cinema – Actus Ciné

After Ouija, Truth or Dare and more recently The Hand, here is Les Cartes du mal. In this horror film adapted from the novel “Tarot” by Nicholas Adams published in 1992, a group of friends unscrupulously transgress the rules of the Tarot drawing – “Follow only one rule, avoid danger. Never draw cards you have found” – and unknowingly releases an evil spirit trapped in the cursed cards.

One by one, they discover the fate that awaits them, and find themselves in a race against death to escape the predictions of their draw.

Written and directed by Anna Halberg and Spenser Cohen, for whom this is the first director, the feature film is led by young actors Harriet Slater (already seen in Pennyworth and whose resemblance to Emma Stone is disturbing), Avantika Vandanapu ( recently starring in Mean Girls, Lolita Despite Me), Jacob Batalon aka Ned, Tom Holland’s best friend in the recent Spider-Man trilogy, Adain Bradley (Industry) and Wolfgang Novogratz (The Last Summer).

Final Destination and Astrology

Everyone has known since William Friedkin’s The Exorcist in 1973 that we must not use a Ouija board (or a tarot deck) that does not belong to us… However, horror cinema continues to break this law .

In The Cards of Evil, Harriet Slater goes to draw cards for her friends using an entirely hand-drawn tarot deck found in the basement of a house. The predictions will come true and prove deadly for the young people. One by one they will therefore try, like the heroes of the Final Destination films, to escape death.

Why astrology?

The directors both love astrology, and wanted to make a cinema film around this theme. Anna Halberg explains in the press kit: “There’s something inherently scary about tarot cards and tarot readings. We love astrology and horoscopes because it’s a way to learn about yourself, but also to bring clarity and knowing the future On the other hand, if you know what the future holds for you, good or bad, this will influence the decisions you make.

During their research the duo found that in times of uncertainty “people turn to tarot and astrology to try to make sense of things“. So they explored a question as old as time: “Is our future written in the stars or do we have free will over our destiny?” “It’s a great universal theme that affects everyone” adds Spenser Cohen.

It’s surprising that a world with such rich iconography has yet to be explored in cinema.

Producer Scott Glassgold adds “Tarot and astrology fascinate me. There is so much we don’t know about the cosmos, and they offer a path to understanding this unknown. Because they are mystical in nature, they inevitably open the door to fears. The major arcana of tarot, in particular, feature an array of pre-existing characters that provide the perfect starting point for horror characters. It is very surprising that a world with such rich iconography has not yet been explored in cinema. The Cards of Evil was an excellent opportunity to dive head first into such a rich and untapped universe”.

A credible film thanks to an expert consultant

The tarot game appeared in the Middle Ages and the cards are often used in cinema, notably the death and hanged man cards which we regularly see in films, but the tarot is made up of many other cards 78 cards (22 major arcana and 56 minor arcana).

It was important for the directors that the game was well represented and well used so that the film was credible to specialists. A tarot expert was therefore consulted for the needs of the feature film.

Anna Halberg explains: “We wanted the film to be based on real events and history, and tarot and astrology are two disciplines that have been able to predict the future for hundreds, even thousands of years. We called to a tarot expert, Angie Banicki, who brought a lot of credibility to this film; she came to make sure everything we had in the script made sense and supervised all our tarot readings. Anyone who knows astrology and tarot will see that the spreads really line up – and that there are some fun winks too.”

A film made for the cinema

For the directors it was important that the film be released in cinemas, because according to them: “Horror is best experienced in groups. There is something frightening and fun about sitting in a dark room with a group of strangers and going on an emotional roller coaster. It’s like taking out the Halloween night and go to a haunted house with your friends. We specially designed this experience for the big screen..”

With its numerous jump scares, The Cards of Evil will thrill spectators, whether or not they are passionate about astrology. The film can be seen in cinemas this Wednesday, May 1st.