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Tarot (2015) movie poster

Timeline

Tarot (2015) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
2015 · 110 mins · Indonesian
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Directed by
Jose Poernomo
Starring
Boy William, Shandy Aulia, Zaneta Georgina, Sara Wijayanto, Aurélie Moeremans, Annette Edoarda

Julie and Tristan, deeply in love and planning their wedding, seek a Tarot card reading. However, their hopes for a positive reading are dashed when they receive a disturbing prediction from a mysterious reader. The ominous cards suggest a dark future for the couple, leading them to question their relationship and confront unforeseen challenges as they try to avoid the foreseen outcome.

Horror Cast, crew & box office
On this page (5)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Events in order (10)
  3. 3 Timeline questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Every angle
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10 events in order · contains spoilers

Tarot Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of Tarot (2015) in order, scene by scene, with when and where it takes place. Use it to untangle flashbacks, time jumps and parallel storylines, to refresh your memory before the sequel or to find the exact scene you are thinking of.

  1. Friends Gather at the Mansion

    A group of college friends rent a mansion in the Catskills to celebrate Elise’s birthday. During a drinking game, Haley and Grant reveal they have broken up, hinting at their diverging futures. The group explores the house, setting the scene for mysterious events to come.

    Where
    Mansion in the Catskills

  2. Discovery of the Artifacts and Tarot Deck

    While searching for more drinks, the friends find a restricted room filled with artifacts, including a wooden box with a zodiac wheel and a deck of hand-painted tarot cards. Haley agrees to do tarot readings for her friends, despite sensing danger.

    Where
    Restricted room in the mansion

  3. Tarot Readings and Predictions

    Haley conducts tarot readings for each friend, giving ominous predictions. Elise is warned to slow down, Madeline tends to run from danger, and Lucas is told he will find wealth and love. The readings foreshadow future events, with Haley predicting love’s death for herself.

    Where
    Mansion

  4. Ancient Evil Reawakens

    Following the tarot readings, a series of images depict an ancient evil reawakening, hinting at the curse linked to the cards. The friends leave the mansion feeling uneasy but unaware of the deadly consequences.

    Where
    Outside the mansion

  5. Elise’s Death

    En route home, Elise hears suspicious noises from her attic. Investigating, she encounters a monstrous vision of the High Priestess card and falls from her ladder. The vision crushes her, leading to her death, which corresponded to her tarot reading.

    Where
    Elise’s home

  6. Lucas’s Tragic End

    Lucas, haunted by The Hermit, is stalked at a subway station before wandering into a restricted railyard. He is frightened into falling onto an oncoming train, fulfilling his tarot prediction of wealth and love but ending in tragedy.

    Where
    Subway station and railyard

  7. Research and Discovery of the Curse

    Haley researches the deaths and learns about Alma Astrom, who explains the origin of the cursed tarot deck. The cards, linked to a vengeful Astrologer from the 1700s, are responsible for the deaths of all who used them, and Alma warns they must be destroyed.

    Where
    Alma’s location

  8. Revisiting the Mansion to Destroy the Deck

    The friends go back to the mansion to burn the tarot deck, but find it cannot be destroyed by fire. Alma arrives and performs a seance, attempting to contact the Astrologer’s spirit, which results in Alma’s death and deepens the curse's grasp.

    Where
    Mansion

  9. Confrontation and Final Ritual

    Haley conducts the Astrologer’s reading to break the curse, choosing to confront her grief and the curse’s origin. The spirit is destroyed in a climactic ritual, and the remaining cards burn in the fire, ending the curse.

    Where
    Mansion

  10. Escape and Resolution

    As the curse lifts, Haley and Grant escape the mansion, and surprise appears as Paxton, alive, returns unharmed. They reflect on their fate, rejecting destiny, and move forward together, freed from the curse’s grip.

    Where
    Mansion and surrounding area

Last updated: August 05, 2025 at 06:58

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Timeline questions answered

Tarot Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of Tarot (2015): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

How did the tarot deck become cursed?

The tarot deck originated in the 1700s when a wealthy Count summoned an astrologer named Suncica Milanovic to diagnose his ill wife and child. The astrologer foretold their deaths, which enraged the Count. After the astrologer herself died tragically, she cursed the deck with her spirit, vowing that anyone who used the cards would meet a similar end.

  • cursed tarot deck
  • astrologer
  • 1700s
  • spirit curse
Q2

Why did Elise die after drawing the High Priestess card?

Haley warned Elise to slow down after she drew the High Priestess card, which showed her climbing a ladder in Haley's vision. Later, Elise heard noises in her attic and climbed a ladder to investigate. She saw a monstrous apparition resembling the High Priestess card, which caused her to fall and be crushed by the descending ladder, fulfilling the prediction.

Foreshadowing: The tarot reading foreshadowed Elise's death on a ladder.

  • Elise
  • High Priestess
  • ladder death
  • tarot prediction
Q3

What happened to Lucas after his tarot reading?

After drawing The Hermit card, which predicted wealth and love, Lucas was haunted by The Hermit spirit at a subway station. The spirit stalked him into a restricted rail yard and cornered him in an abandoned train. Frightened, Lucas fled onto the tracks and was struck by an oncoming train, fulfilling his ominous reading.

Foreshadowing: The Hermit card predicted Lucas would encounter great wealth and possible love.

  • Lucas
  • The Hermit
  • subway
  • train death
Q4

Why did Madeline die despite her tarot warning?

Madeline drew The Hanged Man card, which reflected her Pisces nature and warned her to avoid danger by not running from it. During the escape from the mansion, Madeline ran in fear across a bridge, ignoring the warning. She was hung on the bridge, directly fulfilling the Hanged Man's symbolism of passive resistance leading to her doom.

Foreshadowing: The Hanged Man card warned Madeline about running from danger.

  • Madeline
  • The Hanged Man
  • bridge death
  • tarot warning
Q5

How did Paxton survive when he drew The Fool card?

Paxton drew The Fool card, which seemed to predict his death. However, his roommate accidentally saved him by opening the elevator door, which caused The Fool to vanish. This unexpected intervention broke the curse's hold on him, allowing Paxton to survive when the others believed he was doomed.

Foreshadowing: The Fool card initially suggested Paxton's fate was sealed.

  • Paxton
  • The Fool
  • elevator
  • survived curse
Q6

Why couldn't the friends destroy the tarot deck?

The cursed tarot deck resisted all attempts at destruction. When the friends tried to burn it at the mansion, the cards stubbornly would not catch fire or be destroyed. This was because the astrologer had imbued the deck with her vengeful spirit, making it impervious to normal means of destruction.

  • tarot deck
  • burn
  • destroy
  • cursed cards
Q7

What happened to Alma during the seance?

During the seance conducted by Alma to contact the astrologer’s spirit, the spirit manifested as the Six of Swords. Instead of communicating, the spirit impaled Alma with six swords, killing her instantly. This horrifying event demonstrated the curse's deadly power and deepened the group's desperation.

  • Alma
  • seance
  • six of swords
  • spirit attack
Q8

How did Haley break the curse?

Haley performed the Astrologer’s reading, deliberately drawing the Death card for herself. Instead of fearing it, she used it as a symbol of release from her grief over her mother's passing. By confronting her pain and urging the spirit to let go of its own suffering, she destroyed the astrologer’s spirit. The ritual caused the cursed cards to ignite and turn to ash, ending the curse.

Foreshadowing: Haley had previously said 'love will be the death of me' after drawing Death.

  • Haley
  • Death card
  • ritual
  • break curse
  • astrologer spirit
Q9

Why did Grant survive when his tarot reading was ominous?

Grant's tarot reading suggested he would “come through unexpectedly,” which initially seemed ominous given the other predictions. During the escape, his car sputtered and stalled, but this delay actually kept him alive by preventing him from reaching the danger ahead. He fought for survival and indeed came through unexpectedly, fulfilling his more hopeful prediction.

  • Grant
  • survived
  • tarot prediction
  • car stall
Q10

What happened to the astrologer and her daughter after the curse ended?

In the closing moments, a symbolic scene showed the Astrologer reuniting with her daughter in the afterlife. This visual represented the astrologer’s spirit finally finding peace after centuries of vengeance, confirming that breaking the curse also freed her tortured soul.

  • astrologer
  • daughter
  • afterlife
  • spirit
  • reunion

Movie threads

More Movies Like Tarot, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Tarot tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Movies with a deadly supernatural countdown like Tarot

Characters have limited time to unravel and stop an ancient evil's deadly design. If you enjoyed the high-tension race against fate in Tarot, you'll find similar thrills here. This collection features movies where characters must decode and break a supernatural curse before a grim deadline, leading to fast-paced stories of occult horror and desperate survival.

  • anxious
  • foreboding
  • gripping
  • relentless
  • occult
  • desperate
  • Tone: dark, tense
  • Pacing: fast, escalating
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative follows a clear, urgent pattern: a curse is activated, its rules are discovered through tragic events, and the remaining characters must piece together the mystery to find a way to break it, all while the threat systematically closes in.

Why they belong together: Movies are grouped here for their shared core of a tangible, escalating supernatural threat, a fast-paced structure of discovery and consequence, and the intense, anxious atmosphere of fighting against a seemingly inevitable doom.

Tarot movie poster

Tarot

2015
Warlock movie poster

Warlock

1989
The Curse of Sleeping Beauty movie poster

The Curse of Sleeping Beauty

2016
Ghosthouse movie poster

Ghosthouse

1988
Beyond the Door movie poster

Beyond the Door

2023
Darkness Falls movie poster

Darkness Falls

2003
Haunted-3D movie poster

Haunted-3D

2011
From Within movie poster

From Within

2008

Horror movies with bittersweet endings like Tarot

The evil is defeated, but survival comes with profound loss and somber reflection. Fans of Tarot's emotionally heavy conclusion will appreciate these films. They explore the cost of survival in horror, where stopping the monster or curse provides a somber, rather than triumphant, ending. These stories balance dread with poignant character loss.

  • tragic
  • somber
  • gripping
  • horrifying
  • grief
  • loss
  • Tone: dark, bittersweet
  • Pacing: variable, character-driven
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The journey typically involves a group facing extreme peril, with the narrative emphasizing the bonds between characters. The climax resolves the external conflict, but the denouement focuses on the survivors grappling with the memory of those lost, resulting in a poignant, reflective ending.

Why they belong together: These films are united by their tonal balance of horror and tragedy, their 'HEAVY' emotional weight stemming from character deaths, and their specific narrative arc that leads to a 'BITTERSWEET' conclusion where safety is tempered by sorrow.

Supernatural movie poster

Supernatural

1933
Fading of the Cries movie poster

Fading of the Cries

2011
House of Dark Shadows movie poster

House of Dark Shadows

1970
Salem’s Lot movie poster

Salem’s Lot

1000
1920: Horrors of the Heart movie poster

1920: Horrors of the Heart

2023
Haunted movie poster

Haunted

1995
The Dark movie poster

The Dark

2005
Mourning Grave movie poster

Mourning Grave

2014

Every angle

Tarot (2015) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Tarot in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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