Naman Shrestha
With Peter Sullivan occupying the director’s chair, Lifetime’s ‘Killer Fortune Teller’ is a mystery thriller film that is about a tarot card reader, Shane Settel. When his tarot card reading turns his fortune around and brings the most significant success he has received in his professional career, he believes that he has finally gotten his hands on a formula for success. The tarot card reader also predicts a chance meeting with someone special, making him believe in fate. Apart from the sudden success of his business, another positive thing that happens in his life is the fact that he falls in love. However, Shane’s sister begins to suspect him, as well as his mysterious new girlfriend. Not long after, a series of tragedies follow him.
Consisting of impressive performances from talented actors, such as Sarah Murphree, Jonathan Stoddard, Natalie Daniels, and Caina Summer Field, the movie delves deep into some realistic and prevalent themes, such as tarot card reading and other forms of fortune telling, giving rise to questions about the story’s origin and authenticity.
Killer Fortune Teller is Not Based on a True Story
While fortune telling still exists in the real world, the tale of Shane Settel in Killer Fortune Teller is not particularly inspired by an actual tarot card reader. The fictional account appears to have links to reality due to the presence of true-to-life elements sprinkled across the storyline. The proclaimed accuracy of the tarot card reader’s predictions portrayed in the film is also regularly seen in real life. For instance, in April 2024, an anonymous woman paid a visit to a local tarot card reader who predicted that she had a huge amount of money coming her way soon. She had purchased a $10 50X Wild Time scratch-off ticket, which she scratched off later the same night. Surprisingly enough, she won a lucrative sum of $500,000 that transformed her life overnight.
Even though screenwriter Adam Rockoff didn’t get inspired by one specific incident but real-life occurrences like the above example certainly might have played a part in his writing. He has already worked on dozens of films, including ‘A Roommate to Die,’ and ‘Somethng’s Brewin.’
Over the years, there have been several film and TV projects focused predominantly on the art of fortune-telling. For instance, Hulu’s ‘Shut Eye’ is a drama series that takes us into the world of fortune-telling through the character of Charlie, a fortune-teller whose capabilities reach newer heights when he unexpectedly gets the ability to see visions and hear voices. Created by Leslie Bohem, the series is led by the brilliant performance from Jeffrey Donovan, who is accompanied by a bunch of other talented actors in supporting roles, including KaDee Strickland, Angus Sampson, David Zayas, and Susan Misner. To reiterate, despite the similarities of ‘Killer Fortune Teller’ to reality, it is an original tale crafted by the creative mind of Adam Rockoff.
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