1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- Se7en

#926- Se7en (1995)
Starring: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey
Directed by: David Fincher


Plot Summary: Detective William Somerset is only a week away from retirement, but is put in charge of the most bizarre case of his career. Somerset is partnered with recently transferred Detective David Mills. Somerset and Mills find themselves searching for a serial killer known as John Doe. Doe's killing spree leaves clues for the detectives that point to the seven deadly sins: Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Lust, Pride, Envy, and Wrath.


While it does fit in the genre of a noir-thriller, Se7en was also considered a groundbreaking horror film in the mid '90s because people were looking for something different. No longer were moviegoers afraid of characters like Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers. They were looking for something "real" to scare them, making serial killers and crime thrillers the newest trends in horror movies during that time. It was easy for me to see the film's appeal among horror fans. It stands out to me as one of the more effective thrillers due to its brilliant cast, engaging premise and horrifying ending.

Brad Pitt plays Detective David Mills. Mills is transferred into Somerset's department, making him a "rookie" detective. His dynamic with Somerset is that he acts more on impulse and emotion, rather than think things through. Mills does not care about understanding John Doe's motives, as his ultimate goal is to catch Doe as fast as they can. Mills has a few shortcomings, such as knowledge of literature, which Somerset is able to make up for. If Somerset is the brains of their duo, then Mills acts as the brawn. There is a great scene where Mills and Somerset have tracked down John Doe to his apartment and Doe flees from the scene. Mills, impulsively, goes after Doe in an intense chase scene. Despite his impulsiveness, Mills is still made a likeable character through scenes that take place outside of work with his wife Tracy, played by Gwyneth Paltrow.

Detective William Somerset is played by Morgan Freeman. Somerset is a more experienced detective than Mills. He adds personality to the case by looking at every detail he can to figure out the mindset of the individual criminal he's investigating. Scenes where Freeman uses classic literature and biblical scripture to research the seven deadly sins shows the audience why he is the brains of the duo. Freeman plays Somerset as experienced, but never over the hill. Somerset goes through each scene not only wanting to catch John Doe, but to also understand him as a person and know why he's doing what he's doing. Somerset has a very calm demeanor throughout the film that only Morgan Freeman could give to the character. Freeman is very powerful through his dialogue and is one of Somerset's strongest qualities in the film.

(Next paragraph may contain *SPOILERS* Read at your own discretion)

Kevin Spacey plays the serial killer, John Doe. One of my favorite aspects about Doe is how he is able to get under Mill's skin. He knows just the right things to elicit an impulsive response from Mills, which is what Doe is looking for, to know that he is making an impact. Spacey is not seen on screen until the last half hour, but his presence is felt throughout the entire film. Each crime scene reveals a different part of Doe's plan, and even though the audience doesn't have a face to match the crimes, they are left wondering who the killer is and what he hopes to gain from his crimes. When the audience gets to see and hear John Doe, he reveals what his master plan is and notes that while people may not understand him, they will not be able to deny him. By the end of the movie, Doe's motives become apparent and the audience is left wondering if they actually agree with Doe's actions.

One of the reasons that Se7en has been labelled a horror film is most likely due to the gruesome and inventive death scenes that John Doe inflicts on his victims. An interesting aspect about Doe's victims is that he handpicks them based on their personalities and fits them to a specific deadly sin, giving a method to John Doe's madness. Some of the death scenes can be very gory, while others show very little and the violence is described in dialogue, which was more effective for me because it left my imagination to create the death scene. The crime scenes not only reveal one of the seven deadly scenes, but they also reveal a new piece of John Doe's master plan and helps give Se7en a plot that makes it stand out as one of the better crime thrillers of the '90s.


Rating:  4 out of 5 stars.

The only problem I have in recommending Se7en is once the mystery is solved at the end, many viewers would be content with only seeing it once. While it is a great film, I'd say majority should rent it, and only owning it if you enjoy seeing this crime thriller more than once.

Comment below to share your thoughts on the movie or to discuss a topic that I left out of my review

Se7en and movie images are copyrighted by New Line Cinema