Se7en Review

SPOILER ALERT

Number 25 on the top 1000 films ofall time is this psychological horror/thriller film, David Fincher’s 1995 film Se7en.

What’s it about: Morgan Freeman plays the soon-to-retire William Somerset, an old and wise police detective and Brad Pitt is the cocky, young and arrogant Detective Mills.  Together they pursue a sadistic serial killer dubbed John Doe, played brilliantly by Kevin Spacey, who murders people in conjunction with seven deadly sins: lust, pride, greed, gluttony, sloth, wrath and envy. 

I really liked the premise behind this film and how it delved in deep into the psyche of a serial killer.  I’ve noticed that in society, there is a strong fascination with serial killers and their motivations.  Whilst we don’t necessarily condone their actions, they are definitely interesting to learn about.  This is one reason why I liked this film: it really took the time to explore John Doe’s character and his motivations for killing.  It delves well into his backstory and his psyche.  This fleshed him out better as a character and added a sense of intrigue to the film.  Kevin Spacey was once again great as the serial killer: John Doe.  Playing the role with a deadpan seriousness, he conveyed himself, as a cool, calm and collected character.  This is what made him so scary; the fact that he doesn’t show any emotion or remorse for his actions makes him truly frightening.  I also quite liked the idea of John Doe using the seven deadly sins as a template for his kills.  I felt that this was creative and original enough to keep the film memorable.

Although, I did feel that this film was anti-climatic in terms of its scariness.  I expected to be hiding behind a cushion for the whole film, but I was able to watch it all without a problem.  Whilst Kevin Spacey was very scary, I felt that the film would have been scarier if the violence had happened on-screen, rather than off.

Great acting and an original narrative makes this film awesome, yet being anti-climatic in terms of scariness hurts it.  As an after-thought, I also really loved some of the camerawork showing off the city lights at night, where Se7en is set.