Two homicide detectives must track down a serial killer who uses the "Seven Deadly Sins" as his guideline for his killings

Rating: 8/10 (18 December 2014)

Detective William Somerset's years as a homicide detective have come down to their last seven days. He has closed many a case, and we meet him as he encounters his last Young Detective David Mills has just transferred to the local police force as Somerset's replacement, and he shooting from his hip as soon as he walks into the first crime scene. Local police have found an extremely obese man dead in his house, and after a few minutes of investigating, the initially believed cause of death, brain hemorrhage, is soon replaced with murder. The two detectives conclude that the victim was forced to eat by his killer, and then kicked in the stomach. This is but our first taste (insensitive pun unintended) of the sick world that this story takes place in. Within 24 hours of this, a top-notch attorney is found dead in his office, and the word "greed" written into the carpet. On an inquiry of the first victim's apartment, Somerset finds the word "gluttony" carved into the wall behind the fridge. It does not take Somerset and Mills to realize that this unknown killer is systematically murdering his victims using the themes of the Seven Deadly Sins, which are: gluttony, greed, sloth, lust, pride, wrath, and envy. With the identity of the killer, and 5 more victims helplessly unaware of what is to come, detectives Mills and Somerset must find their man, and navigate the dark world that surrounds them.
If the first murder wasn't an obvious clue, this is a dark movie. The "gluttony" victim, and all of the other victims for that matter, is brutally executed, and most of the grisly remains are what we see. Though we do not see the murders themselves, there is little left to the imagination. In this aspect, this luridly-themed film took me to my limit, and perhaps past it. I would like to think that I can handle just about anything that a camera can show, but this film proved me terrifyingly wrong. Putting the murders aside, this film was very well put together. Freeman does a great job of playing the "old vet" archetype, and Brad Pitt as the young rookie is a well-cast role. Kevin Spacey as our "John Doe" makes the antagonist utterly sickening, which is exactly what director David Fincher wanted. From a cinematography standpoint, the film was well-shot, and the editing (Oscar-nominated) was very well done. I will leave you with a few key points that I feel I must emphasize. As a devout Christian, I found the killer's system very appalling, and I dearly hope that the public does not associate this with any Christian value. In case you did not pick this up in my previous notes, this film is DARK. I myself had to watch through my fingers at times, and I have no doubt that any future viewer will as well. The language in itself is R-rated, and it just adds to the dreariness. In his review of this film, the late film critic Roger Ebert began by saying " 'Seven,' a dark, grisly, horrifying and intelligent thriller, may be too disturbing for many people, I imagine, although if you can bear to watch, it you will see film-making of a high order."
The thrills did thrill, and the horrors did horrify, but I found it too far exposed. Though Fincher is known for his dark portrayal of life (Fight Club, I'm talking about you), this film took it past my favorable level.
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