Dark, grisly, and highly intelligent edge-of-your-seat thriller

Rating: 10/10 (20 November 2015)

David Fincher has been one of most thoughtful directors in Hollywood for many years, and his ingenious filmmaking all started in the mid- 1990s with this grim, but intelligently crafted psychological thriller. This film follows David Mills (played by Brad Pitt), a newly transferred police detective in an unnamed crime-ridden metropolitan city, who is partner with an old veteran detective William Somerset (played by Morgan Freeman) who is on the verge of retirement, to investigate a string of gruesome murders all around the city. These murders happen to correlate with the seven deadly sins which include: gluttony, greed, sloth, lust, pride, envy, and wrath. Mills and Somerset take in matters in their own hands to hunt down the sadistic serial killer (played by an actor who I'm gonna keep a secret) responsible for the grisly murders, only to be faced with a scarring truth about his intentions.
This David Fincher masterpiece is not a horror film, but it certainly sits directly at the borderline of one. Complete with eerie visuals and near non-stop suspense from start to finish, this film pulls audience into an unflinchingly grim atmosphere that leaves shivers down their spine and rarely lightens up. To add more to the dark tone, it rain in nearly every scene taking place outside to give them a more somber look. As the plot progresses, the audience are treated with nauseating afterviews of the serial killer's murder. But instead of having the camera linger over the gory details of the victims, we are giving heavy implications of how they particularly occurred. These scenes do just enough without the suspenseful music score to leave viewers at the edge of their seats. Then there is the serial killer himself who is portrayed as very sadistic, almost Lecter Hannibul-like, and creepy in appearance. His way of outwitting the main characters are quite shocking. The actor who plays him does an incredible job on his portrayal. As the story continues on, it builds up to one of the most haunting conclusions ever put to film, an ending that really pushes the boundaries. Ultimately, it works pretty well.
Se7en is one of the well-crafted and twisted thrillers I've ever seen and one of the spine-chilling films Hollywood has to offer, thanks to the incredible camera-work, brilliant direction by David Fincher and fantastic script by Andrew Kevin Walker. Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman who play the main characters show amazing chemistry on screen together and their performances work pretty well. While the film is really great, it is definitely not recommended for the faint of heart.