Taut Thriller-Beware of weak ending

Rating: 7/10 (27 January 2001)

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS* Eerie, atmospheric and particularly gruesome crime drama, understandably rate R. The constant analogies between this movie and "SILENCE OF THE LAMBS," should be spared. The differences outweigh the similarities.
The disturbing premise is about a homicidal lunatic killing people he feels that are violating the proverbial seven deadly sins (Sloth, Pride, Covetousness, Lust, Envy, Gluttony and Anger, for those like myself, who occasionally dozed through Catechism).
The picture starts in a low whir and builds intensity, with applied layers. The tempo throughout is gloomy, dark and pervasive, and frankly, it works well for the film. The script is full of loop-de-loop twists and is explicit. It doesn't bore and doesn't skim, which is a credit to the screenwriters. Effectively, you won't feel your IQ has been undervalued. The performances are well above average.
The major problem with SEVEN is the tepid ending. For the final scenes, you'll have to stretch your suspension of belief from here to Moscow and back. I simply just didn't buy it. The dimension between the severity of the crimes and the weak, impudent and predictable ending, just didn't quite jibe. The screenplay zipped along and felt like it simply...ran out of gas.