The most original movie in years.

Rating: 10/10 (17 January 2002)

The title of the film 'Seven' is very exact and dominating in the telling of its story. Seven murders take place in the time of seven days, each death based on one of the seven deadly sins. The climax to the film also takes place at 7.07am. So the film cleverly bases its structure on the film's title. The film is in the genre of a neo-noir thriller. It gains its category through the dark techniques used throughout the movie. The deliberately dark and shabby lighting is to express how corrupt and depressing city life is. The fact the city is anonymous could prompt many people to name it themselves, New York, Los Angeles its left up to the viewer, or perhaps the movie is saying many cities are like this around the world. The film goes totally against the thriller cliche. The film throws away the modern day thriller rule book and makes its own rules where the good guy doesn't always win and the bad guy doesn't necessarily get caught. In Seven, John Doe is the killer, a bland, ordinary looking guy, with a bland ordinary name, but thats the point, murderers aren't necessarily monsters they're just everyday people like you and me. The idea of the movie is that in a world this corrupt, anyone is capable of murder and sin. This film does more than just give the usual tale of police chasing killer, it gives a film makers representation of modern living, and shows all the possible evils lurking inside it.