SE7EN (1995) A film review by Steve Kong Copyright 1997 Steve Kong
There are films that try to scare by going for the gratuitous gore and the all out disgusting scenes. David Fincher (Aliens 3) goes a different route with SE7EN. Se7en is a film about a serial killer. This serial killer is smart, intelligent, and wants to say something to the public. He wants to preach to the public about the Seven Deadly sins: Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Envy, Wrath, Pride, and Lust. The way he wants to preach is different than most.
He murders people using a deadly sin as the method of murder. For instance, the first murder a obese man is forced to eat until his stomach bursts open and hemorrhages internally. He uses this to preach gluttony. And for each day of the week, he illustrates one sin with one murder. Following the case is the almost retiring Detective William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and the newbie Detective David Mills (Brad Pitt). With these strange murders, Fincher could have gone all the way and just showed everything, but he stays away from that. Instead he takes the quiet approach and forces the audience to imagine how some of the murders took place. This is far scarier than doing it with gratuitous gore. Most of the murders are scene after they have been committed, usually in pictures, and sometimes in person. But, the murders themselves are not shown.
There are a few interesting things to watch for when watching Se7en. Se7en was shot on a special, more expensive, film that gives a high contrast between lights and dark. This gives a strange eerie look and feel to the film. There are many scenes where Somerset and Mills are working in a darkroom with only flashlights and this makes for some pretty scary scenes. The opening credits are also very interesting. They look like they were carved straight onto the film. And with this strange look and a remix of Nine Inch Nails' "Closer" song, this makes for one of the most creative opening credits I've ever scene. The serial killer, for whose name I won't tell, is the most interesting of all. The actor that portrays him is the perfect actor for this role. Quiet, intelligent looking, and just insane.
The ending of the movie will surprise most. My sister predicted it, but she does that a lot. Se7en should be seen in a dark room with all lights turn off and all disturbances pushed away. This film will scare you with the pure thought of how and why the murders were done. The ending is satisfying, but don't expect anything happy.
-- steve kong boiled@earthlink.net spy on me at: http://mookie.relay.net/mookie/steve-cam.html movie reviews: http://hardboiled.home.ml.org/
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