Reviews: Se7en (1995) Movie Review
Subgenres: Featured Psychological, Psychological, Thriller, Police, Serial Killer
HellHorror’s review of Se7en (1995) breaks down the plot, scares, cast performances, and its lasting impact on the horror genre.
Se7en (1995), Seven (1995), is a film that completely pushed the neo-noir genre into the public eye back in the 90s. This movie has it all: loner detective, rainy environment, and monstrous villain. The film which was directed by the great David Fincher showed just how dark a film could get, especially with its twist ending.
Se7en stars Morgan Freeman as William Somerset, a world-weary detective who is retiring from the police force. Somerset is partnered with Detective David Mills (Brad Pitt), during his last days on the job. Mills is impatient and has a short fuse which conflicts with Somerset’s calm demeanor. The detective’s butt heads from their first meeting and is thrown into a gruesome case.
Somerset and Mills are tasked to solve a series of murders that involve the seven deadly sins. The two detectives begin to work together after Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow), Mills’ wife invites Somerset over for dinner at their apartment. As the murders continue to happen, Mills and Somerset discover that they are up against a killer (Kevin Spacey) who is more ruthless than they can imagine.
Se7en makes perfect use of atmosphere and nature’s elements to showcase the city that these characters inhabit. It constantly rains without end, and there are insensible crimes that happen daily, which has Somerset contemplating on leaving the city. Tracy is even disgusted with the city as she tells Somerset that she can’t imagine raising a child there. She hates the city so much that she hasn’t told her husband that she is pregnant.
Morgan Freeman is perfect as the tired detective, who just wants to feel at peace in his environment. He desperately wants to leave the city but is interested in the case and works overtime to solve it. He tries to tell Mills, the younger detective, that the city will not get better and is confused at why he wants to work there.
David Fincher is a director who works well with the dark material and Se7en is a great example of that. He shows the urban decay of the city and the graphic murders of the killer as commonplace things in a cold world. There is no hope and nothing is sacred in this town.
Similar films like Se7en can be found in serial killer movies sub-genre(s), check them out for more movies like Se7en.
Sources Used to Shape This Review
Insights in this review are drawn from director interviews, fan commentary, production notes, and long-form breakdowns across genre-specific platforms. Content is written uniquely and reviewed for accuracy.
- Se7en Rating Scores
- Our Score: 10/10
- Overall Score: 8.59/10
- IMDB: 8.6/10
- MetaCritic: 6.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 8.4/10
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