Seven (Se7en)

1995

Seven (Se7en)

Critics Consensus

A brutal, relentlessly grimy shocker with taut performances, slick gore effects, and a haunting finale.

81%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 74

95%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 467,861
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Movie Info

Director David Fincher's dark, stylish thriller ranks as one of the decade's most influential box-office successes. Set in a hellish vision of a New York-like city, where it is always raining and the air crackles with impending death, the film concerns Det. William Somerset (Morgan Freeman), a homicide specialist just one week from a well-deserved retirement. Every minute of his 32 years on the job is evident in Somerset's worn, exhausted face, and his soul aches with the pain that can only come from having seen and felt far too much. But Somerset's retirement must wait for one last case, for which he is teamed with young hotshot David Mills (Brad Pitt), the fiery detective set to replace him at the end of the week. Mills has talked his reluctant wife, Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow), into moving to the big city so that he can tackle important cases, but his first and Somerset's last are more than either man has bargained for. A diabolical serial killer is staging grisly murders, choosing victims representing the seven deadly sins. First, an obese man is forced to eat until his stomach ruptures to represent gluttony, then a wealthy defense lawyer is made to cut off a pound of his own flesh as penance for greed. Somerset initially refuses to take the case, realizing that there will be five more murders, ghastly sermons about lust, sloth, pride, wrath, and envy presented by a madman to a sinful world. Somerset is correct, and something within him cannot let the case go, forcing the weary detective to team with Mills and see the case to its almost unspeakably horrible conclusion. The moody photography is by Darius Khondji; the nauseatingly vivid special effects are by makeup artist Rob Bottin, best known for more fantasy-oriented work in films like The Howling (1981). ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Cast

Brad Pitt
as Det. David Mills
Morgan Freeman
as Det. William Somerset
Gwyneth Paltrow
as Tracy Mills
R. Lee Ermey
as Police Captain
Richard Roundtree
as Martin Talbot
John C. McGinley
as California
Julie Araskog
as Mrs. Gould
Pamela Tyson
Kevin Spacey
as John Doe
Mark Boone Jr.
as FBI Man
Daniel Zacapa
as Det. Taylor
John Cassini
as Officer Davis
Peter Crombie
as Dr. O'Neill
Reg E. Cathey
as Dr. Santiago
Richard Portnow
as Dr. Beardsley
Martin Serene
as Wild Bill
Endre Hules
as Cab Driver
Richard Schiff
as Mark Swarr
Bob Mack
as Gluttony Victim
Gene Borkan
as Eli Gould (Sin of Greed)
Michael Reid Mackay
as Victor (Sin of Sloth)
Cat Mueller
as Hooker (Sin of Lust)
Heidi Schanz
as Beautiful Woman (Sin of Pride)
Andy Walker
as Dead Man at 1st Crime Scene
George Christy
as Workman at Door of Somerset's Office
Hawthorne James
as George the Night Guard at the Library
Roscoe Davidson
as First Guard at the Library
Bob Collins
as Second Guard at the Library
Jimmy Dale Hartsell
as Library Janitor
Charline Su
as TV News Reporter
Dominique Jennings
as TV News Reporter
Allan Kolman
as First Forensic Man in the Law Office
Beverly Burke
as TV Anchor Woman
Andrew Kevin Walker
as Opening Scene Corpse (uncredited)
Mario Di Donato
as Fingerprint Forensic Man in Law Office
Alfonso Freeman
as Fingerprint Technician
Harrison White
as Cop on SWAT Team
Bob Stephenson
as Cop on SWAT Team
Tudor Sherrard
as Coupon Man Outside Pizza Parlor
Pamala Tyson
as Thin Vagrant by John Doe's Apartment
Lennie Loftin
as Policeman Who Takes Statement From Vagrant
Sarah Hale Reinhardt
as Police Sketch Artist
Emily Wagner
as Detective Sara at John Doe's Apartment
Michael Massee
as Man in Booth at Massage Parlor
David Correia
as First Cop at Massage Parlor
Ron Blair
as Second Cop at Massage Parlor
Leland Orser
as Crazed Man in Massage Parlor
Lexie D. Bigham
as Sweating Cop at Massage Parlor
Evan Miranda
as Paramedic at Massage Parlor
Paul S. Eckstein
as Paramedic at Massage Parlor
Brian Evers
as Duty Sergeant
Shannon Wilcox
as Woman Cop Behind Desk
Jim Deeth
as Helicopter Pilot
John Santini
as Helicopter Pilot
Charles Tamburro
as SWAT Helicopter Pilot
Richmond Arquette
as Delivery Man
Duffy Gaver
as Marksman in Helicopter
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Critic Reviews for Seven (Se7en)

All Critics (74) | Top Critics (27) | Fresh (60) | Rotten (14)

  • Worth seeing if you can look past the gruesome details.

    Mar 28, 2019 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Gene Siskel

    Chicago Tribune
    Top Critic

  • Unfortunately, most of the scenes in Seven are unlikely, which means that by the end of the movie the duo is battling not just an insane killer but an off-the-wall screenwriter.

    Mar 25, 2014 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…

    Michael Wilmington

    Chicago Tribune
    Top Critic

  • There's none of the humor that takes the sting out of slasher movies, and certainly none of the psychology and depth that made The Silence of the Lambs such an intellectual thriller.

    Mar 25, 2014 | Rating: 1/4 | Full Review…

    Jami Bernard

    New York Daily News
    Top Critic

  • Were it not for the gravity and thoughtfulness of Morgan Freeman's performance as a retiring policeman, and the third-act appearance of its bizarre villain, Seven would be unendurable.

    Mar 25, 2014 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

    John Hartl

    Seattle Times
    Top Critic

  • The reason to see Seven, which is decidedly not for the faint of stomach, is not for the punishment of sin, but the many virtues of Freeman's contribution.

    Mar 25, 2014 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…

    Desmond Ryan

    Philadelphia Inquirer
    Top Critic

  • The odd thing about Seven, however, is that except for its facile, familiar and ridiculously gimmicky plot, it's a pretty involving murder mystery.

    Mar 25, 2014 | Full Review…

    Jay Boyar

    Orlando Sentinel
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (74)

Audience Reviews for Seven (Se7en)

  • Nov 27, 2017
    "I'm setting the example. What I've done is going to be puzzled over and studied and followed... forever." Is an interesting line delivered at a major moment of revelation in Seven. I think its an interesting reflection of the movie itself too. I am not sure there is anything terribly sophisticated about Seven. There does not have to be for a good crime thriller to really work. I find when you describe this movie coldly and descriptively it all seems a little banal. There's an odd couple pairing of detectives, played by two pretty wonderful actors. The grizzled cop about to retire, who has spent a little too long in the game. The fresh, young and careless rookie, out to make a name for himself. Morgan Freeman is so perfectly that veteran with a commanding and ominous presence. Brad Pitt also works well as the rookie. This film is also set against the most obvious of thriller settings, a relentlessly dark city, always raining or about to. A color scheme that never managed to lift its brush too far from grey. There's some unique visceral imagery, the "kills" are haunting and troubling. Some are showed more than we want. Others I, frankly, wish I knew more, as the imagination is sometimes so much worse. Then there is the big reveal of our monster. Oh and what a reveal, what a commanding performance. Brief, menacing and psychologically domineering. If you stop to think about this movie it is all a little preposterous, but who would? You are so busy taking it all in. You cannot really stop to pick apart the problems. I wrote through this dry shopping list of descriptors trying to work out what worked about the movie, a standard list of crime cliches it seems. Doing this exercise, I sort of realized what Seven reminded me of. It is a well done painting. If you strip it all down it is really predictable brush strokes and common themes. But it sings. It puzzles, and it draws you in for study. It's a masterful cop buddy piece. It is the right measure of brutality and imagination. The twists work. The reveal works. It works. This movie reminds us why we have a conception of a script or formula for certain movies. Thrillers have things we've come to expect, the same can be said of every genre. Seven reminds you why this is the archetype for these movies. When you put the strokes together just right, it is really something to behold.
    Shane S Super Reviewer
  • May 26, 2016
    David Fincher's sophisticated thriller is filled with daunting symbolism and an open-ended vision of grisly imagery. Se7en is a psychological fabrication of thematic scope and suspenseful sequences that pays off in the mid 90s and is still revered as one of Fincher's best and a cinematic tour de force. 4.5/5
    Eugene B Super Reviewer
  • Feb 05, 2016
    Probably David Fincher's best film next to Fight Club. Seven is a very gruesome film, but is very intriguing to watch with great suspense, performances and a very well written plot. This film features one of the best endings in cinema history as well as being one of the best films in cinema history.
    Mr N Super Reviewer
  • Feb 01, 2015
    Another film that took me a while to get around to watching. I found it tense and gripping with great acting all round.
    Ian W Super Reviewer
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