Only three things are 100 percent consistent in life: death, taxes and David Fincher’s ability to entertain us. In his 1995 crime drama, Seven, he proves that serial killers captivate audiences like no other kind of character. Kevin Spacey plays John Doe: a quiet, can’t-get-right murderer with a strong-willed Christian background while Brad Pitt plays the Detective David Mills, who’s on Doe’s gory trail. Who will ever forget the time Doe removed his own fingerprints as a prank? Or when he developed that elaborate “you’re gonna be a daddy” scavenger hunt for Detective Mills, which included all their mutual friends along the way? The final shocking scene in which Detective Mills opens his baby shower gift proves that this film is still the best we’ve ever seen. Twenty-five years later, it’s still a masterpiece. Here’s further proof!
Photo: New Line Cinema
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Se7en
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The creepiest intro ever.
The intro to Seven is enough to make even the most unbreakable viewer a little squeamish. Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor crafted twisted, Halloween fun house-style music that sparked chills up and down your spine, foreshadowing the tone for the rest of the film.
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Morgan Freeman was at his best.
Other than The Shawshank Redemption, this was the most Morgan Freeman that Morgan Freeman has ever been, making even the most mundane dialogue seem deep and meaningful. Seriously, he could do a diaper commercial and be nominated for a Best Actor award.
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Kevin Spacey gave us a preview of who he really was.
Not that Kevin Spacey would eventually become a serial killer in real life, but he definitely had a darkness that none of us were ready for...even though he was letting us all peek into his mind with his performance as John Doe.
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Brad went from goofy and lovable to complete psycho.
Showing his dynamic range as an actor, Pitt gave us a glimpse of not only his incredible acting capabilities, but also his weird gun-angle shooting skills as he embodied wrath. John Doe envied Detective Mills and his wife (Gwyneth Paltrow), but who hasn't envied at least one of them at some point, a little bit? Who can blame the guy?
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Was that real?
The split-second shot of a massively disturbing, murderously fetishized sex toy photo made every viewer immediately think, "WTF was that?"
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It taught us about the seven deadly sins.
Not only was Seven insanely thrilling and weird, it educated us all on the seven deadly sins, which, up until this movie came out, most of us thought consisted of Twinkies, Skittles, Starburst, ice cream, Doritos, cupcakes, and orange mocha Frappuccinos.
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It showed us the dark side of lust.
Hands down, lust is the favorite sin of most of our politicians -- but then again, who hasn't thought about a little R&R with some S&M?
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It introduced us to a new kind of sloth.
No, this isn't the deadly sin with three toes and a goofy smile. From this film, we learned that sloth is loosely defined as habitual disinclination to exert oneself, or laziness. You can typically find those guilty of sloth hiding in studio apartments, covered in a cloud of smoke.
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It showed us the downside of pride.
It's amazing how many of these deadly sins can be attributed to so many members of our government. Lovely times we live in.
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It proved that greed could be deadly.
We've all fallen subject to a little bit of greed at some point, normally in the form of extra guac at Chipotle, or extra cheese on that pizza. We never knew it'd send us all to the depths of hell.
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Insanity is around us all the time.
The underlying truth about Seven is obvious and insanely disturbing. There are crazy, mass murderers around us all the time and most of them look like Kevin Spacey.
