A few of my classmates have opined that Red Dragon, the novel, and Silence of the Lambs, the film, were major influences on their decisions to become horror/suspense writers/readers. This was the case with me and the movie Se7en. This film, coupled with a tour of the Jack the Ripper kill spots I embarked on about six months before I saw this film the first couple of times, had a tremendous impact on me and was a pivotal influence on my own decision to write about serial killers. I really love this movie, so much so that I jumped ahead in the syllabus to have the opportunity to revisit it. (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Stay tuned for my thoughts on this week’s ACTUAL assigned reading, which I am currently reading as if my life depends on it. It sort of does. But, back to Se7en.)
Perhaps what I love most about Se7en is its intensity, its succession of “OMG, that’s just horrible” scenes, each progressively more grotesque. Each of the murder sites are depicted in sickening detail so vivid they stay with you hours, days, even years after seeing them. It’s in your face shocking and it haunts you. The first time I saw this movie, when it came out in the theaters, my date nearly jumped in my lap during the “Sloth” scene. Roughly sixteen years later, my “date” has a lot less hair but basically had the same reaction. (If you’re sensing a trend, it’s just this film is so disturbing I refuse to watch it alone. This is saying a lot when you consider that in my writing space there are two framed prints of the corpse of Mary Kelly directly in my line of vision at all times.) Just when you think John Doe’s crimes can’t get any more horrific, they do just that.
And while John Doe’s victims’ deaths are orgies of almost unimaginable cruelty and violence, they are not senseless. Far from it, in fact. John Doe is a very smart killer, as evidenced by both his elaborate crimes and his ability to avoid detection long enough to carry out his mission of murdering people according to the Seven Deadly Sins. This premise, that Doe’s victims have each violated one of the Seven Deadly Sins and therefore must die accordingly, is a relatively simple one but it’s genius. Religion or more accurately fanaticism is a motive for murder in real life and in fiction, and even though I find what goes on in John Doe’s head prior to and during each murder extremely alarming, I do understand his rationale. He really believes he is doing the Lord’s work and his commitment to his mission is clear.
It almost goes without saying that the acting in this film is superb but I’ll say it anyway. It greatly increased my respect for Brad Pitt and only advanced my esteem for Morgan Freeman. Kevin Spacey is perhaps the creepiest actor working in Hollywood now or then, and he was a prime choice to play John Doe. Even the bit parts were filled by fantastic actors. The West Wing junkie in me squeed a little to see Richard Schiff as Doe’s attorney, this of course several years before West Wing first aired. I did find Gwyneth Paltrow’s portrayal of Tracy Mills to be extremely whiny and was honestly happy when she died, but that’s my only beef with the casting.
In a nutshell, this is the best film about a serial killer I’ve ever seen, it had a tremendous influence on my own writing and interests, and I would definitely consider it required viewing for anyone working in the serial killer genre.
Your post is great in how it relates your enthusiasm for this film. I'll admit that I gave a little jump when the Sloth victim turned out to be alive, but I didn't have much of a reaction to the other victims aside from "Ew," and "The killer really put a lot of time into that." It's probably because I've become apathetic to gruesome sights within movies or TV shows. Seeing such a display in person though would definitely freak me out, so I can see the thinking behind the Se7en killer and The Sculptor's motive to catch society's attention to "wake them up."
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw this movie years ago, I had the same reaction during the "Sloth" scene! Kevin Spacey's John Doe is hands-down one of the creepiest serial killers ever portrayed on film. And the scary part is, I understand where he's coming from. I'm not about to remove my fingertips and start killing people, but there is a certain part of me that wouldn't mind seeing society "cleansed" of its worst elements.
ReplyDeleteAgree with Jenn. I think the creepiest part for me was Gluttony. How much patience does it take to do that kind of thing? This was one of those movies that really made me take a hard look at the genre. I think this was the first one where I felt dirty when I left the theater, but also excited about the energy it captured.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Carla, and it's generated some great discussion, too. I completely agree with Scott's final sentence, which pretty much sums up my reaction to the film. For me, Sloth takes the cake. What a horrible notion, being kept alive like that for a year... and, as you point out, it's mind-blowing, thinking of all the constant work it would require of John Doe. I find it challenging enough just caring for two cats and a dog. Keeping a bedridden junkie barely alive would be a much tougher assignment...
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, though, that I hated it when Paltrow's character died. Yes, it was the "right" ending -- quite clever, in fact -- but I hated that it happened.
What hit me so hard about this film is its ruthlessness. There's no mercy for any of the characters. Nobody's safe. You seldom see that sort of writing in Hollywood, but when you couple it with the fact we actually like and care about these characters it just makes the whole experience that much more traumatic.
ReplyDeleteI was also impressed by the time and deliberation it took for Doe to commit these crimes. Yes, as you pointed out, the murders were grotesque, and the special effects made them especially nasty. But they were purposeful. That was the scariest thing for me, that Doe was so patient and so able to wait for the perfect representation of each sin to present him/her self.
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