Se7en 4K
review by Bobby Blakey
Throughout his career director David Fincher has delivered some great flicks including Fight Club, Zodiac, The Social Network and Panic Room. In 1995 he brought the intense crime thriller Se7en to theaters starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, John C. McGinley, R. Lee Ermey, and Kevin Spacey. Now to celebrate the film’s 30th Anniversary, Warner Bros. Discovery is bringing the film to 4K for the first time.
Se7en follows two homicide detectives desperate hunt for a serial killer who justifies his crimes as absolution for the world's ignorance of the Seven Deadly Sins. The movie takes us from the tortured remains of one victim to the next as the sociopathic "John Doe" sermonizes to the detectives one sin at a time. The seasoned and cultured but jaded Detective Somerset researches the Seven Deadly Sins in an effort to understand the killer's modus operandi while the bright but green and impulsive Detective Mills scoffs at his efforts to get inside the mind of a killer.
This film has been reviewed to death and I love it so much I could go on and on about it, but I will try to keep this one short. This is easily one of my favorite films of not only Fincher but period. I remember seeing it in the theater and not only being blown away but unnerved by what I had seen. It was like nothing I had seen at the time and when the credits rolled in reverse it was like the nail in the coffin to that perfect unsettling experience.
The story is simple, but complex with a narrative that hits all the perfect points of the perfect crime thriller. The crimes themselves and the visuals walk the line of a horror film and some look like something out of a SAW movie. This was just not something you saw in this genre and even knowing
what is to come it still has a strong visual impact to this day. The little elements of seeing Spacey throughout the film in the background or as a photographer and never knowing it going in makes for an even smarter craft to the finished film.
I think the cast are all fantastic with Spacey stealing every scene when he is finally showcased in the final act. His subtle calm is eerie and leads to one of the most shocking endings of the time that has become iconic in pop culture and the perfect cap to this insane crime spree. I still love this film in every way and this new 4K looks great cleaning up the picture without losing the gritty tones that was part of its voice.
Grab your copy of Se7en when it hits 4K for the first time on January 7th from Warner Bros Discovery Home Entertainment.