Seven

My wife loves thrillers and had never seen this before, so I was excited to watch her as she watched it for the first time. It’s still a great movie in 2025, but it clearly isn’t as impactful as it was back in 1995. This is largely because it has inspired so many other shows and films that it doesn’t feel as unique and shocking as it actually was.

It’s been a solid ten to twenty years since I last saw Seven, and it held up well. It will never be as good as the first viewing, but David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and (unfortunately?) Kevin Spacey are all excellent. I had not remembered how much philosophy is in the mix between Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, but it is all well done. The story itself is… fine? You get to see a bunch of murders based on the seven deadly sins, some of which are disturbing enough to be unforgettable, and John Doe is a haunting villain.

The entire experience is mired in beige, sepia, and misery, making it not the most fun movie to watch, but I highly recommend seeing it at least once if you have somehow missed it for the last three decades.