Hardly any other film has influenced its genre in terms of style and content as much as Seven did the serial killer film. Along with The Silence of the Lambs, it is undoubtedly one of the pinnacles of the genre.
If you go by the Ratings from around 51,400 film fans, then Seven is actually the best serial killer film of all time. Because on Moviepilot, David Fincher’s dark thriller has an average rating of 8.2 out of 10 points – significantly more than the Hannibal Lecter dialogue, Fincher’s own Zodiac – The Trail of the Killer or American Psycho.
Seven is a mysterious buddy movie in the guise of a serial killer
One cop is about to retire, the other is still young and aiming high. But Detective Lt. Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) are not the heroes of a Lethal Weapon crossover. The unlikely duo investigates a brutal series of murders that will push them to the edge and beyond the limits of their sanity.
The victims are fed to death, mutilate themselves or are otherwise tortured. The perpetrator leaves behind clues to the seven biblical deadly sins. He plays a game with the cops, the rules of which they don’t understand until it’s too late.
The serial killer film set the style and attracted imitators
With its dark production (the eerie opening credits set the tone), the stylish color filters and the crime scene production In 1995, Sieben set the tone for the serial killer films of the following years. The same goes for the twist narrative that Andrew Kevin Walker’s script uses to somehow further the ending of The Silence of the Lambs.
Warner
Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt in Seven
It’s easy to take influences like this for granted, especially when they’re copied so often. You just have to look at The Bone Hunter, …because they’re there to kiss, Resurrection – The Resurrection or even more recent works like The Little Things in direct comparison and Sieben seems fresh and groundbreaking again. None of the film killers mentioned in the following years achieved this Feeling of terror, which triggers John Doe (Kevin Spacey) long before we really see him. Basically, only Fincher himself managed to recreate this atmosphere. However, Zodiac had a real case at his disposal.
This is how you can watch Sieben: TV broadcast and streaming alternative
Sieben will be broadcast on TV today from 11 p.m. on Kabel Eins, right after Fincher’s The Game, which was released two years later. If you don’t want to tune in at such a late hour, you can catch up on the film with a subscription to the Netflix streaming service.
The director’s latest film has also been available on Netflix since last week: The Killer with Michael Fassbender, which we recommend to you.
More tips in the podcast: The 5 most exciting films in November on Netflix, Amazon and Co.
Still no idea which movie you should watch tonight? We introduce you to the most promising streaming films in November:
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Whether on Netflix, Apple TV+ or Disney+: There are exciting new releases among the streaming services’ own productions this month. Included are romantic science fiction and the new Netflix thriller by David Fincher.