Se7en
se7en is one of those movies that grabs you by the collar in the first five minutes and doesn't let go until it absolutely destroys you at the end. and i mean destroys. this is not a movie you watch and then go make a snack. you sit there. you stare at the wall. you think about your life choices. david fincher drops you into an unnamed city where it never stops raining, everything is grey and rotting, and two detectives are hunting a serial killer who is working his way through the seven deadly sins. morgan freeman is somerset, the weary veteran days from retirement who has seen too much. brad pitt is mills, the cocky young partner who hasn't seen enough yet. the combination is incredible, the fresh zest of mills against the battle-worn unshakable somerset, and they carry the whole film on their backs. the murders are genuinely disturbing. gluttony, sloth, lust, each one more inventive and horrifying than the last. fincher never lets you get comfortable. the sloth scene in particular features one of the greatest jumpscares in film history, a scare that works every single time no matter how many times you've seen it. and then there's kevin spacey, who shows up three quarters into the film and immediately becomes the most interesting person on screen. calm, intelligent, almost reasonable in a completely terrifying way. the studio wanted a happy ending. fincher and pitt fought to keep the real one. they were right. the ending is one of the most brutal, unforgettable conclusions ever committed to film.
what's in the box. you already know. everyone knows. and it still hits like a truck.