History YMMV / Se7en

* CompleteMonster: [[MisanthropeSupreme John Doe]] is a KnightTemplar who targeted people whom he deemed to embody one of the SevenDeadlySins, then [[CruelAndUnusualDeath horribly murdered]] them [[PoeticSerialKiller in a way that reflected their vice]]. After 5 murders, John Doe, feeling envious of Detective David Mills's "normal" life, decapitated his wife--despite her being completely innocent--then arranged for her head to be delivered to Mills outside of the city. Goading Mills with his crime and revealing that she was pregnant, Doe succeeded in getting Mills to murder him in revenge, making Mills the embodiment of wrath and leading to Mills's arrest and the ruination of his life.

* LoveToHate: John Doe. Sure he is a completely horrible person, but no one can deny that he is one of the most intriguing and interesting serial killers in all of cinema, in part because of the acting performance of Creator/KevinSpacey.

** Mills. While he can certainly be a JerkAss, Mills was honestly well meaning and truly does love his wife. Whom he finds out was murdered, and ''then'' finds out she was pregnant. Who can really blame him for killing John Doe?

* LoveToHate: John Doe. Sure he is a completely horrible person, but no one can deny that he is one of the most intriguing and interesting serial killers in all of cinema, in part because of the acting performance of Kevin Spacey.

* AccidentalAesop: Whether you live in a big city or elsewhere, it's a good idea to have some of your acquaintances check on you regularly and do the same for them. A factor that helps John Doe maim and kill without being noticed in time is that most of his victims conduct a rather lonely lifestyle (probably as a shut-in in the case of Gluttony).

* JerkassWoobie: Sloth (Theodore 'Victor' Allen). While he was a drug-dealing pederast who'd also robbed and assaulted people, hardly ''anyone'' deserves a fate as [[AndIMustScream excruciating as what happened to him.]] As if to add to this, it's mentioned he had an abusive childhood as well.

* HilariousInHindsight: Creator/DavidFincher [[Film/Zodiac2007 would later make a film a about the hunt for a real serial killer]].

* {{Narm}}: Creator/BradPitt's delivery of "What's in the boooox?" was ripe for {{meme|ticMutation}} material due to it coming off to some like a kid whining that he wants a cookie.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: Modern viewers might find the notion of [[Franchise/{{Saw}} a serial killer who implements cruel and elaborate tortures]] to deliver KarmicDeath to his victims to be cliche, but in 1995 it was genuinely horrifying and new. That most of the films inspired by ''[=Se7en=]'' have focused more on the {{Gorn}} and pure shock value aspects of the film rather than its meticulously-crafted atmosphere and cerebral tone certainly hasn't helped matters.

* NarmCharm: In-between the above bleating, Brad Pitt makes a convincing expression of pain and hurt, so the drama's not totally lost.

** While the actor playing the murderer was certainly famous when the movie was being made, he is MUCH more recognizable and iconic as an actor in the following years and decades. Watching the movie today, even if you don't know who he is at first, hearing John Doe's voice especially in the phone call scene might tip the viewer to who Doe might be based on the actor's now-infamous voice.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: William Somerset and John Doe are different takes on the OnlySaneMan, knowing well how bad the world is, but differ on how they deal with it (which essentially makes Doe Somerset's EvilCounterpart). Both believe they live in a CrapsackWorld, but Doe believes that because he is a completely egotistical bastard who ignores his own rampant hypocrisy, while Somerset tries to approach the situation with empathy and hope that people can be better. Somerset sees the world's flaws and how they can improve it while Doe is RightForTheWrongReasons (for a really, really cynical interpretation of "right").

*** The victims' backstories are more elaborated on in the graphic novel. Gluttony was the [[IncrediblyLamePun biggest]] woobie of the lot. Both his mother and father died, and he's been trying so hard to stop eating all the time. John Doe doesn't give him much of a chance. Pride, aka Rachel Shade — while definitely a {{jerkass}} to everyone around her — was not ''that'' deserving of what Doe did to her. Even Doe himself is portrayed as something of a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds, at least before his DespairEventHorizon.

** Another small moment is Mills’ introduction, buying two cups of coffee. You may think it’s for his partner Somerset, but it’s actually for the beat cop who probably stood out in the rain for a while outside the Gluttony victim’s house.

* CatharsisFactor: It's possible to take comfort in [[spoiler:Doe dying regardless of the circumstances as it means even though [[TheBadGuyWins he gets exactly what he wants]], he will never kill again]]. If one also thinks in terms of the unfilmed alternate ending though where [[spoiler:Somerset kills Doe so that Mills won't]], that's pretty satisfying though without any kind of caveats.

* CatharsisFactor: It's possible to take comfort in [[spoiler:Doe dying regardless of the circumstances as it means even though [[TheBadGuyWins he gets exactly what he wants]], he will never kill again]]. If one also thinks in terms of the unfilmed alternate ending where [[spoiler:Somerset kills Doe so that Mills won't]], that's pretty satisfying though without any kind of caveats.

* CatharsisFactor: It's possible to take comfort in [[spoiler:Doe dying regardless of the circumstances as it means even though [[TheBadGuyWins he gets exactly what he wants]], he can never kill again]].

* LoveToHate: John Doe. Sure he is a completely horrible person, but no one can deny that he is one of the most intriguing and interesting serial killers in all of cinema, in part because of the acting he received from Kevin Spacey.

* AssPull: Somerset just happens to know a guy from the FBI that is in his debt for no discernible reason. [[spoiler:Thanks to the info they get from him, they are able to rapidly find John Doe's apartment and even John Doe himself when he comes home.]]
** Possibly justified since he is nearing retirement and probably has a lot of potential contacts and markers he can call on.

** Music/JohannSebastianBach's "Air for the G String" is used beautifully for one of the movie's few comforting moments. See Heartwarming Moments below for more detail.

* HilariousInHindsight: Creator/DavidFincher [[Film/{{Zodiac}} would later make a film a about the hunt for a real serial killer]].

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Mills and Somerset panicking over the legal implications of the FBI secretly tracking potential criminals via certain books taken from the library, and their use of said evidence to track down John Doe. In an age where the War on Terror and the rise of the Internet has turned that kind of thing UpToEleven, it all seems rather quaint.

* HarsherInHindsight: During [[spoiler: John Doe's MotiveRant, he condemns one of his victims for being a pederast]]. Considering the underage assault allegations that came out against [[spoiler: Creator/KevinSpacey]] in 2017, and [his reactions to the charges, this is... awkward.

* HarsherInHindsight: During [[spoiler: John Doe's MotiveRant, he condemns one of his victims for being a pederast]]. Considering the underage assault allegations that came out against [[spoiler: Creator/KevinSpacey]] in 2017, and [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment his reactions to the charges]], this is... awkward.