Se7en follows detectives Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Mills (Brad Pitt) as they solve a series of murders inspired by the seven deadly sins – but only one victim, the “sloth” one, was still alive when he was found. Despite getting mixed reviews during its release (but becoming one of the highest-grossing movies of the year), David Fincher’s 1995 crime thriller Se7en is now regarded as one of the best movies of the 1990s, and it has some of the most memorable lines and scenes of the decade.
Set in an unnamed city plagued by crime, Se7en sees Somerset and Mills teaming up to stop a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as inspiration for his horrible crimes. Every one of John Doe’s victims was linked to one of the seven deadly sins due to their actions and decisions, but only one of his targets wasn’t dead when the police found him: the sloth victim, and even though all murders were horrible, the sloth victim had the worst fate out of all the seven deadly sins targets.
Se7en Ending Explained (In Detail)
David Fincher’s 1995 thriller Se7en boasts one of the best shock endings in cinema, but it’s far more than a simple twist and an iconic line.
Se7en’s John Doe Forced His Sloth Victim To Live His Sin
After finding the “gluttony” and “greed” victims, Somerset and Mills realize that there are clues in the latter’s crime scene that lead them to the next one. Next on John Doe’s list is “sloth”, which is often described simply as “laziness”. Doe’s target turns out to be Theodore Allen, a drug dealer and pederast with a history of mental illness. A year before the discovery of Allen as the “sloth” victim, Doe kidnapped him, strapped him to a bed, tortured him, and cut one of his hands, with which he painted the word “greed” at the crime scene of that sin.
Allen was left emaciated and restrained in a bed for an entire year, with Doe arranging that he be found exactly a year after kidnapping him. Doe kept Allen alive through an IV, just so he could be found a year later, as he was making Allen live out the sin he had assigned to him. Allen ended up living the sloth lifestyle in the most extreme and cruel way, and while he wasn’t an innocent man and did horrible things before coming across Doe, it was still a very extreme way of torture and death.
Se7en’s Sloth Victim Had A Fate Worse Than Death
As every one of John Doe’s murders happened off-screen, it’s unknown which was the worst, more so as he manipulated the crime scenes to better represent their assigned sins and leave more clues. Surely, the “lust” victim (a sex worker who was sexually abused with a custom-made, bladed strap-on) and the “pride” victim (a model who was disfigured by Doe and committed suicide) had horrible deaths, but Allen’s stands as the worst as he had a slow, painful death.
The “sloth” crime scene had several Polaroid photos showing how Allen’s condition worsened over the course of a year, and it was also covered in car air fresheners so the rotten smell of Allen’s body wouldn’t alert anyone. After being found, Allen was taken to a hospital, where he was declared brain-dead and the doctors also found out that he had chewed off his own tongue at some point. Allen not only lived a “sloth lifestyle” in his final year, but he also had a very slow death, making his fate the worst one in Se7en.
Se7en
David Fincher’s crime thriller Se7en follows the seasoned Detective William Somerset after he is assigned a new partner, the young and idealistic David Mills (Brad Pitt). The two find themselves investigating a deranged killer staging murders inspired by each of the seven deadly sins. On the hunt for the twisted John Doe (Kevin Spacey) before he can kill again, the two detectives soon discover that they’re much deeper into the case than they realized.
- Release Date
- September 22, 1995
- Director
- David Fincher
- Cast
- Brad Pitt , gwyneth paltrow , John C. McGinley , Morgan Freeman , Kevin Spacey
