Seven
New Line Cinema | Release Date: September 22, 1995 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
5
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
VarietyStaff(not credited)
This weirdly off-kilter suspenser goes well beyond the usual police procedural or killer-on-a-rampage yarn due to a fine script, striking craftsmanship and a masterful performance by Morgan Freeman. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
It's intriguing, appalling, savvy, nasty, grossly unsettling -- you may not like what you see, but you'll definitely be affected by the sight. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A dark, grisly, horrifying and intelligent thriller. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
One can already tell that this film is on to something special during the opening credits. Read full review
80
Film.comAndy Spletzer
An imaginative and disturbing work; well worth a look.
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
A very nasty piece of work, indeed. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
This homicide thriller has a tantalizingly morbid atmosphere of unease. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
While Seven lacks the cleverness of the superior "Usual Suspects," it's strong enough to hold its own against most other thrillers. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
Placing style above coherence, Seven glosses over plot points and shows a weakness for cheap, lurid effects. Read full review
70
Washington PostRita Kempley
A decidedly medieval enterprise, darker in text and tone than a Gothic cathedral by the light of the moon. Read full review
70
Rolling StonePeter Travers
It's not the identity of the killer that gives Seven its kick -- it's the way Fincher raises mystery to the level of moral provocation. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Noticeable skill has gone into the making of Seven, but it's hard to take much pleasure in that. Read full review
70
Washington PostDesson Thomson
A gruesome detective-thriller about a serial killer who ices egregious offenders of the seven deadly sins, portends an unpalatable combination of formulaic writing and unmitigated nastiness. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineStaff(not credited)
An accomplished thriller that's nasty, brutish and relatively short. Read full review
63
USA TodayMike Clark
Director David Fincher shovels on more gloom than even the serial killer genre can sustain in the murkily moody, but self-defeating, Seven. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
It's a misfire--but a fascinating, magnetic misfire, a film full of first-rate talents forced into absurdity, struggling to bring believability to nonsense. [22 September 1995, Friday, p. C]
60
TimeRichard Schickel
It is very tiresome peering through the gloom trying to catch a glimpse of something interesting, then having to avert one's eyes when it turns out to be just another brutally tormented body. Read full review
60
Film.comSean Means
Watching Seven is like cracking open a safe, only to find it crawling with eels
50
NewsweekDavid Ansen
A style so chic, studied and murky it resembles a cross between a Nike commercial and a bad Polish art film. Read full review
50
San Francisco ExaminerBarbara Shulgasser
While the premise is intriguing, the movie is gluey, bumbling and singularly un-thrilling. Read full review
40
Film.comJohn Hartl
This could be the year's most pretentious Hollywood film.
30
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
Not even bags of body parts, a bitten-off tongue or a man forced to cut off a pound of his own flesh keep it from being dull. Read full review
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