Guest Author - Barbara Rice DeShong, PhD.

What determines how evil a person is? Most of us would consider someone who murders a person merely to satisfy his pleasures to be an evil man. But what if that murderer killed seven strangers, each one to make a mockery of his victim’s life and that killer see himself, not as a danger to society, but a savior?

In the movie “Seven” the killer sought by two homicide detectives likes to add a special flair to his killings and to his victims’ last moments. His first victim, a man whose weakness in life was an eating compulsion is forced to eat pasta until he literally bursts. From there the killer works his way through the deadly sins including greed, sloth, lust, envy, wrath, and pride. The order of victims is timed to point out issues Detectives Sommerset (Morgan Freeman) and Mills (Brad Pitt) are struggling with in their family and work situations, most particularly in their relationships.

The killer, named John Doe by the police, to hold down the drama, calls himself the Sword of God and fancies himself a prophet. He convinces himself that the attention he’s drawing to the Seven Deadly Sins will make the people of the world wake up and clean up their lives. Hardly a prophet, John Doe takes particular pleasure in his last murders when he kills to highlight the costs of envy, lust, and wrath. To make his point with the detectives, John

Doe chooses him victim from Detective Mills’ family, namely, his wife, Tracy Mills (Gwenyth Paltrow). John Doe’s plan is to demonstrate ‘envy’ by longing for Tracy Mills, ‘lust’ by attacking her, and ‘wrath’ by telling Detective Mills how he’s been thinking about Mrs. Mills and what he did to her.

John Doe’s final goal is to prove his prowess by taunting Detective Mills into shooting him, thus proving Mills has fallen to the sin of wrath. In the final scene, the detectives are led to a site where John Doe has told them they will find evidence of his most recent victim. Somerset is the one to open the waiting box and sees the head of Mrs. Mills. John Doe’s finale is clear to him and he pleads with Mills to hold back, but he does not. He kills the Sword of God leaving the audience with that empty feeling that comes with the realization that serial killers aren’t interesting, aren’t deep, and in the end, no more thrilling that a weak clown.