Opening Sequence Analysis - Part 3 - Se7en (1995)

Se7en (1995) - David Fincher

Se7en is an American psychological thriller realized on the 22nd September 1995 and is set in New York City. The film features Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey and Gwyenth Paltrow which indicates the film's rather high budget. The fact that these actors are all very successful and have an abundance of followers means the film will receive high viewing numbers and therefore high revenue and a good review and reputation.

The opening sequence introduces the killer in the film named "John Doe" played by Kevin Spacey who is a world famous actor. He is introduced by showing typical behaviours of a serial killer such as slicing of the tops of his fingers to avoid being detected prior to a crime he may be poised to commit. The genre of thriller is shown through the typography of the titles in a flashing gothic style. A lot of red is shown which implies blood spilt from murder and crime.

The character is shown dong what he is portrayed to do best. Planning and murdering people in different ways based on the seven deadly sins they commit. The soundtrack is quite dark and intense and compliments the scenes as it fits well with a psychological thriller as the music has an offbeat and is not easy to predict, just like the film.

I would say that the target audience is people who enjoy horror films as well as thrillers because there is a lot of blood and gruesome scene which may not suitable for people under the age of seventeen. The lighting used in the opening sequence to this film adds to the genre and mood of the film as the dark colours match with the dark storyline.

This is the scene showing the killer slicing the skin off the tops of his fingers to avoid detection for the crimes he will commit. 

Click HERE to watch the opening titles to Se7en (1997)

The film is directed by David Fincher who s known for making opening sequences and films with a dark and scary element to it and he defiantly took it another level with this film hence why it was very successful. There were lots of elements of shock throughout the film which are also reflected in the opening sequence which is effectively a prologue for what the film is going to be like.

This screenshot from the opening sequence shows the killer (Kevin Spacey) crossing out victims he has killed as part of his mission to eradicate people based on the sins they commit. The typography in this is in a gothic, edgy and contemporary font in which it fits well with the genre and colours of the film.