Se7en

A grotesque murder of an obese man who was forced to eat until his stomach burst is investigated by Detectives Somerset and Mills. The crime scene bears the word gluttony, signaling a deliberate tie to the seven deadly sins. Somerset, nearing retirement, asks to be reassigned, but his request is denied.

The following day, another victim is found, forced to cut one pound of flesh from his body and marked with greed. Clues at the scene point toward the sin motif and the pursuit of the next lead. The investigation gradually narrows toward the killer's staged sins.

The clues at the second crime scene lead them to the sloth victim, a drug-dealing pederast who has been emaciated and restrained to a bed. Photographs reveal the victim was restrained for precisely one year, underscoring the calculated nature of the crimes. Somerset surmises that the murders are based on the seven deadly sins.

Tracy invites Somerset and Mills to share supper, hoping to ease their mutual hostility. The gesture helps the two detectives temporarily settle their uneasy professional dynamic.

Tracy privately informs Somerset that she is pregnant and unhappy about moving, doubting the city as a place to raise a child. Somerset recalls his own past regret after pressuring his girlfriend to abort, urging her to decide how to proceed with Mills.

An offhand remark by Mills prompts Somerset to search libraries for people checking out books on the seven deadly sins. Their cross-referencing leads them to the apartment of a man known only as John Doe. Inside, they find money, notebooks, and photographs of victims, including images of Somerset and Mills.

Doe returns home and is pursued by Mills. He incapacitates Mills with a tire iron and holds him at gunpoint, but chooses to leave him alive and flees. The police then investigate the apartment and uncover a large cache of money, hundreds of notebooks, and photographs of victims, including images of the detectives.

On Saturday, the fourth victim, a prostitute, is found and raped with a custom-made bladed strap-on by a man held at gunpoint. The atrocity highlights the killer's perverse fixation on punishing sins. The case begins to strongly connect to the broader seven sins motif.

The following day, the pride victim—a model disfigured by Doe—finds living without her beauty unbearable and commits suicide. The murder underscores the killer's desire to annihilate vanity as punishment for pride.

Doe arrives at the police station covered in blood and surrenders. He threatens to plead insanity at trial unless Mills and Somerset escort him to an undisclosed location where they will find the envy and wrath victims. He seems satisfied by the prospect of his message finally being delivered.

Doe leads the detectives to a remote location outside the city limits, where a delivery van approaches at a precise time. The driver is instructed to deliver a package to Mills at this location, foreshadowing a final, chilling reveal. Somerset intercepts the van and realizes something horrific awaits.

Doe declares that he embodies envy, admitting he coveted Mills's life with Tracy and implying the package contains her severed head. He taunts Mills by suggesting Tracy begged for her life and her unborn child. Overcome with wrath and despair, Mills shoots Doe dead, fulfilling Doe's design.

Police remove Mills, and Somerset tells his captain that he will stay in the city. He closes with a Hemingway line about fighting for the world, signaling a possible hope beyond darkness while acknowledging the danger that remains in the city.