10 Most Jaw-Dropping Movie Moments

Before we even address the final scene of Se7en, we need to talk about the first jaw-dropping reveal. In the third act of the film, when John Doe is revealed, we see Kevin Spacey for the first time. In order to keep the identity of John Doe a secret, Spacey insisted on leaving his name out of the marketing, as well as the opening credits.

And this was truly a power move on his part, because if we saw his name in the credits, and no appearance in the first two acts, then we’d probably all know he was the man behind John Doe. 

But the real reveal here is the infamous “what’s in the box?” scene, when David Mills (Brad Pitt) repeatedly asks John Doe what’s in the box. Up to this point in the film, five murders have been committed based on the seven deadly sins: gluttony, greed, sloth, lust, and pride. 

When it’s revealed that Mills’ wife’s head is in the box, and even worse, that she was pregnant with Mills’ child, it becomes clear that John Doe wants Mills to kill him for the sin of envy. In other words, John Doe was envious of Mills’ life, and needed to be taken out according to his own twisted logic.

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As Mills unloads his gun into John Doe, he becomes the personification of wrath by carrying out Doe’s plan, which none of us were expecting up to this point. 

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