CAST AS ROLE MODELS:

BRAD PITT plays the young energetic detective who puts all of his energy into solving the case.

MORGAN FREEMAN plays the veteran detective who wants nothing more than to leave the city, his job and this case, but is drawn into solving it.

GWYNETH PALTROW plays Mills' wife, a person not happy to have moved into the crime ridden city.

KEVIN SPACEY plays the sadistic killer, that hopefully no child will ever imitate.

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ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE

Mills drinks a beer while looking over photos.

Wine is served with dinner, and later Mills drinks a beer.

Mills and Sommerset drink beer in a bar.

BLOOD/GORE

Every one of the crime scenes has some sort of disgusting visuals.

A massively obese, and very dead, man sits face down in some food. His hands and feet are tied and veins protrude all over his body. There is some blood, and roaches crawl over everything.

There are many incidents where photographs of the victims, both suffering and dead, are seen and many are quite graphic and disturbing.

The nude, and gross looking body of the obese man is seen on an autopsy table. An examiner shows his removed and very bloody stomach.

Another murder scene is quite bloody as a pound of flesh was cut from the body.

A man starved and tied to a bed for a year, looks skeletal, is covered with welts, and has had his hand cut off.

Mills bleeds quite a bit from his head wound and his shirt is quite bloody.

A cut off hand is seen in a jar.

Another victim's face is bandaged and very bloody, as her "face was cut off."

John Doe appears and his shirt and hands are very bloody.

Blood splatters from a man being shot in the head.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE

John Doe is very sadistic in the ways and amount of time he takes to murder his victims, ranging from days to nearly a year for death to set it.

Mills pays a junkie to lie to police so that he doesn't get in trouble for illegally entering the suspect's apartment.

FRIGHTENING/TENSE SCENES

There are many scenes in this category, including investigating all of the murder scenes and hunting/chasing down the killer.

GUNS/WEAPONS

Switchblade: Used three times by Sommerset (twice to open packages, once to be thrown repeatedly at a dartboard in anger).

Guns/Shotguns: Carried by the detectives and other police quite often.

Handgun: Used by John Doe to repeatedly fire at the detectives and then held against Mills' head.

Tire iron: Used by John Doe to bash Mills over the head.

Handgun: Used to repeatedly shoot a man.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR

Phrases: "Piss," "kick each other in the balls," and "faggot."

JUMP SCENES

A victim, believed to be dead, suddenly "comes to life" and scares everyone.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)

The movie is full of heavy, tension filled and occasionally scary music.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)

None.

PROFANITY

75 "f" words (2 used sexually, 1 with the prefix "mother"), 14 "s" words, 10 hells, 1 slang reference for male genitals (the "d" word) used as an exclamation, 1 ass, 1 damn, and 7 uses of "Jesus" and/or "Christ," 6 uses of "God damn," and 1 use of "God" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY

There is full male frontal nudity of the obese man has he lies on an autopsy table.

SMOKING

A man the detectives question smokes a cigarette.

A poker playing cop smokes a cigar.

A victim's wife smokes a cigarette.

People are seen smoking in the background in a restaurant.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES

None.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT

Obviously the sadistic murders.

Abortion: Sommeret and Tracy talk about them, and Sommeset tells her that long ago he convinced his girlfriend to have one.

VIOLENCE

Although most of the murderous acts are not seen, they heavily imply sadistic violence and much suffering and we see the hideous results.

In addition to the seven murders, Sommerset talks about another victim who was robbed and had his eyes knifed out.

John Doe fires his gun at the Detectives during a long chase sequence, and later smashes a tire iron against Mills' head.

A man is shot in the head and then repeatedly in the body with a gun.