Gluttony Greed Sloth Envy Wrath Pride Lust
Victor's landlord said there was cash in the mail box...
the first of every month.
Quote:
"I never heard a single complaint from the tenant...
in apartment 306, and nobody ever complained about him.
The best tenant I've ever had."
- End quote. - A landlord's dream.
A paralyzed tenant with no tongue.
Who pays the rent on time.
I'm sick of this waiting.
This is the job.
Why aren't we out there?
Why must we sit here rotting, waiting till the lunatic...
does it again?-
"Lunatic" is dismissive. Don't make that mistake.
Come on, he's insane. Look.
Right now he's probably dancing around in his grandma's panties.
Yeah, rubbing himself in peanut butter.
How's that?
I don't think so.
His luck'll run out.
He's not depending on luck.
We walked in there exactly 1 year after he tied Victor to the bed.
One year to the day.
- He wanted us to. - Don't know that for sure.
Oh, yes, we do.
This note he left...
his first words to us.
"Long is the way, and Hard, that out of hell...
Leads up to Light."
Fuck him. So what?
He's right, so far.
Imagine the will it takes to keep a man bound for a full year.
To sever his hand and to use it...
to plant fingerprints.
To insert tubes into his genitals.
This guy's methodical, exacting...
and worst of all, patient.
He's a nut bag.
Because the fucker's got a library card doesn't make him Yoda.
You got money?
I got 50. Fifty bucks.
I propose a field trip. Come on.
We'll make a list. At the top we'll put "Purgatory"...
"Canterbury Tales," anything relating to the 7 deadly sins.
- Ask yourself. - Wait.
What would he study to do the things he's done?
What are his interests now?
Jack the Ripper, for instance.
- Where are we going? - Library.
Coupons. Coupons. Free coupons. Discount--
Discount coupons.
They must have had about 50 health violations during the last inspection.
Sit across from me? I don't want people thinking...
we're dating.
Give me your money.
I'll give you this, but I ought to know what are we doing.
Somerset. How you doing?
Didn't expect a menage-a-trois.
It's not a problem. Sit down.
Only for you do I do this, so it's a big risk.
- So we're in this fair and square. - It's a deal.
About an hour.
Yep. Help yourself.
That was money well spent.
Yeah.
Alright.
Telling you this, I'm trusting you more than I trust most people.
Good, 'cause I might punch you.
It's probably nothing, but even so, it's no skin off our teeth.
The guy in the pizza parlor is a friend from the Bureau.
Who, stinky man?
For years, the FBI's been hooked into the library system, keeping records.
- Assessing fines? - No, monitoring reading habits.
Look.
Certain books are flagged.
Books on, say, nuclear weapons...
"Mein Kampf".
Anyone who checks out a flagged book has his library records fed to the FBI.
Wait. How is this legal?
Legal. Illegal. These terms don't apply.
You can't use the information directly. It's just a useful guide.
It might sound silly, but you can't get a library card without an ID...
and a current phone bill. See?
- So they run our list. - Precisely.
If you want to know who's reading...
"Purgatory", "Paradise Lost" and "Helter Skelter"...
the FBI's computers will tell us.
It could give us a name.
Of a college kid writing a term paper...
on 20th-century crime.
At least you're out of the office.
Get a haircut.
How do you know this?
I don't.
- Neither do you. - Exactly.
"Divine Comedy".
"History of Catholicism" A book called "Murderers and Madmen".
"Modern Homicide Investigation". "In Cold Blood".
"Of Human Bondage". Bondage?
It's not what you think.
The Marquis de Sade.
- Marquis de Sade. - Whatever.
Works of St. Thomas Aqua something...
Saint Thomas Aquinas. There.
He wrote about the seven deadly sins.
Is that it?
Yep.
- Let's try it. - Jonathan Doe?
Whatever.
We're sure about that name, are we?
You were, you saw it. John Doe.
You want to go back, I'll go back.
Let's take a look at him. Talk to him.
This is crazy.
We'll just talk to him.
"Excuse me, sir. Do you happen to be a serial killer?"
You do the talking.
Put that silver tongue of yours to work.
You've talked to my wife?
Retarded.
Charlie's fucking Angels.
A name off a computer.
Mills.
- You hit? - No.
He's going down!
Fifth floor!
Police. Is there a back way out?
Lock your door.
Get out of the fucking hall, please.
Get down!
Get the fuck down.
Goddamn it.
Get out of the fucking way. Clear.
Where are you going?
- I'm going in. - No, no. Wait. Wait.
What? He fucking shot at us.
You can't go in.
- We need a warrant. - We got probable cause. Come on.
Think about it. Think how did we get here?
- I can't tell anyone about the Bureau. - Get out of the way.
We have no reason to be here. Would you listen to me?
- Get off, get the fuck off me. - Alright, I'm sorry.
Just pay attention a minute?
With a hole like this, we won't be able to prosecute.
The fucking guy'll walk. That's what you want?
By the time we clear a warrant... Fuck that.
We need a reason to knock on this door.
Think about it.
Okay?
Okay, okay.
You're right. I'm all fucked up.
When you're right, you're right.
Well...
no point in arguing anymore.
Unless you can fix that..
You stupid son of a ...
How much money we got left?
So, yeah, I noticed...
this guy going out a lot...
when the murders were happening, so I...
So you called Det. Somerset?
- She called Somerset. - 'Cause this guy...
was creepy and shit, and one of the murders...
- happened right over there. - I told you the rest.
Got everything?
Have her sign. You must sign.
Good.
You did good.
- I did what you said. - Here.
You get something to eat.
Everybody stay outside.
Victor.
Wild Bill's Leather
Fuck.
LUST
Somerset!
- What? - We had him.
What are you saying?
The fucking photographer in...
the fucking stairs.
We had him and we let him go.
You're sure this is him?
Yep. Good. Get it out.
No pay stubs. No appointment books. No addresses. Just this receipt.
- Keep looking! - Wait, look at this.
This was under the bed. His only source of funds?
We got his money. I like it.
Wait. You won't believe this.
We haven't found a fingerprint. Not one.
Right. I don't believe you. Keep looking.
We could use some more men.
I'm doing my best.
- What're you getting? - There are 2,000 notebooks here...
and each notebook contains about 250 pages.
What about the killings?
"What sick ridiculous puppets we are, what a gross stage we dance on.
What fun, dancing and fucking.
Not a care in the world. Not knowing that we're nothing.
We are not what was intended."
Wait, there's a lot more.
"On the subway today, a man came up to start a conversation.
He made small talk, a lonely man talking about the weather and things.
I tried to be pleasant...
but my head began to hurt from his banality.
I almost didn't notice...
but I suddenly threw up all over him.
He was not pleased...
and I couldn't stop laughing".
No dates.
Placed on the shelves in no discernible order.
Just his mind poured out on paper.
Looks like a life's work.
With 50 men reading in 24-hour shifts, it'd still...
- take 2 months. - I know.
Phone? Phone? Phone? Phone?
People, quiet!
I admire you.
I don't know how you found me, but I was surprised!
I respect you law enforcement officers more every day.
Well, I appreciate that, John.
- I tell you-- - No, listen:
I'll be re-adjusting my schedule in light of today's setback.
I just had to call and express my admiration. Sorry I had to hurt...
one of you, but I had no choice, right?
You'll accept my apology? I'd like to say more but that'd ruin the surprise.
Got it.
Everybody back to work.
You were right.
He's preaching.
These murders are his sermons to us.
Look, we know him. We know him. We know him.
Who's the blonde?
Looks like a pro.
Maybe.
She caught John Doe's eye.
Wild Bills' Leather
- He came and collected it last night. - Last night?
- Yeah. - This man?
John Doe, easy name to remember. He had a limp.
- What was this job you did for him? - I've got a picture.
One sweet piece, actually.
I thought he was a performance artist.
You know the sort of guy that...
pisses in a cup on stage and then...
drinks it.
Performance art.
Right.
I think I undercharged him.
- You made this for him? - I've made...
weirder shit than that.
They found the blonde.
The picture!
Fucking pigs.
- I need you to move. - I'll come out, but you guys...
Get the fuck out of the booth.
I've been in this cage the whole time.
Come on, this way.
-Can you do something about the music? -We're looking for the guy.
You from homicide? You better see this.
Get this thing off me.
Oh God, get it off of me.
Get him out of here, now!
I want to hear it again.
Tell me again.
You heard nothing strange, saw nothing strange.
He asked me if I was married.
- I saw a gun in his hand. - Where was the girl?
The what? What?
The prostitute. Where was she?
Someone comes to your establishment...
they want to go downstairs, get some oo-la-la. Whatever.
They got to come to you. Yeah?
Yeah.
You didn't see anyone?
With a package? A knapsack? Something under their arm?
Everybody that comes in there's got to be a package under their arms.
Some guys are carrying suitcases full of stuff.
She was just sitting on the bed.
Who tied her down? You or him?
Do you like what you do for a living?
All these things you see?
No, I don't.
But that's life, isn't it?
He had a gun. And...
he made it happen.
He made me do it.
He put that thing on me.
And he made me wear it.
Then he...
told me to fuck her.
And I did. I fucked her.
Oh, God! Oh, God!
Oh, God, he had a gun in my mouth.
The fucking gun was in my throat.
Fuck.
Oh, God. God.
God, help me. Please, please, help me.
This won't have a happy ending.
- It's not possible. - We catch him, I'll be happy enough.
If we catch John Doe and he turns out to be the devil...
if he's Satan himself...
that might meet our expectations.
But he's not the devil.
He's just a man.
You know...
You bitch and you complain and you tell me these things.
If you think you're preparing me for hard time...
thanks, but...
But you got to be a hero.
You want to be a champion.
People don't want a champion. They want cheeseburgers...
- play lotto and watch TV. - How did you get like this?
I want to know.
It wasn't one thing, I'll tell you that.
Go on.
I don't think I can continue to live in a place...
that embraces and nurtures apathy as if it was a virtue.
You aren't different or better.
I didn't say I was. I'm not.
Hell, I sympathize. I sympathize completely.
Apathy is a solution.
I mean, it's easier to lose yourself in drugs than it is to cope with life.
It's easier to steal what you want than to earn it. It's easier...
to beat a child than to raise it. Love costs. It takes effort, work.
We talk about mentally ill people. We are talking about fucking crazies.
- No, we're not. - Yes, today.
No, we're talking about everyday life here.
You can't afford to be this naive.
Fuck off.
See, you...
You should listen to yourself.
Yeah. You say that...
the problem is people don't care.
So, I don't care about people.
Nonsense. You know why?
You care?
Want to know-- Damn right.
You'll make a difference.
Whatever. The point is that...
you're not quitting because you believe...
these things you say.
You want to believe them...
because you're quitting.
And you want me to agree with you and say "You're right, it's all fucked up.
It's a fucking mess. We should all go live in a fucking log cabin."
But I won't.
I won't say that.
I don't agree with you. I do not.
I can't.
I'm going home.
Thank you, though.
I love you.
So much.
I know.
SUNDAY
What's your emergency?
Could you repeat that?
I've done it again.
PRIDE
What have we got?
Sleeping pills.
Glued to one hand.
Telephone glued to the other.
You see what he did?
He sliced her up.
Then he bandaged her.
Call for help and you'll live.
But you'll be disfigured.
Or put yourself out of your own misery.
Come on.
He cut off her nose.
To spite her face.
And he did it very recently.
Listen...
I've decided to stay on till this is done.
One of two things'll happen. Either we'll get John Doe...
or he'll kill 7 and this case will never end.
Don't do me any favors. Thank you, but I got it.
I'm asking to be your partner a few more days. You'd be doing me a favor.
You knew I'd say yes. We're here.
Your wife called. Get an answering machine.
Detective?
After this I'm gone.
- No big surprise. - Detective!
You're looking for me.
Don't fucking move.
On the floor.
- Stay back. - On the fucking floor.
I know you.
Now. Get down.
Get down on your stomach.
You piece of shit. Now!
All the way. All the way...
fucker. Down.
Faster.
Faster, fucker. Now.
Nose on the ground.
Jesus Christ. What the fuck is this?
I'd like to speak to my lawyer, please.
Goddamn it.
He cuts the skin off the tips of his fingers. That's why we couldn't...
find 1 print in his apartment.
Seems he's done that for a while.
What about the bank accounts? The guns?
So far everything is a dead end.
No credit history. No employment records.
A 5-year old bank account opened with cash.
We've tried tracing his furniture.
All we know about him...
is that he's independently wealthy...
well-educated...
and totally insane.
Because he's John Doe by choice.
- When can we question him? - You can't. He goes to court now.
There's no way he'd turn himself in. It doesn't make any sense.
There he sits.
It's not supposed to make any sense.
He's not finished.
He's pissing in our faces and we're taking it.
You know what I'm saying.
For the first time ever, you and I are in total agreement.
He wouldn't just stop.
So what the fuck, man?
He's 2 murders away from completing his masterpiece.
We'll wait for his plea.
My client says there're 2 more bodies. Two more victims hidden away.
He will take Detectives Mills and Somerset to these bodies, only them...
and only at 6 o'clock today.
Why us?
He says he admires you.
It's part of the game.
If they don't accept this offer, these bodies will never be found.
Frankly, I'm inclined to let them rot.
We've got him.
Downstairs, locked up. Done deal.
He'll get his free room and board, cable TV.
My wife doesn't even have cable. Why are we discussing this?
No. Something stinks. And this one-- You. In your $3,000 suit...
and that smug smile on your face. Dealing for that piece of shit.
I don't like it.
The law requires me to serve...
my clients and their interests as best I can.
We don't make deals here, Mr. Swarr.
My client informs you that...
if you do not accept, he'll plead insanity.
Let him try it.
I'd like to see it.
We know with the extreme nature of these crimes I'd get him off...
with such a plea.
I won't let this conviction slide.
If you do accept under his specific conditions, he'll sign...
a full confession, plead guilty right now.
It's your case. Make a decision.
Full confession.
I'm in.
It must be both of you.
If he were to claim insanity...
this conversation is admissible.
That he's blackmailing us with his plea.
My client wants to remind you, 2 more are dead.
The press'd love to find out the police weren't concerned...
about finding and burying them.
If in fact there are 2 more dead.
The lab report came.
They did a quickie on Doe's clothing and fingernails.
They found blood from Doe's fingers, blood from...
the woman who's face he cut off, and blood from...
a third party...
as yet unidentified.
You'd be escorting an unarmed man.
Let's finish it.
If John Doe's head splits open and a UFO flies out...
I want you to expect it.
I will.
If I accidentally shaved off a nipple, would it be covered by workman's comp?
I suppose so.
If you were man enough to file a claim...
I'd buy you one out of my own pocket.
I keep coming home late, my wife'll think something's up.
You know...
Yeah.
What?
Will this wind hurt us?
Who are you, John?
Who are you really?
What do you mean?
At this stage, what harm can it do to tell us about yourself?
Doesn't matter who I am. Who I am means absolutely nothing.
Stay on your left up here.
Where are we heading?
You'll see.
We're not just going to pick up 2 more bodies, are we?
That wouldn't be shocking enough.
You've got newspapers to think about, yeah?
Wanting people to listen...
you can't just...
tap them on the shoulder anymore.
You have to use a sledgehammer.
Then you'll get their strict attention.
But the question is:
Why're you so special that people should listen?
I'm not special.
I've never been exceptional.
This is, though. What I'm doing.
My work.
Your work, John?
Yes.
See, I don't see anything special about it, John.
That's not true.
No, it is true. And the funny thing is, all this work...
in 2 months, no one'll care, or give a shit, or even remember.
You can't see the whole complete act yet.
But when this is done...
when it's finished...
it's going to be...
People will barely be able to comprehend.
But they won't be able to deny.
Could the freak be more vague?
As far as master plans go...
I really can't wait for you to see.
It's going to be something.
Know what? I'll be standing next to you.
So when this thing happens, be sure and let me know.
Don't want to miss it.
Oh, don't worry.
You won't.
You won't miss a thing.
What's so exciting?
It's not too far now.
I've tried to figure something in my head. Maybe you can help me out.
When a person is insane, as you clearly are, do you know...
that you're insane?
Maybe you're reading...
masturbating in your own feces...
Do you just stop and go:
"Wow, it's amazing how fucking crazy I really am"?
You know? Do you guys do that?
It's more comfortable for you to label me insane.
It's very comfortable.
It's not something I would expect you to accept.
But I did not choose. I was chosen.
Whatever.
I don't doubt that you believe that.
but it seems that you're...
overlooking a contradiction.
Meaning what?
Glad you asked.
If you were chosen...
that is, by a higher...
power...
and if your hand was forced...
it seems strange to me that you'd get such enjoyment.
You enjoyed torturing those people.
That doesn't seem to fit with martyrdom, does it?
John?
I doubt I enjoyed it more than Det. Mills would enjoy time alone with me...
in a room without windows.
Isn't that true?
How'd you like to...
- hurt me with impunity? - That hurts my feelings.
I would never.
You wouldn't only because there's consequences.
It's in those eyes of yours, though.
Nothing wrong with a man taking pleasure in his work.
I won't deny my own personal desire...
to turn each sin against the sinner.
Wait a minute, I thought all you did was kill innocent people.
Innocent? Is that supposed to be funny?
An obese man.
Disgusting man who could barely stand.
You'd point him out to your friends so that they'd join you in mocking him.
If you saw him while you ate, you couldn't finish your meal.
Then the lawyer. You had to secretly thank me for that.
This is a man who dedicated his life...
to making money by lying with every breath he could muster to keep...
murderers and rapists...
- on the streets. - Murderers?
- Murderers, like yourself? - A woman...
so ugly inside that she couldn't go on living...
if she couldn't be beautiful outside?
A drug dealer. A pederast, actually. Let's not forget...
the disease-spreading whore.
Only in a world this shitty...
could you say they were innocent and keep a straight face.
But that's the point.
We see a deadly sin on every street corner...
in every home and we...
tolerate it.
We tolerate it because it's common.
It's trivial.
We tolerate it morning, noon and night.
Well, not anymore.
I'm setting the example.
And what I've done will be...
puzzled over...
and studied...
and followed...
forever.
Yeah.
Delusions of grandeur.
You should be thanking me.
Why's that, John?
Because you'll be remembered after this.
Realize, Detective, the only reason that I'm here now...
is that I wanted to be.
No. We would have got you eventually.
Oh, really?
So what were you doing, biding your time? Toying with me?
Allowing 5 "innocent" people to die until...
you felt like springing your trap?
What was the indisputable...
evidence you were going to use on me, right before...
I walked up to you and put my hands in the air?
John. Calm down.
I remember us knocking on your door.
That's right.
And I seem to remember breaking your face.
You're only alive because I didn't kill you.
Okay. Sit back.
- I spared you. - Sit back.
Remember that when you look in the mirror...
for the rest of your life...
or should I say for the rest of what life I allow you...
to have.
Sit back, you fucking freak!
Shut your fucking mouth!
You're no messiah. You're a movie of the week. A fucking tee shirt...
at best.
Don't ask me to pity those people.
I don't mourn them any more than the 1000's that died at Sodom & Gomorrah.
Is that to say, John, that what you were doing was God's good work?
The Lord works in mysterious ways.
Do you see those high-tension towers?
That's where we're headed.
I see it. 9 o'clock, and follow that road.
There sure as shit is no ambush out here.
No fucking nothing out here.
They'll come up behind us in about 2 minutes.
I want you to go way up.
In thirty seconds, bank east on my mark. Thirty seconds.
I'll get him.
Get out.
Slowly.
Stop.
Stay.
What do you got?
A dead dog.
I didn't do that.
What time is it?
Why?
I'd like to know.
7:01.
It's close.
Let's go take a look.
It's this way.
Down. Down. Down.
Watch him.
There he goes.
It's good we have some time to talk.
The guy in red. Keep the crosshairs on him.
A van's coming down the road.
From the north.
Be ready for anything. Wait for my signal. Wait for me.
Get out!
Out!
Jesus Christ, man. Don't shoot.
Step away.
Turn around. Hands on your head.
What's going on?
Why are you here?
I'm delivering a package for this guy, David.
Detective...
David Mills.
Get it. Slowly.
A guy paid me $500 to bring it out here.
He wanted it here at exactly 7 o'clock.
Put it down.
We got a box.
Call the bomb squad.
Bomb squad. We got a box.
Face the van.
Hands up.
Turn.
Okay. Go.
Off you go. Go.
I'm sending the driver out on foot.
He's headed north, along the road.
Have him picked up.
Oh, I don't know. I don't know.
I'm going to open it.
When I said I admired you, I meant what I said.
It's blood.
You've made quite a life for yourself, Detective.
- You should be very proud. - Shut the fuck up, you piece of shit.
California, stay away from here.
Stay away from here, now. Don't, don't, don't come in here.
Whatever you hear, stay away.
John Doe has the upper hand.
Here he comes.
- Throw your gun down! - What?
- I wish I could have lived like you. - Shut up.
What the fuck you talkin' about?
Do you hear me, Detective?
I'm trying to tell you how much...
I admire you and your pretty wife.
What?
Tracy.
- What'd you fucking say? - It's disturbing...
how easily a member of the press can purchase...
information from the men in your precinct.
What the fuck?
Throw your gun down!
I visited your home this morning...
after you left.
I tried to play husband.
I tried to taste the life of a simple man.
Throw it away!
It didn't work out.
So...
I took a souvenir.
Her pretty head.
- What's, what's he talking about? - Give me the gun.
What's goin' on over there?
Would you... Put the gun down.
I saw you with the box. What was in the box?
Because I envy your normal life.
Put the gun down, David.
It seems that envy is my sin.
- What's in the box? - Not until you give me the gun.
What's in the fucking box?
He just told you.
You lie! You're a fucking liar! Shut up!
That's what he wants. He wan-- He wants you to shoot him.
No! No. You tell me. You tell me that's not true.
- That's not true. - Become vengeance, David.
She's all right. You tell me.
Become...
wrath.
Tell me she's all right!
If you murder a suspect, David...
you just throw it all away and he knows it.
- She begged for her life, Detective. - Shut up!
She begged for her life...
and for the life of the baby inside of her.
He didn't know.
Give me the gun, David.
If you kill him...
he will win.
Oh God!
Well, we'll take care of him.
Whatever he needs.
Where you gonna be?
Around.
I'll be around.
Ernest Hemingway once wrote:
The world is a fine place and worth fighting for."
I agree with the second part.