10 Best Movie Characters Not Introduced Until The End

"You're looking for me."

Audiences often catch a glimpse of a serial killer in the events that lead up to their inevitable on-screen capture. Perhaps what makes Seven's John Doe so utterly terrifying, though, is the fact that the killer is never seen once until the second he walks into the police precinct covered in splatters of blood. Even better, this instance does not occur until one hour and 35 minutes into David Fincher's critically acclaimed neo-noir thriller.

Up until that point in proceedings, the only thing viewers had to go on were the mangled, bloodied corpses that the killer had left behind, the murders all carried out in a warped parody of one of the Seven Deadly Sins. The utterly horrifying nature of Doe's modus operandi combined with his complete anonymity made for a terrifying spectral presence looming over Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman.

As such, the fact that John Doe only appears for 20 minutes during the film's final act highlights what an impressionable character the chilling villain is. The vile murderer oozes twisted malevolence from every pore during his stunning performance in Seven's nail biting climax and devastating final twist.