10 Film & TV Serial Killers We Can't Help But Love

8. John Doe - Seven

The introduction of John Doe in Seven is so brilliantly done that by the time the character ever actually appears on camera, the audience's anticipation is at a fever pitch. It's a testament to Kevin Spacey's performance that the dramatic tension only escalates by the time he shows up. Director David Fincher goes to great lengths to conceal the identity of the serial killer from the audience, even excluding Spacey's name from the opening credits to maintain the element of surprise. And it pays off in spades. Throughout the film, he displays a captivating yet grotesque style of murder, creating a pattern of deaths based on the seven deadly sins. A vain model has her face mutilated and commits suicide (pride), a fat man is forced to eat himself to death (gluttony), and so on and so forth. But usually, there is some security in a serial killer who follows a strict pattern. If you know what he's done in the past, you can predict what he'll do in the future. Not so with John Doe. He continually raises the stakes, managing to maintain the upper hand until the film's shocking and abrupt conclusion.