[OCTOBERFEAST is the greatest celebration of the year, a revelry dedicated to pop-culture’s most nutritious Halloween detritus. Plastic screams and artificial sweeteners have never been more bountiful. In the old country, villagers refer to the extended party as Satan’s Snacktime]

As OCTOBERFEAST rages on and on and on, it’s easy to get lost. We’re in the midst of a flurry of decadence, bodies and morals gyrating to the ever-quickening pulse of dark-hearted celebration. This is the opportunity that must be taken, the chance to dive headfirst into all the temptations we must normally avoid. After all, if we allow our sins to take over our lives, a maniac-genius might just come by and kill us.

Thus is the premise of Se7en.

The project that brought together the wonder-team of Fincher & Pitt, Se7en is neo-noir film that sees a serial killer taking out victims in accordance to the seven deadly sins. For instance, the movie’s first corpse is that of a (super) morbidly obese fellow that is forced to eat until he dies, thus serving as poetic justice for the sin of gluttony. From there, the other six Capital Vices are represented in equally grim terms, testing each viewer’s ability to not yack up lunch at the sight of such horror.

But grotesque visuals aside, what’s truly harrowing about Se7en is the fact that the killer is masterful. Hell, even the combined forces of Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt have trouble tracking down the crook. And when they do, well, they’re still not completely successful.

It might be too crime-oriented to ever be classified as a horror flick. It might not take place during October, thus denying it Halloween-movie status. But there is no doubt that Se7en is an absolutely appalling, terrifically terrifying, gorgeously ghastly work of art.