David Fincher is an amazing director. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bad movie from the guy. So, when I saw Gone Girl with my girlfriend, we had to give each other that bombastic side eye and decided to watch all of the David Fincher movies together.
That’s what inspired to me make this list.
While some of the movies feature a lot of serious and scary themes, they are always extremely fun to watch. When my girlfriend and I started watching Se7en, we had to stop watching it after every gruesome scene so she could catch a breath.
When we got to the finale (you’ll know what I’m talking about if you’ve seen it) we had to pause the movie before and take a break. Once we came back, we realized that our internet was gone because I had forgotten to pay the bill. Thankfully, I was able to pay it with ease on the Optimum español pagos and get back to watch that terrifying conclusion.
But, enough about that, here are my (and my girlfriends) picks for the best David Fincher movies.
Se7en
- Release Date: September 22, 1995
- Genre: Crime, Mystery
- Cast: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, John C. McGinley
Seven, or Se7en, isn’t just one of Fincher’s best movies, it just might be among the top 10 best thriller movies of all time. And that says a lot.
The movie is about two detectives, played by Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, trying to catch a serial killer, who designs every kill to fit the descriptions of the seven deadly sins. The murders in this movie are perversely creative and going to evoke shock value from the audience, even if you are a seasoned thriller-watcher.
What’s disturbing about this movie is the fact that Fincher doesn’t show a lot of the murders happen, only their gritty, disgusting aftermaths. The cat-and-mouse chase keeps going on between the detectives and the murderer, all while the latter keeps taunting the formers for not being able to catch up.
All this wraps up with a shockingly twisted conclusion that will surely leave you thinking about the movie for days.
Gone Girl
- Release Date: October 3, 2014
- Genre: Thriller, Mystery
- Cast: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry
I decided to watch Gone Girl on a whim, so I didn’t know it was directed by David Fincher. By the end of the movie, it worked out in my favor since I didn’t expect a lot from it, and it ended up being one of the best movies I’ve watched.
Gone Girl is about a writer named Nick, whose wife goes missing on their fifth wedding anniversary. As the police starts investigating, all signs point to the husband being the prime suspect in her disappearance. The resulting media attention and police questioning their image of a happy marriage starts to crumble as Nick desperately tries to save his name and prove he’s innocent.
The movie is an amazing watch and the characters are written to near perfection. The actors do a great job of portraying their characters and Fincher once again directs it amazingly.
The Social Network
- Release Date: October 1, 2010
- Genre: Historical Drama
- Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hammer, Max Minghella
The Social Network is a film based on Mark Zuckerberg and his journey to creating Facebook, so you probably wouldn’t expect it to have a lot of suspense, right?
Nope, the movie is a full-fledged psychological thriller, and a good one at that. The movie is about how Zuckerberg starts working on a small project at university, which later turns into Facebook. This small project is what makes him one of the world’s youngest billionaires six years later. However, Zuckerberg soon realized that this success led to legal as well as personal complications when he ended up receiving two lawsuits.
The concept of the film is intriguing and David Fincher executes it brilliantly. Not only is the movie extremely informative, but also thrilling to watch. It brought David Fincher a nomination for Best Director and wins at the Critics Choice Awards, BAFTA, and Golden Globes.
Zodiac
- Release Date: March 2, 2007
- Genre: Crime, Thriller
- Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, Elias Koteas
If anyone can do unsolved murder mysteries, it’s David Fincher. The movie is a watchable and confident thriller about the Zodiac murders in San Francisco in the 60s. The killer sent teasing letters and codes to the local newspapers, which are still undiscovered today.
Investigators and reporters in Zodiac become obsessed with learning the killer’s identity and bringing him to justice. During their hectic investigation, the Zodiac killer keeps claiming one victim after another, while taunting the authorities with cryptic messages, menacing phone calls, and ciphers.
The movie is an absolute classic. Not only is its storyline amazing, but the performances by the actors are insanely good. It’s the type of movie that’s going to linger around in your mind, ever after the credits are done rolling.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- Release Date: December 21, 2011
- Genre: Thriller, Crime
- Cast: Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer, Rooney Mara, Stellan Skarsgård, Robin Wright, Steven Berkoff, Joely Richardson, Yorick van Wageningen
While I wasn’t sold on the idea of this movie at first, I soon realized how wrong I was, not watching this movie sooner. The themes explored in this movie are dark and the story is just amazing.
A disgraced financial reporter gets a chance to redeem himself after he’s hired by a wealthy industrialist to try and solve a 40-year-old murder of his niece. The industrialist believes that someone from his own family committed the murder. Eventually, they both embark on a dangerous quest for the truth, but soon, he realizes that things aren’t the way they seem.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is masterfully crafted and keeps you hooked from the beginning to the end, even including the opening credits, which are a feast to watch. The performance by the cast is equally as amazing, especially Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, who play their characters convincingly.
While these are my picks for Fincher’s best movies, I recommend checking out all of his movies since they all have something great to offer. So, sit back, and relax. Grab some popcorn, turn the lights down, and enjoy the movies we mentioned in this list.