That dark, dreary, sinister city in the movie "Seven"

[skypilot]

...was Philadelphia!!! And Los Angeles. But holy shit, some of that was actually in my home town. I posted about this yesterday but my subject line only addressed Philly DUers so I got one response from a Philly resident. I just can't stop thinking about it. Since the city was never identified in the movie people just assumed it was somewhere in New York.
Wrong!! It's really interesting how Philadelphia can inspire such gloomy visions for some artists. Philadelphia was David Lynch's inspiration for "Eraserhead". What could it be about this city?

[afraid_of_the_dark]

1. Just from watching the news...

It doesn't look like a great place to live. But I've been there several times to visit, and I love the charm of the city. I agree that it does have a negative reputation though.

[phillybri]

2. You're kidding!

I would've sworn it was Seattle...

[skypilot]

4. I am NOT kidding.

Check out IMDb. Along the left side of the site there's a long list of links to click on that give you all kinds of info about a movie. Go to FILMING LOCATIONS.

[Paragon]

3. Stick a firehose in the air to make rain and block off the sunlight...

...and you can make pretty much anywhere look dismal on film. Seven is non-specific about where it's set - it doesn't matter to the story, and it certainly isn't saying anything about Philadelphia.

Go watch Rocky -- that'll cheer you up.

[skypilot]

5. The city in "Seven"...

...was simply especially dismal. I know it has a lot to do with cinematography and all but it's still a little jarring to found out that a movie that really unsettled you was shot in or inspired by the place where you live.

On edit: I've seen movies that were filmed in Seattle during the overcast, rainy season ("The Ring" comes to mind) but they didn't get under my skin the way "Seven" did.

[Paragon]

6. Don't always believe your eyes

City blocks are always redressed for film (except for documentaries, of course) - and in the case of Seven, it was certainly done so to the extreme for dramatic effect.

If those areas you saw on film looked like that every day in Philly...would anyone actually live there?

[skypilot]

7. Actually there are some parts of the city...

...that can look as dismal on a rainy day or night as they did in the movie. The entire city is by no means so drab and depressing. Finding out thay ANY part of the movie was filmed here simply surprised me because there was no publicity about it at all and the filmmakers made those scenes that were shot here almost preternaturally creepy and dismal. Philly usually makes a big deal when a movie is being filmed here. Maybe I just missed the publicity.