David Fincher feels that this horror classic hurt Se7en’s legacy

Of all the victims in David Fincher’s Seven, lust is the one that makes me shudder the most. We don’t see a lot of dead people, and that makes it even scarier. Instead, Fincher lets our imagination do all the work, later revealing a Polaroid of the custom-made murder weapon and subjecting us to the sickening testimony of a brothel customer who was forced to participate at gunpoint. This was also the scene I thought of in later years when I watched the 2004 movie “Saw” for the first time. For me, the combination of baroque cruelty and extreme sexuality provides a common throughline 90s serial killer movies like “The Silence of the Lambs” James Wan’s low-budget success is often credited with initiating the subgenre of torture porn – and Fincher was not at all happy about that association.

“It was offensive to me on a certain level that when Saw and other movies came out, people said, ‘Well, torture porn actually started with Seven,'” he said. Playboy In 2014, “F*** you” was added for good measure. He noted that the film was intentionally “disgusting”, and further stressed that he and writer Andrew Kevin Walker were “fully aware of the fact that we were talking about torture, but we never showed it.”

“Saw” itself is pretty mild compared to what came after it, but there’s no doubt that it paved the way for more terrifying and nihilistic horror films, leading David Edelstein to… Coining the term “torture porn” In 2006. Quoted from “Wolf Creek” by Greg McLean, Rob Zombie “rejects the devil” and Eli Roth’s “Hostel” (all 2005), likening them more to the gruesome exploitation films of the 1970s than to the serial killer films of the 1980s and 1990s. But does “Saw” fit into this category? And is Fincher correct in suggesting that it distorts the legacy of “Seven”?

“Saw” has a premise that may have sprung directly from the mind of John Doe (Kevin Spacey) in “Seven.” Arrogant oncologist Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) and spendthrift photographer Adam (the film’s writer, Lee Whannell) wake up to find themselves tied up in a filthy bathroom. Between them is a corpse holding a gun and a recording device. They also found tapes in their pockets. After recovering the recorder, Lawrence’s tape orders him to kill Adam by 6pm or his wife and daughter will die. They also find saws unable to cut their chains, leading Lawrence to conclude that they are supposed to cut off their legs instead. He also suspects this is the work of the Jigsaw Killer, who had previously tried to frame him in several gruesome deaths.

It’s clear that “Seven” was a major inspiration for the film’s gritty locations, diabolical serial killer with a message, and unexpected ending. The format has been modified slightly; While Doe uses the Seven Deadly Sins in a moral sermon about modern society, Jigsaw’s purpose is more existential. Ostensibly, it aims to teach its victims to appreciate life by forcing them to make painful choices in order to survive.

“Saw” is an effective horror thriller with an interesting mystery, but its sequels lean more on the death-trap side. That’s why the series is so conflated with torture porn – it becomes less about its characters and more about the gore. The distinction is subtle but important. While “Saw” has its share of gruesome deaths, it’s all in service of a poignant story. In later installments and in torture porn in general, viewers are encouraged to initiate the violence itself. That’s why David Fincher was furious about the association, as “Seven” had the same restraint and knack for holding back cheap shots.

It’s easy to see why David Fincher would protect “Seven.” The film allowed him to establish himself as a director after the troubled production of “Alien 3,” and he seized the opportunity with both hands. Not only is it a beautifully crafted horror-thriller with riveting performances and an unforgettable twist ending, but it’s also a brilliant piece of storytelling. It’s a film I return to every few years and I still find myself engrossed in it, even though I know how it works.

But while I understand Fincher’s point, I can’t help but feel he’s being overly sensitive. No piece of art is completely original, and nothing can inspire your own future work. It’s not as if “Seven” wasn’t also influenced by previous films. The film might not have existed had The Silence of the Lambs not been a massive critical and commercial success, fueling the 1990s serial killer boom along the way.

Fincher himself has cited “Psycho” and William Friedkin as influences on “Seven,” and the film’s procedural element can be traced back to Fritz Lang’s “M.” Lang’s classic 1931 novel paved the way for every serial killer thriller sinceThe master director was also a major proponent of German Expressionism. The latter’s influence on Seven is a big reason why the film dates better than other ’90s films, as film noir never gets old.

Ultimately, “Seven” may have opened the door for “Saw” and its imitators, but Fincher shouldn’t worry about that. Three decades after shocking audiences, “Seven” remains an enduring classic. People will still be talking about it in another 30 years when torture porn becomes a horrific footnote in cinematic history.