Se7en is David Fincher’s timeless classic, and its influence can be felt in most crime thrillers that came after it, for example, Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie’s starrer, The Bone Collector. The two movies feel like they belong to the same universe, but ultimately, the latter felt short. 

The Phillip Noyce directorial feels like a shadow of a masterpiece released just four years earlier because both movies have grim crime plots, twisted killers, and neo-noir aesthetics. Despite their similarities, only one of them became a defining entry in the thriller genre and remains one of the most critically revered movies of all time. 

On the surface, it seems like The Bone Collector and Se7en are cut from the same cloth. They both follow a rookie cop paired with a seasoned investigator trope, and the duo tracks down a sadistic serial killer. Their events unfold in a bleak, grim, and rainy city, and the killer’s identity remains hidden until their final act. 

The dynamics between Denzel Washington’s Rhyme and Angelina Jolie’s Donaghy echo the mentor and mentee relationship that Somerset and Mills shared, played by Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt, respectively. The young detective who’s new to the field is portrayed as headstrong and idealistic, while the more seasoned ones are brilliant yet worn down. 

Even the murderers follow patterns meant to mock police, leaving cryptic clues and brutalized victims as messages, but one could argue that’s simply a serial killer trait. What’s fascinating is that Washington was offered the role of Mills in Se7en, but he turned it down as he found it to be “too demonic” (via Collider). 

Ironically, just years after that, Washington took on the Noyce movie with thematic and structural similarities, where he played a role closer to Freeman’s. And then there’s the Reddit fan theory, which speculates that Leland Orser’s tortured John Doe victim in Se7en (crazed man in massage parlour) is the same person as his character in The Bone Collector, where he is a man who completely transforms after trauma. 

Se7en and The Bone Collector are in the same universe
byu/JudgeKhan inFanTheories

The theory just works well enough to make you wish that it were true because Orser is intense in both movies. But even with these eerie and intriguing connections, only David Fincher’s Se7en has earned itself a respectable and concrete spot in cinematic history.

Se7en is more than a thriller; it’s a descent into philosophical horror with stunning work by David Fincher and a haunting ambiguity. And that’s exactly where The Bone Collector can’t keep up and will not be considered in the same league as the movie that seems to have inspired it in multiple ways. 

Kevin Spacey’s John Doe from Se7en is terrifying because he is guided by an evil and twisted philosophy where each of his murders reflects a deadly sin, and he believes his crimes are a higher form of justice. He isn’t out for personal vengeance like Richard Thompson, who is just mad at his old boss. 

“What’s in the box?” became a pop culture phrase not just because of shock value but the way it made Mills and the audience question their very sense of justice and sanity. We see how Doe ultimately wins in the end as he makes Mills commit Wrath, the final sin. The movie concludes in such despair because evil doesn’t die; it completes its circle. 

Se7en dared to showcase a conflict of worldview, where a nihilist met a righteous optimist, and over time, the latter’s world was turned upside down. It dared to ask: What if evil had a plan, and worse, what if that plan made sense? 

The Bone Collector has a safe, clean, and forgettable ending. Sure, it’s entertaining, but it doesn’t haunt your conscience and doesn’t force you to sit with hard truths. And that’s why, 30 years later, we’re still talking about boxes in fields and decoding what that ending truly meant. So, what are your thoughts on Se7en, and do you think any other movie gets close to its brilliance?