30 Years Later, This 95% Rotten Tomatoes Thriller Blew Up MAX Top 10

Summary:

• Seven, David Fincher's 1995 cult thriller, suddenly became one of the most watched movies on Max.
• Perhaps the increased interest is related to True Detective, the most watched show on Max, with which the movie has much in common.
• Seven was Fincher's breakthrough and an exemplary thriller whose influence on the genre can only be compared to that of Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs.

Unexpectedly, the 1995 film has broken into Max's top 10, becoming one of the platform's most-watched movies in the US in February. And yes, this is David Fincher's cult thriller starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, Seven.

Perhaps the renewed interest in crime classics can be attributed to the recently concluded fourth season of True Detective, Night Country, which is the number one most-watched show on Max. Why? Because True Detective is Seven, only in TV show form.

Seven Has a Lot in Common with True Detective Season 1

An attentive viewer will easily recognize important parallels between Fincher's film and Nic Pizzolato's series, especially the first season. First of all, there are the psychological types and the relationship dynamics. The basis of the characters in the Cohle/Hart duo is identical to that of the Somerset/Mills duo: a pessimistic intellectual loner versus a family man.

Their opposition runs throughout the plot, and the detectives' positions never converge, even though their friendship withstands the test of time and some very serious arguments. The same persistence of differences can be seen in Seven: for example, in the dialog in the bar when Mills and Somerset argue about whether life has meaning.

But it is best seen in the final scenes, where Mills and Somerset question the madman about the reasons for his actions – for the former, John Doe is just another madman, while the latter sees a dark but clear logic in his actions.

Seven Was Fincher’s Breakthrough Project

At the time of its release, Seven not only earned an impressive box office gross and flattering reviews from critics, but also – and this is only apparent in hindsight – was years ahead of its time, setting the standard by which many filmmakers working in the horror and thriller genres were subsequently guided.

In terms of influence on these genres, Seven can only be compared to The Silence of the Lambs, although Jonathan Demme's film had a literary basis and Fincher's work was based on the original script.

Seven became Fincher's breakthrough film – after the lukewarm reception of the third Alien, the director did not really want to return to cinema, but in the end, as we know, it was the story about two detectives that made him one of the iconic auteurs of the 1990s and 2000s – and the success of Seven was the reason we saw such gems as Fight Club and Zodiac, another story about a serial killer.