“Seven” is, as López put it, “masterful.” It epitomizes a certain type of crime thriller that has been consistently emulated since its 1995 release. But Fincher and writer Andrew Kevin Walker’s usage of the audience’s imagination against them is what has always stuck with me. Throughout the film, we’re shown plenty of gruesome crime scenes but we never actually witness any of the seven deadly sins murders take place. Even the film’s infamous ending refrains from showing us exactly what’s in the box — because our imaginations are capable of dreaming up worse horrors than Fincher could ever depict.
But every now and then, even the director isn’t above terrifying the absolute pants off us all with a good old jump scare, and “Seven” contains one of the best and most disturbing examples. Mid-way through the film, Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt’s detective duo discover the “sloth” crime scene, featuring a victim played by Michael Reid McKay who’s shackled to a bed and has seemingly been starved to death. But just as we’re coming to terms with the grim image of his emaciated body, that body comes to life, writhing and screaming in what is one of the most hauntingly terrifying scenes in crime thriller history.
Aside from the “sloth” victim makeup being torturous enough in and of itself, the moment when the body awakens might be the most upsetting thing in the whole of “Seven” — aside from the ending, that is. Oh, and that bladed sex “toy.” Come to think of it, “Seven” is pretty upsetting throughout. But it seems the “sloth” victim was what stood out to López, who created her very own version of the scene in the opening of “Night Country” episode 2.