The Big Picture

  • 'Se7en' revolutionized the thriller genre with its engaging mystery and likable characters, inspiring a wave of similar films in the years following its release.
  • The rise of faith-based horror films was influenced by 'Se7en's exploration of deep spiritual themes and its success in reaching wide audiences.
  • Despite the failure of early Christian horror films, recent successes like 'Nefarious' indicate a potential resurgence in the genre, proving that well-written and well-produced films with religious themes can appeal to a broad audience.

David Fincher's Se7en is widely regarded as one of the best thrillers in recent memory. Its tight script, slick cinematography, tragic themes, and impeccable performances have gone down in film history and have inspired numerous filmmakers to explore similar "meditations on evil." Starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman as two hardened detectives patrolling an unnamed metropolis, they soon find themselves on a case that involves a John Doe killer (Kevin Spacey) "preaching" through the Seven Deadly Sins. Though these sins aren't actually compiled as such in the biblical narrative, their connection to the Catholic Church and Christian theology makes Se7en a strange example of a religious thriller that challenges our heroes' perceptions of right and wrong, good and evil, and even the question of God. Now that this Fincher picture is on Max, it's the perfect time to take a look at how Se7en changed the Christian horror landscape.

se7en-movie-poster
Se7en
R
Crime
Mystery
Thriller
Drama

Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.

Release Date
September 22, 1995
Director
David Fincher
Cast
Brad Pitt , Morgan Freeman , gwyneth paltrow , R. Lee Ermey , Daniel Zacapa
Runtime
127 minutes
Writers
andrew kevin walker
Studio
New Line Cinema
Tagline
Seven deadly sins. Seven ways to die.

'Se7en' Inspired a New Wave of Religiously-Fueled Thrillers

It's easy to understand why Se7en is still widely acclaimed by audiences and critics to this day. The thriller is a masterclass in how to engage audiences in a complex and deeply disturbing mystery that's driven by likable characters in an unlikable world. Director David Fincher is truly a master at suspense, and the entire "What's in the box?" sequence still invokes feelings of fear and dread (not to mention wrath) all these years later. It's not a surprise then that, as they've done countless times before, Hollywood would try and recapture some of this nervous energy that spawned out of the era of Satanic Panic. No doubt, Se7en's complex plot and compelling characters influenced plenty of other detective thrillers and horror flicks in the immediate years after.

The 1998 Denzel Washington supernatural thriller Fallen is an excellent example. The film follows a cop on the tail of an apocalyptic serial killer, one who uses cryptic messages and symbols relating to demonology and the biblical Apocalypse to mess with our hero's head. It's a great film, one that has since gained a cult following after being slept on for years, but it wouldn't be the only Se7en copycat to attempt to ride off Fincher's coattails. In 2000, Bill Paxton directed a psychological thriller, Frailty, which challenged our perceptions of those who are "commanded by God" to do terrible things. Both these films, along with a heap of others around this time that include Resurrection, the Arnold Schwarzenegger-led End of Days, and even the multi-season Chris Carter series Millennium, took apparent inspiration from Fincher's classic. Or, were at the very least green-lit because of its success - all the while creating distinct characters and worlds of their own. Whether intentional or not, Se7en made an explosive impact on Hollywood, but it didn't end there.

As Se7en continued to produce various copycat thrillers and inspired a resurgence in supernatural or apocalyptic detective mysteries (ironic, given that Se7en itself contains no supernatural elements), it primed Christian and otherwise religious moviegoers for content that would be tailored specifically to them. Though, religiously-fueled mystery thrillers weren't exactly new to most Christian audiences. The late '90s and early 2000s were rife with Christian thriller novels like the Left Behind series that caught the Evangelical world by storm. Movies like Se7en that could touch on these deep spiritual themes and ideas on a grander scale were just the final straw that opened the floodgates for the rise of faith-based horror. Soon after, Hollywood caught onto the trend.

Faith-Based Movie Studios Pushed the Subgenre Forward

20th Century Fox was the first major Hollywood studio to get involved in the faith-based horror scene. Hoping to cash in on the Se7en model and the explosive popularity of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, Fox saw the Evangelical market as untapped potential and the studio intended to use that to its advantage. By 2006, the studio had launched its FoxFaith imprint, a division made specifically to match faith-based films with religious audiences. These movies were to have the production value of bigger studio pictures and were expected to gross exceptionally well. Of course, Fox wasn't the only studio to catch on to the growing Christian audience. Soon, Sony, MGM, and Lionsgate all had their own faith-based wings or partnerships, but only one of them worked hard to make the "Christian horror movie" happen, and that was Namesake Entertainment.

Namesake Entertainment was founded in 1996, just one year after Se7en was released, and produced a cable thriller, a Disney Channel Original Movie, and the first feature film adaptation of the Left Behind series (yes, the Kirk Cameron one) before it gained enough traction to venture into stricter horror territory. The production company's relationship with veteran Hollywood producer Ralph Winter, known for his work on the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Star Trek films, opened the door for a partnership with 20th Century Fox. To build a bigger brand, Fox and Namesake sought to enlist the hottest Christian authors to lead the charge and adapt their already popular works for the big screen. If Se7en could reach vast audiences, the question was, why couldn't they produce "high-quality, life-affirming family entertainment for values–seeking general audiences" that could do the same? This is where famed thriller authors Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker come in.

The Works of Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker Were The Blueprint For These B-Pictures

Edward Furlong as Brandon Nichols in 'The Visitation.'
Image via 20th Century Fox

Frank Peretti, once described as a "sanctified Stephen King," had been well-known in Evangelical Christian circles since the mid-1980s with the release of his groundbreaking novel This Present Darkness. The book blended the supernatural world of angels and demons with a college-town conspiracy that threatened to darken the souls of Ashton. It quickly became his most notable work, spawning a sequel, Piercing the Darkness, and other supernatural mystery thrillers such as The Oath, Prophet, and Monster. Likewise, the works of Ted Dekker, another prolific Christian thriller novelist, were brought to the attention of Fox. Dekker had written various popular novels, such as Blink, Obsessed, and The Circle Series, and would go on to write many more. Because of their popularity among Evangelical readers––and their similarity in style and subject matter to films like Se7en––they became a clear basis for these faith-based horrors.

Peretti's Hangman's Curse - geared more towards younger audiences - became a feature film in 2003, the first of his works to be adapted by a major Hollywood studio. Although the film bombed at the box office due to some sub-par marketing, DVD sales, TV rights, and international distribution saved the production, encouraging Fox to pursue this venture further. The next adaptation of Peretti's work, The Visitation, was released straight to DVD in 2006. A thriller about a small-town healer who claims to be the Second Coming of Christ himself, this one starred Martin Donovan, Edward Furlong, Kelly Lynch, and Randy Travis, who all play their parts well for such a dry script. Truthfully, The Visitation (which was a much better novel) feels more like your standard episode of The X-Files or Supernatural rather than an exciting, big-budget supernatural horror, but it tries its best.

Related
How 'Se7en's Use of Color Foreshadows Its Ending
These colors represent the two most fateful sins to the ending.

With the official launch of FoxFaith in 2006, the studio released a film adaptation of Dekker's psychological thriller Thr3e, which starred Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum, Marc Blucas, as their flagship product in 2007. The film––which clearly stole its title and color scheme directly from Se7en––was in theaters for just over two weeks before it was pulled, making only half of its budget back. Due to the film's plot and psychological themes, Thr3e was criticized as being a rip-off of Se7en, Saw, and the screenplay written by Nicolas Cage's character in the movie Adaptation, though that's not exactly a fair criticism. While the marketing clearly took some cues from Fincher's feature, Dekker's original novel was released in 2003, a full year before Saw and only about six months after Adaptation came out. Admittedly, the movie invokes Saw and Se7en on numerous occasions, just without clearly defined stakes. You might not see the movie's final twist coming, but that doesn't mean it's anything to write home about.

Faith-Based Horror Died Out Just As Soon As It Began

Marc Blucas and Justine Waddell as Kevin Parson and Jennifer Peters in 'Thr3e.'
Image via FoxFaith

After this final failure, FoxFaith gave up on faith-based horrors, moving its brand towards uplifting content that included biblical epics, period romance, and other dramas. However, other studios still saw potential in the Christian horror scene, prompting Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions to team up with Namesake to adapt Peretti and Dekker's collaboration novel, House. After all, if Peretti and Dekker are good on their own (and they certainly are), then wouldn't they be better together? You'd think so. Directed by Robby Henson, the man who had directed The Visitation and Thr3e previously, House starred Michael Madsen as the "Tin Man" with Lance Henriksen providing the character's voice and followed two couples in rural Alabama as they found themselves running from a maniac who claims to have "killed God." In another case of "the book was better," House wasn't quite the hit they were looking for.

With a $2.5 million budget, House made just over a million dollars during its limited theatrical release and, unlike its predecessors, didn't make waves on home video. Combined with some terrible reviews, House put a halt to any future Christian horror productions based on the works of Peretti and Dekker. Namesake Entertainment folded not long after that. With no companies striving to create more Christian thrillers for the big screen, this B-movie sub-genre crashed and burned before it even got off the runway. Sony would venture into faith-based horror territory on one more occasion with the 2014 Affirm Films release of The Remaining, but this found-footage apocalyptic thriller (which starred Alexa Vega and Shaun Sipos) was a one-and-done production. Of course, there was also the Nicolas Cage Left Behind reboot, but that movie's hardly worth the mention...

So why did these films ultimately fail? Well, for one, none of these pictures starred current, big names. That's not to say the actors involved don't perform well, but they struggle to bring these low-budget and often uneven scripts to life. For some reason, the studios didn't hire either Peretti or Dekker to adapt their own work, but had they done so, these films may have been better just on principle. There's also the issue of the film's production quality. These Christian horror productions put the B in B-movie, which is a real shame given they had some excellent source material to work from. The Visitation is a fascinating concept that criticizes cults, cult leaders, and blind followers (not to mention the hyper-charismatic movement), all the while being a story of broken faith. There's a lot to work with from Peretti's original novel, but because of the poor execution, the film doesn't quite get off the ground.

These 'Se7en'-Inspired Films Didn't Succeed, But Christian Horror Is Back On The Rise

Sean Patrick Flanery as Edward Wayne Brady in 'Nefarious'
Image via Soli Deo Gloria Releasing

This patch of Christian horror films might not have worked out so well, but the 2020s have seen some faith-based filmmakers tackle the horror genre yet again. In 2023, former God's Not Dead directors Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon co-wrote and directed the film Nefarious, itself based on two books by Steve Deace. Nefarious acts as a sort of modern take on the C.S. Lewis classic The Screwtape Letters, looking at the evils of the world through the eyes of one of the very literal and real demons behind them. Interestingly enough, Nefarious itself takes cues from thrillers from the Se7en-era, including Fallen and even The Silence of the Lambs, albeit with a very distinct message. And, what's better, is that Nefarious is actually good by comparison.

The general success and positive reception of Nefarious might give audiences hope that Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker could one day be adapted correctly for the screen. Since this feature is getting both a sequel and a subsequent television series, Christian horror may be taking off again. In fact, the literal book on the subject, Christian Horror: On the Compatibility of a Biblical Worldview and the Horror Genre by Mike Duran, himself a horror author, was just re-released as a second edition in 2023. There are other modern Christian horror stories worth exploring too on the big screen, such as screenwriter Sean Paul Murphy's 2020 novel Chapel Street, itself marketed as the cross between The Conjuring and Hereditary. Likewise, Brian James Godawa's Cruel Logic, which itself was originally conceived as a Se7en-inspired short film starring Tony Hale, is itching for a feature-length production.

Christian-Based Horror Can Be Enjoyed by All Audiences

However, there is one large issue with this wave of Se7en-inspired Christian horrors — the label is unnecessary. This isn't to say that catering to a religious audience is bad, nor is it foolish to make faith-based horror films. Quite the opposite. Adapting from the works of Peretti and Dekker is an excellent idea, as they could be easily marketed to general audiences, not just Evangelical ones. Christian themes and religion have already been a part of the horror genre for over a hundred years. Bram Stoker's Dracula deals with issues of faith, religion, and horror, all while pulling in both religious and non-religious audiences. The countless movie adaptations and interpretations of Dracula have stayed true to this, with the faith of Abraham Van Helsing and his companions usually intact. The Count himself literally can't go into the light or near a crucifix — It doesn't get more Christian than that!

Likewise, demonic-based horrors such as The Conjuring series are rife with Christianity, both in theme and in content. In fact, the first two Conjuring installments were written by brothers Chad Hayes and Carey Hayes, two Baptists whose faith inspired the original movies. They also wrote religiously-inspired horrors such as The Crucifixion and The Reaping, the latter of which is reminiscent of Se7en. This isn't even to mention how The Nun ends with the demon Valek defeated by the literal blood of Jesus Christ. But the moral of the story is this; audiences are willing to engage with movies that highlight religious themes and content, they just need to be well-written and well-produced. And Se7en is, by far, one of the best examples.

Se7en is available to stream on Max in the U.S.

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