Seven versus Heretic Analysis: Faith, Fear, and Fury in Religious Thrillers
Religious thriller is a film genre that is nothing new but has been gaining more fame due to its
Religious thriller is a film genre that is nothing new but has been gaining more fame due to its captivating storytelling tactics. Taking religion as the factual element, probably to instill more faith in God or to differentiate between good and evil are some of the core focus features of these thrillers.
This post will scrutinize two of the most iconic movies of their respective eras: Seven versus Heretic. The former is a 1990s movie where the latter is the most recent example of the said genre.
Plot and Storylines of Seven (1995) and Heretic (2024)
Seven (1995)
A retiring police detective William Somerset (played by Morgan Freeman) needs to finish one final case before he leaves the unnamed, crime-ridden city and is assisted by the newly transferred David Mills (played by Brad Pitt).
Their case is about a series of elaborate and vicious murders, truly doings of a serial killer. They don’t take long to realize that the killer is targeting all those who represent one of the seven deadly sins: gluttony, greed, sloth, lust, pride, envy, and wrath.
Themes of human depravity, justice, and sin are blatantly evident. The main idea is to live a pure human life. No matter how attractive the devilish sins are, the world needs our chaste efforts. Revisit the trailer here:
Heretic (2024)
Two young Christian missionaries are caught by diabolical Mr. Reed as they knock on his door to strengthen his faith. Rather he is the one testing their faith in a deadly game of cat and mouse. They are trapped via manipulation until they answer one simple question: what is one true religion?
Themes of religious manipulation, guilt, and personal sacrifice are discernible. Exploring the nature of belief and control is the main idea of the film since Mormon missionaries’ own beliefs are used to exploit them. Here is the trailer:
Want to read a similar feature article? Head to “One Shot Technique of Birdman“.
Key Characters
Seven
Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) is the old, world-weary, practical, relativistic, and cynical detective who has a pessimistic lens of seeing the world. On the other hand, Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) is although naive, but he has a strong desire to make a difference, views justice as a matter of following the law, and is greatly rule-bound.
The antagonist, John Doe (Kevin Spacey) has a twisted view of the world and that is his motive for the murders. He believes the world is full of sins and he has a purpose in life- to purify the world by punishing those who have committed the deadly sins. He is calm and collected, and seemingly sadistic- he loves the suffering of others.
Heretic
Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) are the two Missionaries who are ensnared in the terrifying situation at Mr. Reed’s house.
Sister Barnes is more confident and assertive in her statements. She has seen a lot of tragedies and thus, possesses a fearless demeanor. On the contrary, Sister Paxton is timid and seems more drawn to the butterfly at Reed’s wall.
Mr. Reed is the main antagonist, a calm, corrupt, and controlling person, just like Seven’s villain. He is dangerously manipulative and exploits religion and regulation from all directions.
Religious and Philosophical Themes
In Heretic, Mr. Reed (played by Hugh Grant) believes that one true religion is control and that faith and spiritual guidance are fake. The theme is broadly based on theology and faith.
In Seven, the broad themes are seven deadly sins according to Christian teachings, which is different from Heretic. The role of the seven deadly sins was embedded in the killer’s actions as he used the exact framework for targeting individuals. At the end of the film, Detective Mills is the last target for the sin of wrath.
With Seven, a sub-genre of faith-based movies was pushed forward, and 20th Century Fox Studios was amongst the first ones to do so, as per Collider.
Seven showed that evil is self-destructive. A reflection on morality, justice, and the nature of evil is demonstrated in detail with every sin’s repercussions in the form of death. The moral judgments of the audience were challenged by a discovery of basic human philosophies about religion.
Heretic investigates the very agenda of religious beliefs, neither refusing nor affirming its existence, rather aiming to discover its influence on human behavior. The tension between individual beliefs and the fundamentals of the religious cults is openly questioned which creates a philosophical drama of sacrifice and control.
If a bit of interweaving of their themes is scrutinized, it is observed that sins and control overlap in both. Why? Because God has forbidden us from sins and that is how he controls us. He surely punishes when humans do not obey Him and that is where the ultimate punishment, in the form of malicious deaths seen in Seven, is encountered.
Tone and Atmosphere
Despite being filmed almost three decades apart, the tone and atmosphere setting are taken into account meticulously. Screen Rant noted that it is always raining in Seven, which was necessary to build a dark, harrowing, gothic, and rich dystopian atmosphere.
The oppressive atmosphere was the need of the film’s narrative so that the grim features remained intact, in order to grab the viewer’s attention and deliver depth.
Alternatively, Heretic’s eerie and psychological terror creeps through the viewers’ bones and creates an impact impossible to forget. The unsettling ambiance in the first fifteen minutes, which was also obvious in Seven, for which AV Club via Letterboxd cited an interview with Seven’s director, David Fincher, saying,
“I love anybody who grabs you by the ears and shakes your head and goes, ‘Pay attention. This is a vibe and it’s important you endure it.’ I think that stuff goes a long way to setting the stage for what’s coming next.”
By this, he meant it is supremely important to get attention right from the beginning, which both of these films did quite smartly. Psychological tension and manipulation of a trivial thing like a blueberry pie was a clever idea to set the paranoiac tone right from the start.
Cinematic Style and Direction
David Fincher’s Approach in Seven
The thin line between order and chaos is only possible with David Fincer’s approach comprising attention to detail, pacing, and visual symbolism. It is deliberately filmed in color noir and conventional lighting to get the feel of the postmodern era and convey the darker era. The visual choices are aptly thought for crafting a sense of dread, offering a groundbreaking cinematic experience. The grimy settings and stark lighting are surely a trademark of Fincher’s aesthetics only.
Heretic’s Direction and Visual Style
It’s slick, edgy, and modern. Although the colors and lighting are more high-definition, it still holds strong to the dark feel with visual motifs that asked for careful planning throughout the film.
The directors’ use of suspense was what kept the movie going as the movie itself wasn’t visually stunning. Don’t be mad because that was the demand of the atmospheric settings.
Camera angles were minimal to focus on the character’s facial expressions so as to instill fear in the minds of the viewers. Mise-en-scene was sagaciously thought of since an isolated house with heavy rain and religious imagery were deemed perfect to create the film’s unsettling claustrophobic nature.
What is the Audience Reception and Legacy of Seven Versus Heretic?
Seven’s Impact on the Religious Thriller Genre
Seven created a pop culture phenomenon, an almost cult-like fan following as the audience loved its grim atmosphere, compelling performance, and gut-wrenching ending.
The biggest groundshaking question that it left along with generally favorable reviews was, “What’s in the box?”
Brad Pitt mentioned to GQ that he got two things added to his contract before signing for this film.
“I got in my contract when I did Seven…The wife’s head stays in the box. And the character kills John Doe.”
Critical reception was massive since it gained an 84 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. The overall critics’ review appraised the feature by accrediting it as a “brutal, relentlessly grim shocker with taut performances”.
How did the fans greet it? By calling it “the best movie of its genre” and “arguably Fincher’s best” output so far with excellent performances from Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman.
Overall the film opened a new dimension for us to think about the depiction of a dark and morally corrupt world in such an era when the internet and social media weren’t common with bleak and nihilistic tones, and people weren’t exposed to brutality of the actual world so close as is now.
Heretic’s Reception and impact on the genre
Heretic was a masterpiece of its own as it left some people disturbed about the thought-provoking nature of religion. Whether an actual religion exists or not and its deeper lines on atheism were some of the aspects that caused an inevitable psychological tension, earning it a smooth positive reception.
It is more of a paradox in terms of Hugh Grant’s role. Fans called him “at his best while being his worst” in IMDb user reviews. Conversely, critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes called Grant “infectious fun-playing type” in a religious horror that gave “cerebral chills.”
Heretic has a serious impact on the religious horror genre that scouts themes of faith, manipulation, and societal control, covering a nuanced approach to religious extremism but, with charisma- more precisely, Grant’s charisma.
Heretic’s directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods couldn’t praise Grant enough on how he gave an iconic performance. They said,
“So when it comes to the way he weaponizes certain tics we’re familiar with, my intuition would be that he’s not even thinking about that. Every single take with him is slightly different, because he’s so present, and he just is the character at that point.” [Source]
Here is a tabular comparison of how both films did:
| Seven (1995) | Heretic (2024) |
| Genre: Psychological thriller, serial killer, crime, cop drama, legal drama, mystery | Genre: Psychological horror, psychological thriller |
| IMDb rating: 8.6 | IMDb rating: 7.0 |
| Rotten Tomatoes: 84 percent on Tomatometer and 95 percent on Popcornmeter | Rotten Tomatoes: 91 percent on Tomatometer and 76 percent on Popcornmeter |
| Cast: Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Spacey, R. Lee Ermey, | Cast: Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East |
| Director: David Fincher | Directors: Scott Beck and Bryan Woods |
| Writer: Andrew Kevin Walker | Writers: Scott Beck and Bryan Woods |
| Producers: Arnold Kopelson, Phyllis Carlyle | Producers: Stacey Sher, Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, Julia Glausi, Jeanette Volturno |
| Release date: September 22, 1995 | Release date: November 8, 2024 |
| Movie runtime: 2 hours 7 minutes | Movie runtime: 1 hour 51 minutes |
Wrapping Up…
Religious horror genre has come a long way from the 1990s till contemporary times but the condition remains the same: analyzing human conditions through supernatural and sacred themes. People are mesmerized by this niche as it taps into their obsession with God, the dark reality of life, and spirituality.
Both Seven and Heretic are magnum opus in their respective niches, as one of them is a direct satire on the belief of God while the other reflects upon sins as a source of punishment, and whether people would take a lesson and use them as a source of redemption.
Two different approaches in these two flicks were used but the essence of human nature and belief system are inherent in both. Both use religion as a tool for digging deep into the consequences of an unchecked moral system with the psychological unraveling of faith, leaving us awe-struck in every era.
What do you think is the moral message of Seven? How does Heretic challenge religious beliefs? Let us know in the comments.
