MovieChat Forums > Se7en (1995) Discussion > (Spoilers) The Box

(Spoilers) The Box


I first saw this film about 15 years ago, and I'd remembered in horrific detail seeing Tracy's head in the box, it had burned into my memory completely, one of the most disturbing images I'd ever seen on film.

Then I watched it again today... the scene doesn't exist, we never see the inside of the box, we never see the head, it's a complete fabrication of my memory. I'm still having trouble believing it.

I feel like there must be an alternate version or something, but I've searched the internet, there doesn't appear to be any such version.

The human memory, such a deceitful thing.

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There isn't any such version, as you say - it was never filmed. Over the years, however, it's become something of an urban myth that such footage does exist. Arguably, it's a testament to the power of suggestion - the old horror films always relied on the viewer's imagination more than on explicit images, and this is a similar example.

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The human memory, such a deceitful thing.


Indeed. Like the people who remember the Berenstein Bears.

Let's be bad guys.

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@monosyllabicmike: I believe you are right. I saw this movie with my then-husband at the cinema when it first came out here in Australia, and I clearly remember seeing Tracy's head in the box and getting a real fright. I gasped and grabbed onto my husband's arm.

I rewatched the film a few days ago on Netflix and was puzzled because there was no view inside the box like I remembered and I was waiting for it. I rang my ex and asked him what he remembered and he said there definitely was a scene where you saw Tracy's head inside the box and that he and I had talked later about how scary it was. He jokingly reckoned that the imprint of my fingers was still on his arm from when I grabbed him.

Other people are remembering it too. The poster "alanwescoat" on this forum describes perfectly what I remember seeing: https://www.reddit.com/r/MandelaEffect/comments/3kefx1/did_anyone_else_see_gwyneth_paltrows_head_in_the/

And check out the posts by "AroundMyHorn" on this forum: http://my350z.com/forum/entertainment/561912-did-we-see-gwyneth-paltrow-s-head-in-the-box-in-the-movie-seven.html

It definitely was NOT the subliminal flash shot of Tracy. That occurs AFTER the head in the box scene. It was longer than a subliminal flash shot.

I think the movie has been changed since the original release and I don't think it's the first time or the first movie it has happened to. I think that people who are claiming the scene never existed are easily duped. Some memories distort with time, but many remain very accurate and it is a crucial part of life to be able to rely on them. In the legal system, for example, people's lives can depend on accurate witness memories. We need to question why figures in power or authority are doing things to undermine our trust in our accurate memories. Wake up, sheeple!

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Memories are distorted over time. The scene didn't exist.

Let's be bad guys.

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There is a brief, almost subliminal, shot of Tracy during that final scene, but it's a kind of mental flash that Mills has - he never actually looks inside the box. I think this is what most people remember when they think they saw the head in the box.

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No Crystal, There was definitely no shot of the head in the box. I saw Seven twice in 1995, in Australian Cinemas and remember that seen vividly.

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It was never shown in any version.

Please stop.

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