‘Contagion’ Inherited a Grotesque, Legendary Prop From ‘Seven’

Ever since he made his directorial debut in 1992 with Alien 3, David Fincher has delighted in disturbing audiences with horrific stories about the banality of evil. It’s somewhat ironic that Fincher’s first feature was part of a legendary science fiction franchise, as the villains in his films tend to be human. It’s by drawing parallels to reality that Fincher is able to get under the audiences’ skin and unpack the true brutality of human nature. Fincher’s 1995 masterpiece Seven confirms his pessimistic views on fatality with one of the most disturbing plot twists in screen history. If it wasn’t already scary enough, Seven nearly featured a prop of Gwyneth Paltrow’s severed head. While this prop didn’t make it on screen for Fincher’s movie, it was eventually used in Steven Soderbergh’s medical thriller Contagion.

Contagion

Healthcare professionals, government officials and everyday people find themselves in the midst of a pandemic as the CDC works to find a cure.

Release Date

September 8, 2011

Director

Steven Soderbergh

Cast

gwyneth paltrow , Tien You Chui , Josie Ho , Daria Strokous , Matt Damon , Monique Gabriela Curnen

Runtime

106

Main Genre

Drama

Writers

Scott Z. Burns

Studio

Warner Bros.

‘Se7en’ Cut Out Its Most Gruesome Detail

Set within an ambiguous city in which violent crime has become normalized, Seven chronicles the relationship between the veteran police officer William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and the rookie cop David Mills (Brad Pitt). The two law enforcement officers are assigned to track down a particularly brutal serial killer who uses the “seven deadly sins” from the Bible as inspiration for his murders. The film is keen to note the difference between the two lead characters. While Somerset’s life is devoid of close personal relationships, Mills is married to Tracy (Paltrow). Paltrow plays an important role in Seven, despite her limited screen time. The notion that Mills has a normal life outside of his official duties suggests a greater humanity to him.

In the final act of Seven, Somerset and Mills discover that the serial killer John Doe (Kevin Spacey) is the man that they are looking for. As they move Doe to a secure location, a delivery truck arrives that contains Tracy’s severed head. Doe confirms to Mills that his wife was pregnant at the time that she was murdered. A prop of Paltrow’s head was created for Seven, but never used in the final edit. It was decided to instead focus the scenes on Mills’ horrified reaction. In an act of vengeance, he shoots and kills Doe. This has ironically been Doe’s plan from the beginning, but by getting Mills to unleash his inner rage, he has ensured that the cycle of violence will continue.

‘Contagion’ Used a Notable Prop From ‘Se7en’

Seven served as a breakout role for Paltrow, proving that she had the tenacity to work on disturbing films from accomplished auteur filmmakers. She was later cast in the 2011 film Contagion, which chronicles the origin of a highly contagious virus that begins to slowly infect the global population. Paltrow plays Beth Emhoff, a working mother who lives in Minneapolis with her husband Mitch (Matt Damon) and their daughter Jory (Anna Jacoby-Heron). However, Paltrow’s character dies early on in Contagion. After returning from a business trip to Hong Kong, Beth suffers from a debilitating seizure and is rushed to the hospital.

Contagion analyzes the realistic procedures that medical professionals would take when dealing with an illness of unknown origins. Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns included a scene in which an autopsy is performed on Beth and her brain is analyzed for malignant masses. In order to save the actress from spending hours remaining still on the autopsy table, Soderbergh used the prop of Paltrow’s head from Seven for the autopsy scene in Contagion. Nonetheless, Paltrow still filmed a 40-minute-long take of Beth lying still, in which her face was covered with layers of makeup to show the effects of the disease. Soderbergh stated that Paltrow “wanted it to be exactly right.”

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Things could’ve ended quite differently for Somerset and Mills.

As disturbing as the gruesome prop is, the most disturbing aspect of Paltrow’s death in Contagion is how unexpected it is. Killing a major star like Paltrow so early on in the film signified that none of the characters in Contagion were safe from the virus; the viewer had a greater desire to see the rest of the characters survive as a direct result. The film also uses a realistic depiction of nature as its main villain. In the years following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Contagion’s foresight into the ramifications of a global pandemic are eerily prescient.

‘Contagion’ and ‘Se7en’ Are Scary for Different Reasons

While on a narrative level they couldn’t be more different, Seven and Contagion both maximize Paltrow’s character’s deaths to create an atmosphere of anxiety. In both films, the audience has critical details about her character prior to the climactic moments that make them even more tragic. In Seven, Tracy only briefly reveals to Somerset that she is pregnant, but that Mills has no idea; by killing her, Doe has taken the life of both Tracy and her unborn child. Similarly, it’s revealed in Contagion that Beth was having an affair with a former lover while she was at a layover in Chicago. This revelation comes as a crushing one to Mitch when he discovers the truth of his wife’s infidelity later on. It feels as if he is mourning someone that he didn’t truly know.

Although it features one of the most disturbing movie endings of all-time, Seven is perhaps even scarier when it doesn’t show the gore. The film features many gory recreations of Doe’s victims, but it’s merely the suggestion that Tracy’s severed head is in the box that is scariest of all. The viewer is forced to undergo the same sense of denial and shock that Mills does as he begs for it not to be true, realizing that all his efforts to prevent Doe from killing again were made in vain. Comparatively, Contagion evokes horror because of how mundane and procedural the violence is. The autopsy offers a window into reality that suggests that the premise of Contagion is not that far removed from reality. It certainly served as a haunting way to initiate a film that has begun to feel all-too real.

Contagion is currently available to stream on Apple TV+ in the U.S.

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