**Everyone knows what's in the box. Everyone knows Malcolm's secret. So which '90s thriller still works when the twist is gone?**
This week on CinemaJam Versus: **Se7en** (1995, David Fincher) vs. **The Sixth Sense** (1999, M. Night Shyamalan). Pablo picked two of the most influential thrillers of the '90s, and it turned into the longest Versus we've ever recorded. Six rounds, a wildcard, and a final score decided by a single point.
We get into Fincher's rain-soaked nameless city vs. Shyamalan's "red means the other world," Toni Collette's Oscar-nominated performance, Nine Inch Nails over the most copied opening credits of the decade, and a new Round 6: **which of these two movies has Hollywood tried to copy the most?**
⚠️ **Full spoilers for both films from Round 1 onward.**
**In the ring**
- **Se7en (1995):** directed by David Fincher, written by Andrew Kevin Walker. Starring Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey.
- **The Sixth Sense (1999):** written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Starring Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams and Donnie Wahlberg.
**Final score: 4–3.** One point separated them, and it took a wildcard to settle it. Watch to find out which twist holds up.
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## Timestamps
- 00:00 — Cold open: two movies where the whole internet already knows the ending
- 02:21 — Welcome and how the Versus format works
- 04:48 — Setting the stage: from The Silence of the Lambs (1991) to Se7en (1995) to The Sixth Sense (1999)
- 06:30 — Why Pablo picked these two
- 08:06 — **Round 1: Script.** Take away the twist, which script holds up from minute one?
- 16:32 — **Round 2: Acting.** Freeman and Pitt vs. Willis, Osment and Collette (plus the story of both films)
- 31:35 — **Round 3: Direction.** Endless rain vs. deliberate red, and what each director did next
- 37:38 — **Round 4: Soundtrack.** Howard Shore and Nine Inch Nails vs. James Newton Howard's whispers
- 40:17 — **Round 5: Memorable Moments.** One scene each, and the endings don't count
- 49:03 — **Round 6: Most Copied.** Which movie have we seen over and over inside other movies?
- 57:13 — **Wildcard: Plot Hole Olympics**
- 59:35 — Winner reveal
- 59:53 — Coming up on Versus: Possessor vs. Humane, then The Devil's Backbone vs. The Others
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## Movies and people mentioned
- **The Silence of the Lambs** (1991): the procedural both films build on (and the source of Se7en's composer and The Sixth Sense's cinematographer)
- **Alien 3**, **Fight Club**, **The Game**, **Zodiac**, **The Social Network**, **Gone Girl** and **The Killer**: Fincher before and after Se7en
- **Signs**, **The Village** and **Split**: Shyamalan after The Sixth Sense
- **Lethal Weapon** and **The Crow**: the rookie-and-veteran formula and the always-raining city
- **Kiss the Girls**, **Along Came a Spider**, **Under Suspicion** and **High Crimes**: Morgan Freeman's detective era
- **Kyle Cooper**'s opening title sequence for Se7en and "Closer" by **Nine Inch Nails**
- **Carnival of Souls** (1962) and **Jacob's Ladder** (1990): the twist before The Sixth Sense
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## Coming up on CinemaJam Versus
- **Next week:** Possessor vs. Humane. Brandon and Caitlin Cronenberg, and what they inherited from their father.
- **September 30:** The Devil's Backbone vs. The Others. Two 2001 ghost stories by Spanish-speaking directors (Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro Amenábar), for Hispanic Heritage Month.
Which one wins for you, Se7en or The Sixth Sense? Tell us in the comments.
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