10 Last-Minute Changes That Saved Horror Movies

Few movie endings have been more harrowing than Se7en's "What's in the box?" sequence, where Detectives Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Mills (Brad Pitt) bring serial killer John Doe (Kevin Spacey) to the supposed resting place of his final victims.

When a courier drops off a box, Somerset is horrified to see it contains the decapitated head of Mills' pregnant wife, Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow). Since John Doe's murders represent the Seven Deadly Sins, he expects Mills to kill him, embracing the final sin, Wrath. Somerset begs his partner to stand down, telling him it'll destroy his career, but unable to control his rage, Mills blows Doe's brains out, allowing evil to triumph.

As powerful as this scene is, it only came to be thanks to a misunderstanding. The original script, written by Andrew Kevin Walker, was deemed too dark by the producers, compelling Walker to rewrite it. The new draft had a much tamer ending, with the box containing a dog's head.

By a stroke of luck, director David Fincher received the first script by mistake and fell in love with the downer ending. Although the producers were dead against it, Fincher and Pitt refused to shoot the scene any other way. And since Pitt's clause said he had final say on how Se7en played out, he got his wish.

Thanks to a happy accident, Fincher's passion, and Pitt's stubbornness, this iconic ending saw the light of day.