8 Things We're Sure We've Seen In Films (But Actually Haven't)

At the climax of David Fincher's grotty murder mystery Se7en, detectives Mills and Somerset follow the instructions of serial killer John Doe to a remote location, where a package is promptly delivered to them.

As Mills holds Doe at gunpoint, Somerset heads over to the package and opens it, recoiling in horror at its contents. Doe then declares to Mills that the box contains his wife Tracy's severed head, and Somerset's lack of a denial seems to confirm this. Devastated and incensed, Mills shoots Doe in the head, representing the final sin on Doe's list.

Interestingly, Tracy's head is never shown, yet audiences seem almost universally convinced that they explicitly see it when Somerset opens the box. It's actually just the intense and believable performances of the three lead actors, Morgan Freeman in particular, which give such a sense of certainty as to Tracy's fate.

Fincher actually specifically stated to producers that the audience would definitely not see Tracy's head, leaving much of the horror to the imagination - the only way he could get the ending approved. Another source of confusion could be that for a brief moment (literally 2 frames) before Mills shoots Doe, Tracy's face flashes up on-screen. This is, however, a shot of her alive.