Last weekend, Lisa and I rented the 2004 thriller/gore movie Saw, the first in a seemingly never-ending series of similar films, each subsequent one progressing more toward the “gore” end of the spectrum. The group of films, with an upcoming video game and amusement park ride, shows no visible signs of an end to the narrative, something that I think is crucial to any successful work (see Lost during season 3, when it was announced that the show would end after six seasons). In fact, Saw VII was just announced for release, presumably around Halloween 2010, which is a nice segue to the movie we rented last night, 1995’s Seven (also marketed as “Se7en,” and will be referred to as such here). It stars two dudes you’ve probably heard of, namely Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. As it turns out, Saw is based on is Se7en, only made nine years later and dumbed down greatly, though not beyond recognition.

Se7en is also the name of a South Korean pop singer.

So what does Se7en have going for it that Saw lacks? I’m glad I asked.

Both films have a serial killer antagonist who murders people in order to teach them/society a lesson about humanity (or lack thereof!). Both killers are semi-creepy, bald, white dudes. Se7en’s “Jigsaw Killer” (a.k.a. John Kramer) doesn’t have an end game for his killing, though, leaving the door open for torture and mutilation in dozens of victims, and allowing it to be carried on by his apprentices in sequels. The killer in Se7en (a literal John Doe) has a more concise vision: kill one person for each of the seven deadly sins, as an example to society.

• The winner here is Se7en, although it has a slight advantage in that John Doe has a fair bit of screen time and dialogue with the two detectives on his trail, whereas the Jigsaw Killer’s identity is only revealed at the end of Saw, in a pretty cool twist (and if you’re into sequels, the Saw series is full of twists).

Both films depict unnamed cities, full of heartless criminals at its worst and hopeless, jaded citizens at its best. The killers hold a grudge against these cities and the people in them, taking out the proverbial trash in order to make them better places. The Jigsaw Killer makes this clear to his victims in films shortly before their deaths, while John Doe reveals his motives to the detectives after being captured.

• In Se7en’s city, it’s always raining. The sky isn’t even shown onscreen until the detectives take John Doe out into the desert, where his final victims (Envy, Wrath) are revealed. Other than Pitt and Freeman, law enforcement officials are unscrupulous and easily bribed. The streets are full of trash. All in all, it’s not a nice place to be. Meanwhile, the city in Saw lacks any real character. A somewhat cliché parking garage scene makes for a nice mise-en-scène, but is too isolated. The industrial bathroom in which the film’s “protagonists” are chained is filthy and falling apart, but also set apart from the actual city. Here Se7en wins again.

Finally, both films feature an older, more experienced but also jaded African-American detective mentoring a fresh face, ready to fight crime. Both black detectives express discomfort with the city and society, similar to the killers’ but with (obviously) different ways of dealing with it. The winner?

• Morgan Freeman vs. Danny Glover? You knew the answer before the question was even posed. Se7en wins again.

There are other aspects to these films that I haven’t covered, but in the interest of concision and due to the fact that the newer of these films is already five years old, I’m cutting this comparison off here. Feel free to post your own thoughts below, in the comments section. I’ll leave you with the parting words in Se7en: “Ernest Hemingway once wrote, ‘The world is a fine place and worth fighting for.’ I agree with the second part.”

Now imagine those words spoken with Morgan Freeman’s soothing, satisfying voice.