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This article contains spoilers for The Little Things and Seven.

Critics have not been kind to The Little Things, the new Warner Bros./HBO Max psychological thriller starring Denzel Washington and Rami Malek as two Los Angeles cops obsessed with catching a vicious serial killer. Although the film is apparently doing very decent business–especially on the streaming end–it sits at a mediocre 48 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with many comparing it to the 1995 classic Seven. In that juxtaposition, The Little Things is coming up short.

On the surface, there are a number of similarities between writer-director John Lee Hancock’s new police melodrama and David Fincher’s masterpiece from 25 years ago. Yet despite parallels in the two films’ plot structure, character relationships, settings, and themes, there are key differences that set them apart upon a closer look. These distinctions may also provide The Little Things with a more level critical playing field.

The case of the Hillside Strangler confounded California police in the in the late 1970s. At least 10 women and girls were raped and murdered in the Hollywood Hills — and the entire city was on edge.

But the case had a Hollywood-style twist when the killers turned out to be two cousins working in tandem.

Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono were apprehended in 1979 and later convicted of kidnapping, raping, torturing and murdering ten females ranging from 12 to 28 years old. They were sentenced to life in prison. Buono died in jail in 2002 at age 67. Bianchi, 65, is serving his sentence in Walla Walla,...