Broken (1992) (V)

Directors:

Serge Becker
Peter Christopherson

Writer:

Trent Reznor (writer)

Genre:

Short | Music

Plot:

Trent Reznor presents his dark vision of the EP 'Broken' by telling the story of a man kidnapped and forced to watch Nine Inch Nails videos...

Plot Keywords:

Kidnapping | Unreleased Film | Torture | Snuff Film | Independent Film

Cast

Trent Reznor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bob Flanagan

Also Known As:

Nine Inch Nails: Broken
The Broken Movie (USA) (informal alternative title)

Runtime:

20 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Trivia:

Apart from the music videos for "Wish" and "Happiness In Slavery" that can be found on Nine Inch Nails' video compilation/documentary Closure (1997) (V), the movie has never seen an official release, mainly due to the fear of the public mistaking the realistic violence for an actual snuff film. The videos for "Help Me I Am In Hell" and "Gave Up" on Closure (1997) (V) were actually not included in the movie, but are alternate versions. It is a common misconception that the entire movie can be found on Closure (1997) (V). Trent Reznor has hinted heavily that the movie will make it's way onto the DVD release of Closure, and clips from it were shown on the official promotional 'Collected' DVD released in May, 2005.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Closure (1997) (V)

Soundtrack:

Pinion

Not as shocking as it's made out to be

Bootlegged for years and fairly easily available to anyone who should look hard for it, the infamous Broken movie holds a special place in Nine Inch Nails myth.

However, that's what most of it is. Myth. Hailed as "sick" and "shocking", I would venture to say that none of these, at least to the seasoned moviegoer, are true. Instead, we are presented with a film that, aside from it's relatively innovative approach and quality film making, has no more gore and violence than your average slasher movie.

Contrary to most reports, the movie is obviously a fake. Upon dissection, the filming techniques used do a good job of covering this up, but the fact remains that it is indeed a fake. The major clue to this is the poor quality of the film stock. Granted, the average viewer with a second or third generation bootleg copy will notice this less due to degradation of quality, but the fact is there. The entire film was shot on videotape which serves to mask the fact that various dummies, etc. were used. The dramatic camera angles and fast cuts cover this up as well.

All in all, this is a great piece of Nine Inch Nails history and is part of a number of quality projects that never saw the light of day for one reason or another. However, one would see more shocking gore and sadism while watching Silence of the Lambs or American Psycho than the Broken movie.