Nine Inch Nails: Broken (1993 Music Video) User Reviews

Mildly disturbing Nine Inch Nails pseudo snuff video.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 8/10 · 9 April 2006]

"Broken" is an infamous Nine Inch Nails pseudo-snuff video that it's not as shocking as it's reputed to be.In fact "Despair" by SPK easily tops it with its authentic footage of autopsies and corpse abuse.Basically a psychotic man picks up a teenager.The kid is trussed up in the killer's cellar.Then the murderer,who wears plastic mask like the snuff filmmakers from "Last House on Dead End Street",begins to cut his victim with a straight razor.After that he burns the teen with a blowtorch,cuts off his penis,beats,sodomizes and finally dismembers the kid with a chainsaw.Admittedly "Broken" is pretty graphic in the gore department and it may upset some people,but I have seen much more shocking video clips including infamous Necrophagia "Blood Freak" and "Burning Moon Sickness" videos."Broken" is directed to look like a home video with very amateurish hand held camera-work and sloppy editing.Still the gore effects are rather convincing,especially castration scene.If you are a fan of Trent Reznor or gore-hound give it a look.

An amazing experience, worth tracking down, especially for a Nine Inch Nails fan

[joshreluctant · 9/10 · 19 December 2005]

I've had the garbage quality version for quite some time, but found it extremely hard to watch because of the quality. Then not too long ago, about 3 or 4 months, someone found another copy of the tape, and it was uploaded in DVD quality. It was truly stunning to see the film like this, and all my searching proved true. Trent's music coincides perfectly with the gritty photography, the sound is that sound quality that seems impossible to get. Where it's so bad it sounds good, that dry cracky quality, but you know if you try and do it it will sound fake. I don't know how they did it, but they did. The editing is another facet to focus on. Whoever cut it, and whatever drug they were on, i want some. The cutting is amazing, perfectly fitting the music\visual style. A true highlight to the short would be the final shots, the closing sequence. Brutally stunning.

All in all, it's worth checking out, especially for a nine inch nails fan.

f-ed up short film courtesy of Trent Reznor and his screwed up mind.

[whiterabbit010 · 7/10 · 18 July 2007]

I've seen this film via clips on Youtube and I have to say, it grossed the crap out of me. I didn't know whether to scream or cry.

It perfectly suits the "Ultra-fast chunk of death" that is the album Broken. Its filled with grotesque images of torture,murder and necrophilia (dead people sex. in case you didn't know.). Whatever was going through Reznor's head at the time of recording comes out in this violent snuff film that makes Saw look like a Disney movie.

Its on you tube a lot, thats the easiest way to see it, though with horrible quality. Try and find it on peer to peer sites or NIN fan sites. REZNOR, PLEASE RELEASE THE DAMN THING!!

Really Cool Short Film

[Chriser · 5 March 2002]

I loved this movie. I recently got a copy of this unrealesed gem and have watched it at least 5 times. The movie is very shocking, and I don't think that anybody with a weak stomach should view this movie. It actually comes off looking like a 'snuff-film' because of its grainy film quality. The thing that gives it away is the dramatic camera angles, as another reviewer pointed out.

The music videos on here are very well done, and it has all of the videos from the Broken e.p. Happiness in Slavery is disturbing, but not as bad as some people make it out to be. The finalie set to Gave Up is by far the most disturbing part you'll find on this video, because of the footage of the killer killing the victim with knives, a blowtorch, his hands, and finally, a chainsaw. In my opinion it is one of the most shocking events to be put on film. It has no more gore than you would find in a good slasher movie, but it is delivered with a gritty, true to life, feeling and that is what makes it disturbing.

So if you hunt for a copy, and you find one, by all means get this movie. You will not be disappointed.

scariest thing I've ever seen

[n0rmnbates · 10/10 · 9 May 2005]

oh my god... i am a huge fan of nine inch nails, and have always wanted to see this... and i finally have, and nothing has ever left me more disturbed... after watching it, i felt very uncomfortable, and it got to me in a way nothing else ever has... genuinely frightening... i would love to see NIN do more stuff like this... maybe a WITH_TEETH movie???.... but nothing could be as scary as this movie... i don't think I've ever seen anything this scary... the torture scenes are brutally honest and will leave you breathless and wanting to wrap your arms around the person you love more than anything and keep them there forever... clearly inspired by the olden days Texas Chainsaw Massacre-esquire style and story and clearly influenced other simmilarly themed movies like House of 1000 Corpses... very very scary....

What can I say?

[psychotr-2 · 10/10 · 30 May 1999]

What can I say it's a morbid masterpiece! Trent Reznor is one of the greatest musicians of our time and this film puts all his demented, twisted work to the fullest. To put in one word it's truly AMAZING!!!

I still enjoy this film.

[dj_stric-9 · 8/10 · 30 May 2008]

I first obtained a copy of this on VHS back in the early 90's. I duplicated it and gave it to my friends one year for Christmas Presents. I made a very nice cover for it and even gift wrapped it. Three of the ten friends I gave it to, stopped speaking to me shortly after... My other friends are still close to me to this day. Let it be known yes, I duplicated it, but never sold it or tried in any way to gain money for it. I gave it away freely as gifts. I look back at this point in my life fondly, I have always been a huge Nine Inch Nails fan. From the first Lollapalooza to their most recent Tour, I always find a way to see them play.

Now, a review of the film.

As you may well know it is an account of a Young Man's kidnapping from a Suburban mall situated in any town USA. He is taken, forced to watch Nine Inch Nails videos and is eventually tortured, beaten, raped, disfigured and Murdered... and not in that order. What makes it particularly gruesome is that it is shot on 8mm HiFi Video, it looks and feels like it was made in a Garage down the street from where you and your family eat Sunday Brunch. The footage comes in and out of focus often and the primary subject is tied to a chair, you see his reactions and feel his pain almost like you are in the same room. Something that is particularly memorable is the performance by Bob Flanagan during the "Happiness in Slavery" video, shot in Black and White and very, very tastefully done. This movie makes the "Blair Witch Project" look like kids playing in the park when it comes to the "creeps you out factor". It looks and feels like it could be someone you know, either being murdered or... yes, even the murderer. The ending, well... you'll just have to hang in there for that one and don't loose your head, watch it till the very end.

So pop some jiffy pop, call over your best girl and snuggle in for the night, cause this will be a 20min ride you will never, ever forget!

"Enjoy!"

The most realistic fake "snuff" film ever made.

[demonicu · 10/10 · 5 November 1998]

Since it was never publicly released, this work of art is a priceless and hard to find addition to any collection of works by T.Reznor. The short movie concentrates around the capture, torture and eventual dismemberment of a young male victim in very gory detail. The acts of true sadism look so real, as to turn the stomachs of even the most de-sensitized viewers. Based on the movie "Henry; portrait of a serial killer", this piece of filmatography slips into the mind of the viewer with a very sudden jolt of horror and a pure state of shock, leaving the psyche with only prolonged states of numbness to combat the Very vivid images constantly being flashed on screen.

It was done in crude fashion, with scenes pasted on top of each other at a fast rate, to bring about the illusion of reality and brutality of the acts. Throughout the movie we cut away every once in a while to an Official Nine Inch Nails video, getting through all of them by the end. Viewing this movie now leaves people speechless, explaining why it was not released in 1992 and eventually scrapped altogether.

epilepsy warning!

[burns_alan29 · 6/10 · 16 June 2008]

Finally found a high-quality download of this after some years of liking NIN's music and being vaguely aware of a clandestine movie being out there, and today watched it in full for the first time.

Then, unfortunately, had a mini-seizure; so this is not so much a review as a warning to anyone else with epilepsy to take extreme caution in deciding whether to view this film. 'Broken' contains flashing images and ultra-fast jump cuts throughout all the linking scenes and the 'Wish' video, so I guess I won't really watch it again.

For the rest of you - if you're fairly tuned in to Reznor's creative wavelength, you'll enjoy this as long as you don't swallow all the hyperbole. From this distance, in our post-Se7en, post-Saw, post-Hostel place in popular culture, 'Broken' won't generate visceral revulsion as much as a bit of a 'so what' shrug. Stick to 'Closure', where the music video highlights can all be found.

I've never seen anything like it.

[paragonofanimals · 6/10 · 4 October 2008]

Trent Reznor is (in my opinion) one of the best rock artists of our time. I've loved everything he's put out pre-With Teeth and no matter what direction he heads in I will always want to see and hear what he does.

That said, I watched Broken completely devoid of expectations. I knew it was violent, I knew the history of the film and knew it shocked most. I'm not squeamish at all so I figured it would be great to see it.

The story (persay) has to do with a serial killer and victim and is extremely intense. I was very--disgusted? disturbed? I don't know what exactly--by the torture sequences and was glad when they where over. But, one thing is for sure, Broken marks a part of the history of NIN and does it artistically and with the measure of intensity of the album.

I'm glad I saw it, but, I'm completely unsure whether anything like this needs to be on film.

6/10 stars

worth a look for NIN fans, and those looking to quench a thirst for torture.

[Condom-full-of-Hatred · 7/10 · 19 February 2010]

This is one of those films that was always mentioned in excited and hushed tones by metal and NIN fans alike back in the day. It was around the time when NIN brainchild and front man Trent Reznor rented the Tate murder home to record The Downward Spiral, rumours surfaced over a supposed snuff film being produced by the band. It was one of those things I had forgotten about until recently when I was given a copy of this 'movie', on a fully remastered DVD no less! We open with some slickly shot black and white footage of a demented looking man having a noose placed around his neck, and dropped through a trapdoor in the floor. We then go to some seriously damaged and grainy home footage being shot out of a car window. Some guy who looks like a slack jawed redneck is then filmed for a few moments. We cut to what looks like a warehouse where the man is strapped to a chair, and on a TV begins some NIN music vids.

Intercut with the music promos made for all the tracks on the 'Broken' EP is footage of this man being beaten, smeared with what looks like excrement on his face, having teeth broken out with a pliers, tortured with a blow torch and straight razor, then eventually having his arms sawn off with a chainsaw, his dick cut off, raped/molested and finally having his heart cut out and eaten. Most of this nastiness happens in the finale as the track 'Gave up' plays, and is inter-cut with the police finding the corpses and the killer being hung.

First off, it's great to see the music vids fully uncut and remastered, the photography looks sharp and the ideas were certainly some of the strongest that NIN had commissioned. The 'snuff' footage obviously still looks as nasty as you would expect, I dunno what kinda video camera this serial killer uses, but he needs to upgrade! Still, this is all done for authentic effect, so it is forgivable. As to whether you can stomach the snuff footage, well, that's a different story. Personally, I didn't find it particularly shocking, but in this modern age of August Underground and the rest of the 'faux snuff' film industry, I guess it is harder to shock than it would have back in the early 90's. Plus, with the pumping music of NIN playing over the rapid cuts, it's hard not to feel some level of adrenaline whilst watching the final scenes, as it actually takes you out of the reality of real life death.

Incidentally, the 'snuff' footage actually made me think of everyone's favorite cannibal killer, Armin Meiwes. What happens in the Broken Movie is surprisingly close to what happened when he decided to eat his lovers bell-end, and I imagine the video tape he made is not that far off what is depicted here. Overall, it is a worthy download if you are a fan of the band, as it contains the original music videos, and you get to finally see what all the whispering and bootlegging was about. Was it worth the wait for die hard NIN fans? Probably not. It's really nothing more than a twee curiosity these days, but I'm glad I have had the opportunity to see it anyway.

Now if only we could get it in a 5.1 surround sound mix...

Not a broken work, but also not really a good one

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 19 July 2017]

"Broken" is an American 20-minute short film from 1993, so this one has its 25th anniversary next year. The name of writer and cast member Trent Reznor tells audience members perhaps already that this is indeed a collection of music videos by the band Nine Inch Nails and if you see how old this one is, it also makes obvious how long their careers have been going on already. The videos are connected by a plot, in which a guy is physically violated and forced to watch these videos. Oh well, they are not bad enough to call them torture I would say, but I think I have heard better stuff from this band already, also from Reznor, who is an Oscar winner now thanks to his work on "The Social Network". But back to this one we have here. I'd only really recommend it to huge fans of NIN, otherwise it will not be a memorable watch by any means. Not a memorable listen either. I suggest most people can skip it and it is certainly a bit on the overrated side here on IMDb.

Art or pornography?

[yucel81x · 30 September 2004]

From the minds of two industrial music pioneers (musician Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, and director Peter Christopherson of Coil and Throbbing Gristle) comes a perfect example of the blurring line between art and pornography. A film-short that is both celebrated and reviled for its style and content, "Broken" is one of the most shocking pieces of film ever to be unreleased. Mistaken as a snuff film by some (Reznor is no stranger to this...footage from the "Down In It" video caused some controversy some time before this film), "Broken" is a visual companion to what was arguably Reznor's most tortured and angst-ridden album. It tells the story of a man who randomly kidnaps another man for the purpose of torture and murder. He pulls the victim's teeth out, forces him to drink lighter fluid, slashes him, disembowels him, sodomizes him, all the while forcing this poor soul to watch Nine Inch Nails videos. The thing that gives this film away as a work of fiction is the style. The scenes of the killer being executed, the police finding his hideout and sifting through the remains of his past victims, and the NIN videos themselves...all done very professionally in contrast to the grainy, distorted video of the torture scenes. Not only that, but Reznor's and Christopherson's penchant for low-frequency industrial noise and sound manipulation is very present (just listen to the low-static hum that intros the whole film...very Coil, very NIN). When taking these qualities into consideration, it's easy to tell that the film is elaborate fiction. However, the film does capture a gritty realism that provides much in the way of shock value. We never see too much of the torture, just enough to know what's being done, and what we don't know is implied...subliminal horror at its best. Also, this does well to hide what are probably some very high-quality special effects, given a sense of truth by the poor video. The NIN videos are fairly violent as well. From the vinyl bodybag being drowned by fluid from the sewage pipes to the band clip of "Wish" (which oddly mirrors The Scorpions' "Rock You Like a Hurricane" video) to the mechanical torture slave of "Happiness in Slavery" (played by the dear-departed Bob Flanagan), they are a perfect mirror to the angry industrial thrash of the album. All in all, the film plays on the ultimate possibilities for an album of this level of rage. People who enjoy this film for the technical qualities are most likely able to detach themselves from the disturbing content, while people who do enjoy it for the content are simply perverts. Never was a case of art vs. pornography so clear than with NIN's "Broken." Whether it is beautiful or disgusting or both, kudos to Trent Reznor and Peter Christopherson and all at the NIN camp for making such a twisted and uniquely putrid visual work.

Not as shocking as it's made out to be

[Slanky-2 · 6/10 · 3 May 2001]

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.

Interesting for hardcore fans, pretty pedestrian otherwise.

[Slanky-2 · 6/10 · 13 July 2005]

If you think you've seen this on the Closure video, you're missing out. Although Closure contains 90% of this film (all the videos with the exception of the original "Gave Up" sequence) the rest of it will never see the light of day due to most people's inability to dissect the film logically.

Basically, the short version is that a serial killer picks up a guy and forces him to watch NIN videos while torturing him to death. The original sequence for "Gave Up" is the film's gory finale where the victim is ultimately put out of his misery while horrified face of Trent Reznor (possibly as a discouragement to deranged copycat fans?) appears on the television. The killer is ultimately put to death which may also be interpreted as a discouragement of violence on the part of the band.

Ultimately, the film succeeds by using poor quality videotape to mask the red paint-drenched cast and set, an effect later used poorly by Rob Zombie in House of 1000 Corpses. One may argue that he got the inspiration from the Broken movie, especially considering that it would've been right up his alley.

However, if you sit down and pay attention to it as a film, you'll realize that it doesn't contain any more brutal violence than any of your average zombie or any other horror movie. In fact, in comparison to some films, it is actually rather tame, certainly nothing worse than your average "R" rating. As long as it is taken in the context of a film with fake (and I would go as far as to say cheesy) violence, it really isn't all that shocking at all.

As I would assume there are still bootlegs of this circulating on the internet (which is where I purchased my copy) I would recommend this only to the most die-hard NIN completionist. While it remains an interesting document of Trent's inspirations and mindset during the Broken period of his career, it is by far not nearly as worthwhile as some people choose to make it out to be.

Broken? Fixed.

[jameslienofficial · 6/10 · 31 December 2022]

Gratuitous and sickening, Broken may appear superficially shocking as a "snuff film" but it depicts valid points about the sinister subculture of societal depravity, however explicit it's marketing may be.

On a side note, my journey on having to find this particular film made my experience a little more riveting and immersive, in a sense of how notoriously vile the content is and no official release for it.

Your experience will depend on if you enjoy the discography of NIN, their motifs and musical style, which thankfully I do enjoy their work.

It challenges the viewer to stomach the content shown as whether it promotes artistic shock value or the frightening reality of fetishism.

About What You'd Expect From The Whiny 90s

[somnambulism · 1/10 · 7 April 2020]

When you watch this with the context that it's a metaphor for career foibles Reznor was too wussy to handle, it plays less like an avant-garde 'art' film and more like a very pretentious temper tantrum. Lame.

Sick, Twisted, Gross, Morbid... I like it!

[Almost Human · 30 May 1999]

Trent Reznor has out done himself this time! This is a very dark and demented film, but don't let that stop you! It is excellent, a must see for any Reznor fan!

Disappointed

[XkukolX · 6/10 · 13 July 2005]

I am an intense Nine Inch Nails fan and was desperate to see and own this 'Broken' video. From what I've read elsewhere on the internet, it seemed to be the worst thing ever recorded on video (by that I mean gory and disturbing). It wasn't too hard to find. I was preparing myself for true horror and to have nightmares. Of coarse that is hard for me to do because I'm apparently the devil compared to this. I was warned to not watch it alone and that I would look away and live life trying to forget the images. Well, after viewing it three times in a row (by myself), I was shocked by how disappointing it was. It was exactly like watching Jeffrey Dahmer (the real-life serial killer, cannibal, necrophiliac, dismemberer) at work. If this was made after Dahmer's capture in 93' then I don't see why it is so shocking. There are worse serial killers than Dahmer(although he is my personal favorite). If I made that movie, I could have thought up much more violence and made it better. I did, however, love the very ending when the killers head flys across the screen. That was awesome! I am disappointed, but still enjoy it because it is NIN made, a rarity, and the fact that it deals with such topics as murder, dismemberment, etc.

Fans need only apply

[klstumpy · 6/10 · 22 September 2008]

Broken was a fantastic album, a self-described "ultra-fast chunk of death." However, that descriptive would better describe the music video accompaniment to the EP. Due to extremely graphic content, this short collection of videos of (fake) torture, rape, sadomasochism, and murder will never see an official release, though it's been widely rumored that Trent Reznor himself leaked a DVD-quality copy on the internet.

Fans of the band, or those with a morbid curiosity need only apply. The scenes are violent, often hard to watch, but like a horrible car crash on the side of the road, you can't help but look. Track it down; it's quite easy enough to find on the Internet. Just be sure not to give copies of it to your unsuspecting friends for Christmas, as one reviewer here has done. As he suggested, you may lose more friends than you'll be keeping.

A masterpiece of shocking imagery and music from Trent Reznor.

[andy-227 · 4 March 2000]

After I saw NIN's two tape set "Closure", and listened to their music, I became a fan of NIN(Nine Inch Nails). After viewing almost all of their videos(including the almost unwatchable "Happiness in Slavery"), I came across "Broken", a 20 minute music video compilation that included a couple of the videos from the tape set and a new, too graphic to be released one. To me, it was the last video left, and I had to see it. Trent Reznor's demented, yet artistic genius is fully captured within the 20 minutes of music and really graphic violence and gore.

I rented "Faces of Death" some time ago, and found myself laughing at how stupid it was. It was so obviously fake and it failed to have any emotional effect on me whatsoever. Movies with gore or violence fail to deeply disturb me, although they can bother me a little. "Broken" on the other hand, has some of the most shocking footage that I think I've ever seen. It didn't bother me a whole lot, since I already saw "Happiness in Slavery", and since it was "so bad that it was never released", I had an idea of what to expect, which prepared me for it I guess. I won't go into the details of what's in the movie, only that it's not for the faint hearted. Trent Reznor's dark vision is designed to disturb and shock, yet it has a strange kinetic effect when combined with the music. I thought it was silly to not release it, since they already released "Happiness in Slavery" on tape. "Broken" can't be any worse, since it has "Wish" and "Happiness in Slavery" in it. However, it is bootlegged and is available on the internet, which is where I saw it, so it's not totally out of reach. This is definitely for die hard NIN fans and for people who want something that will truly shock them for the first time in their lives.

Not for the squeamish

[smwhtdmgd · 17 May 2000]

I actually own a bootleg of this video, and I can tell you that when my friend handed me the copy he'd made, being the loyal NIN fan that I was (and still am), I rushed home, not knowing what I was in store for. Two of my friends and I sat there as the "Happiness in Slavery" video unfolded in front of us, and, while as sick as we were from that, the finale set to the music of "Gave Up" left us in a state of utter shock. We sat there, mouths gaping open, skin pale, looking at each other blankly.

Alas, I've forced myself to watch the video time and time again, mostly while watching it with people who haven't seen it (it usually comes up in one of those "you ain't seen gross, man" conversations). Although extremely graphic, there is a subtle (and i use the term loosely) eroticism in the acts, both in the "H.I.S." video and in the finale of the series....it disgusts you, yet some morbid curiosity about the nature of torture and death keeps you glued to the set. Relief comes when the "killer" is finally hanged, but the viewer is still left pondering the authenticity of the video...IT JUST LOOKS TOO REAL!!!

In other words....after seeing this video, you'll swear off of Italian food and red meat for a solid week at the very least.

violent music video

[ruiner-3 · 4 November 1998]

this movie is a 20 minute music video by nine inch nails, created for the cd "broken". it consists of 5 of the 7 songs on the cd; 3 of those songs are the original videos submitted for mtv, while the others are specific to the video itself. it brutally details a man who is kidnapped and tortured while being forced to watch nine inch nails videos, and the fate of the kidnapper. incredibly violent; this movie was never even submitted for release because of the graphic violence and gore; however, it can be found on the internet, and bootleg copies are still floating about. a rare treasure for hardcore NIN fans.

There's definitely more to The Man than meets the eye.

[Keith-50 · 5 November 1998]

I won't go too far into what I think of this short film other than this: It is a masterpiece. Frightening, sickening and morbid, but a masterpiece. Reznor scares the hell out of me! Not only is this man an incredible musician, composer and business man, his visions are a step beyond what I think mortal man can really comprehend. Please try to find this movie, and I mean the original movie, so you can join me in my fear of Mr. Reznor. Long live the king.

One sick movie!!

[Almost Human · 7 July 1999]

Nine Inch Nails: Broken

I thought I've seen everything, that was until this freaky flick crossed my path. I am a died-hard NIN fan, but this may be too far!!! the amount of blood is terrible and use of the F word is rampant. Trent Reznor might be dark, but this is overboard. All that said I loved it!!! it hit the spot and I recommend it ;)