10 Scariest Videos In Rock Music History
4. Closer – Nine Inch Nails (1994)
The music video for Closer was the precursor to everything Marilyn Manson did with his videos.
Imbued with a sepia tone and aged look - as a result of using old film and physically distressing the stock - the video was a visual nightmare. It contained an unholy plethora of disturbing and evocative imagery, from sexuality and religious iconography, to political symbols, and references to animal abuse.
The video centres around Reznor performing in a strange rundown laboratory-type setting. Intercutting images of animal carcasses, depictions of the human anatomy, Reznor in S&M gear, and, most controversially, a live capuchin monkey tied to a crucifix and seemingly in distress.
In an interview, director Mark Romanek insisted that the monkey was not harmed stating, "There was an ASPCA person on the set watching."
Due to the frequent nudity, sexually explicated implications and heretical depictions of Christ, MTV insisted a heavily edited version be submitted before they would play it.
The combination of the Nine Inch Nails industrial music, suggestive lyrics and unsettling imagery made for one hell of an eerily memorable video.