# "Snuff film" discovered to be Nine Inch Nails music video **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 8, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snuff-film-discovered-to-be-nine-inch-nails-music-video/605534 "2011-12-08T17:51:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snuff-film-discovered-to-be-nine-inch-nails-music-video/605534/1 "2011-12-08T17:51:06Z")
Found this screamingly hilarious and melodramatic [Hard Copy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gV8yQc0m7g)report on Youtube from 1990, which concerns a mysterious video camera that floated into a farmer’s fields on balloons. The tape contained footage of what appeared to be a gang-related homicide: a young man sprawled on his back, covered in blood in a dark alley, while two frightening-looking toughs stand over him. The tape was sent to the FBI to be studied, and much nail-biting ensued before they discovered it was footage of Nine Inch Nails’ “Down In It” music video! The ‘victim’ was Trent Reznor and the ‘murderers’ his bandmates Richard Patrick and Chris Vrenna. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snuff-film-discovered-to-be-nine-inch-nails-music-video/605534/2 "2011-12-08T17:58:07Z")
You think that’s bad, you should see the “Broken” movie. Actually, scratch that. Nobody should ever, ever see that. I can’t unsee it. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snuff-film-discovered-to-be-nine-inch-nails-music-video/605534/3 "2011-12-08T18:02:33Z")
I’m still cackling over the TOTALLY UNBIASED reporting on this thing! “Mr. Reznor, a man with a flair for wearing jewelry… _in his nose_!” “I know, I know, it’s more like Nine Inch Noise!” And the art student thing… oh my god, priceless! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snuff-film-discovered-to-be-nine-inch-nails-music-video/605534/4 "2011-12-08T18:06:48Z")
But somebody think of the children!!! ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snuff-film-discovered-to-be-nine-inch-nails-music-video/605534/5 "2011-12-09T05:52:25Z")
**Interrobang** , now I’m wondering if this incident gave Reznor the idea for the \*Broken \*movie. I rewatched the video just now, and I can’t decide what the best part is, there’s such a wealth of options. 1. “I know, I know, it’s more like Nine Inch Noise!” 2. ‘TRENT RESNOR’ 3. The totally WTF-inducing art student dramatic recreation with the Mona Lisa. 4. “[The police] were shocked to learn that the weird images on the film had nothing to do with a gang killing or Satanic ritual, but with something many people feel _is just as insidious_!” So Nine Inch Nails music videos are roughly on the same level of evil as a gangland killing and Satanic ritual sacrifice?? 5. “This is Trent Reznor, a man with a flair for wearing jewelry… in his nose!” 6. The way Hard Copy seems to lay the blame for every hardship faced by every police officer nationwide, if not worldwide, at Trent Reznor’s door. 7. The footage of Reznor dry-humping guitarist Richard Patrick at 6:53, which somehow made it onto national television. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snuff-film-discovered-to-be-nine-inch-nails-music-video/605534/6 "2011-12-09T06:19:04Z")
When I see that clip, I have to believe there is a little bit of tongue-in-cheekiness there with the producers of the Hard Copy clip, who know exactly what is going on and are playing it a bit for laughs. I mean, come on, starting at 40 seconds into the clip with the Grieg ‘Morning’ in the background, the narrator with the ridiculous accent, and the over-the-top story. This is not being played completely straight. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snuff-film-discovered-to-be-nine-inch-nails-music-video/605534/7 "2011-12-09T18:52:00Z")
My friend told me Bill O’Reilly got his start on Hard Copy, take that as you will. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snuff-film-discovered-to-be-nine-inch-nails-music-video/605534/8 "2011-12-09T19:31:43Z")
> [@Mississippienne](#): > > Found this screamingly hilarious and melodramatic Hard Copy… No need to be redundant. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snuff-film-discovered-to-be-nine-inch-nails-music-video/605534/9 "2011-12-09T19:42:23Z")
I saw that when it originally aired. If I remember, they originally found the footage and did an _Unsolved Mysteries_ type segment. Then a few months later after it was solved they ran this one. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snuff-film-discovered-to-be-nine-inch-nails-music-video/605534/10 "2011-12-09T20:01:10Z")
> [@Mississippienne](#): > > My friend told me Bill O’Reilly got his start on Hard Copy, take that as you will. Actually Fundamentally Oral Bill got his start on WNEP-TV 16, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the same station I watched as a young kid. [Check out the hair on the guy](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/bill-oreilly-big-pimpin) when he walked the mean streets of Scranton.