Nine Inch Nails
Director Mark Romanek built a Victorian house of horrors for Nine Inch Nails' "Closer" that was so intense MTV had to run a "censored" version with a black screen during the most graphic moments. To achieve the "found footage" look, the production team didn't just use a filter; they physically scratched the 35mm film negatives and used high-speed cameras to capture the jittery, stop-motion-like movements of the actors. It is a masterclass in using practical distress to create an atmosphere of dread. The beating heart seen in the video was a highly detailed practical animatronic, as Mark Romanek wanted a tactile, organic look that early 90s CGI could not provide. The iconic image of the monkey on the cross caused a massive wave of controversy, but the director defended it as a symbolic representation of the song's exploration of suffering and divinity. The video is so highly regarded for its artistic merit that a print of it is currently held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).