The video, which runs for 13 minutes and 10 seconds and was directed by Leto under the pseudonym Bartholomew Cubbins, premiered on MTV on November 29, 2010.
The experimental short film is 12 minutes long and contains excerpts from the tracks “Escape” and “Night of the Hunter.” It takes place in what is believed to be a dream, and explores a violent and sexual world where 30 Seconds to Mars are stalked and attacked by various figures known as “The Gimps”, while a bisexual female couple known as Shae and Sunisa engage in sexual bondage activities with Jared while he is confronted by hallucinations. Jared spends the entire video shirtless and being chased by a sledgehammer-wielding killer obsessed with trying to kill him. Shannon battles with a woman, who shares romantic feelings for him, ending with a kiss. Tomo, who liberates a woman from her abuser (who is also Jared’s stalker), receives a key as a gift. He composes the orchestral score of the song with three identical copies of himself.
The music video for the song was banned by MTV and several other TV channels around the world. The video was censored and banned because of its elements of violence, nudity, and sex in an almost pornographic context. On November 28, 2010, Jared Leto posted a letter from an unnamed network about the censorship of the video on his blog. The list features the offending scenes, such as a woman running her finger on the anus of another G-string clad woman, which was classified as “restricted”. Another offensive scene is the Rabbi, Priest, and Monk burning religious books. It was these two shots which had made the video completely restricted. The video is still available online with a viewing certificate of 18+. The video uses the version of the song without Kanye West, hence West does not make an appearance in the video.