The Kill by Thirty Seconds to Mars: A Horror Music Video Masterpiece Inspired by The Shining

Rating: 4 Jared Letos out of 5
(Complex, cinematic, and completely killer.)

Horror + Music = The Kill

More than just one of my all-time favorite songs, The Kill by Thirty Seconds to Mars is a music video that doubles as a mini psychological thriller. Directed by frontman Jared Leto under the pseudonym Bartholomew Cubbins, this video is dripping with inspiration from The Shining, creepy hallways, ghostly twins, isolation, and all.

The song’s pounding emotional core is matched by a visual journey full of split-screen montages, haunted reflections, and tuxedo-clad alter egos battling their inner demons. It’s a love letter to horror fans disguised as a rock anthem.

If The Kill Were a Horror Film

Imagine this: the band checks into an eerie hotel for three days. They’re told explicitly not to enter Room 6277 (aka M.A.R.S.). Naturally, they do. Shadows shift. Doppelgängers appear. Jared Leto starts acting weird (okay, weirder). The band spirals into a supernatural nightmare where each member is haunted by… themselves.

Time slips. A “One Week Later” card flashes onscreen. Dead-eyed apparitions float by. Shannon finds a beautiful woman who morphs into a corpse. Classic haunted hotel vibes with a high-concept edge.

Visual Style & References

Leto, who worked with Darren Aronofsky on Requiem for a Dream (2000), borrows that film’s iconic split-screen technique here. The editing is rapid, the energy chaotic, and the cinematography is slick. It’s stylishly unnerving in all the right ways.

The final scene features the band playing to a ballroom full of twins, a direct nod to Kubrick’s haunted Overlook Hotel. The use of tuxedos represents the duality between public personas and inner struggles, echoing The Shining’s themes of identity and descent into madness.

Lyrical Themes + Personal Obsession

The lyrics hit deep:

“I tried to be someone else / But nothing seemed to change… I know now, this is who I really am.”

It’s about confronting yourself. The video mirrors that message, quite literally, with haunting doppelgängers lurking behind every corner.

I was obsessed with Thirty Seconds to Mars when this video dropped. I flew to Sydney just to catch their concert. I’ve seen them live every time they’ve toured Australia. I even sprinted to a surprise autograph session at the Hordern Pavilion and ended up one of the first in line. I also saw them at Soundwave Festival 2011, The Kill live from the mosh pit was pure bliss, shaky cam and all.

Final Thoughts

The Kill is more than a music video, it’s a full-blown psychological horror short. Whether you’re a Jared Leto devotee, a rock fan, or a horror buff, this one’s for you. Moody, melodic, and genuinely unsettling, it’s one of the best visual and thematic pairings between rock music and horror cinema.

Enjoy your stay and please stay out of Room 6277
Thirty Seconds to Mars

Extended Music Film Clip for The Kill (Bury Me) 30 Seconds to Mars

Shining Vibes in a Music Video?