Synopsis

A switchblade pierces a painted heart marked "SUSIE + ME," setting the tone for Michael Jackson's dangerous nightclub encounter. In a crowded salsa hall, Jackson performs among sharply dressed dancers while a mysterious woman named Susie commands attention with flirtation, attitude, and a hidden blade. The performance shifts between group choreography, intimate table-top dancing, and Jackson's tightly controlled solo movements. The video turns the song's warning about betrayal into a stylish, theatrical dance-floor confrontation, combining Latin club imagery with Jackson's signature pop spectacle.

Factoids & Trivia

• The short film premiered on the U.K. television program "Top of the Pops" on March 28, 1997, ahead of the single's release.

• Sybil Azur plays Susie, the switchblade-wielding dancer who gives the video its threatening presence.

• The production was one of two short films made to promote the 1997 album "Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix." The other was the expanded "Ghosts" project.

• The video includes a brief a cappella-style breakdown in which Jackson builds the rhythm through breath, movement, and percussion before launching into the second verse.

• Jackson's red costume and the video's saturated club lighting reinforce the song's imagery of danger, seduction, and violence.

• "Blood on the Dance Floor" became a major international hit, reaching No. 1 in the United Kingdom, Spain, Denmark, and New Zealand.