History Main / EnhancedInterrogationTechniques

* Averted in ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'': when the heroes have to torture enemy agents for information, they're honest with themselves and call what they do by its right name.

This is done because TortureAlwaysWorks, but it would be [[MoralDissonance unbecoming]] for our heroes to get their hands dirty with a JackBauerInterrogationTechnique. So instead, they use alternative techniques, usually psychological. They make death threats, point around loaded guns, and use things like [[SleepDeprivationPunishment sleep deprivation]]. Beatings may or may not apply depending on [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown how they're depicted]]. And sometimes, the tortures may be exacted on [[ForcedToWatch someone else]]. Also popular is the threat to turn the prisoner into the custody of some ally who does ''not'' have the same inhibitions against ColdBloodedTorture. The most common, though, are probably the DramaticGunCock and HighAltitudeInterrogation.

-->'''Maroni:''' From one professional to another, if you're trying to scare someone, pick a better spot. From this height the fall wouldn't kill me.

* In ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', Harvey captures Thomas Schiff, one of the Honor Guard the Joker hired to help kill the Mayor, after seeing him wearing a name plate that reads Rachel Dawes. He takes Schiff to an alley, ties him to a chair, shoots a gun into a nearby dumpster to prove he isn't joking, and flips a coin. Tails, and Schiff would die if Schiff didn't start talking. [[spoiler:The coin was double-headed.]]
* Zigzagged in ''Film/DickTracy''. When Tracy interrogates Mumbles, he tempts him with water drawn from a fancy cooler, knowing that Mumbles is thirsty. Eventually, Mumbles blurts out something that seems as incomprehensible as anything else he says, but Tracy accepts that as a statement. ''Much'' later in the film, after Tracy has been framed for murder, he again confronts Mumbles with the water cooler, which had a recorder hidden inside; he's then able to slow down the recording to get Mumbles' clearly heard confession, fingering Big Boy Caprice in Lips Manlis' murder. (This would have been inadmissible evidence the first time, but now that Tracy is himself under arrest and doing this without a superior's knowledge, he is able to find out who set him up by threating to let Big Boy hear it.)

* In ''Literature/TheCardinalOfTheKremlin'', the {{KGB}} uses sensory deprivation to break an agent for the UsefulNotes/{{CIA}}, but they're not able to use it on the titular [[TheMole mole]], due to his advanced age and underlying health problems. They use {{Gaslighting}} instead, which actually reinforces his will to resist. Then they discover his weakness, and break him in seconds. In fact, the KGB interrogation techniques can barely be called torture at all (though the sensory deprivation is at least psychological torture).

* In ''Literature/AGiftFromEarth'', by Creator/LarryNiven, the authorities don't use physical torture because it would ruin the suspect's use to the body banks. Instead, they use sensory deprivation.

* Although he doesn't use the precise term "enhanced interrogation techniques", the trope is used in a definite DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything way by Thomas Cromwell in Literature/WolfHall. Cromwell eschewes torture for both [[EvenEvilHasStandards moral]] and [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatic]] reasons, but his preferred methods of eliciting confessions both true and false involve the use of sleep and food deprivation, placing someone in a dark room and exposing them to unfamiliar lights and sounds, and (usually implicit) threats of ColdBloodedTorture. The text heavily suggests that these methods are not at all morally superior to physical torture and that Cromwell knows this, but is in denial.

* ''Series/AlexRider'': Shortly after agreeing to work for Blunt, Alex is kidnapped by a paramilitary group who interrogate him about his uncle's work and Point Blanc. When he doesn't answer, he's subjected to bright lights and very loud death metal, being soaked, and [[ShameIfSomethingHappened threats to his loved ones]]. [[spoiler: He escapes, and the whole thing turns out to be a SecretTestOfCharacter by Blunt.]] It actually leaves him well-prepared to resist another interrogation later when Dr Greif finds out he's a spy and subjects him to TruthSerum.

* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'' likes this one, particularly the episode "Taking a Break From All Your Worries," including a particularly memorable scene involving the ever-present threat of airlocking.

** The gang actually plan on waterboarding Dee and Dennis' biological father afterwards. [[spoiler: Except they had the wrong address.]]

* There is at least one example in ''Series/TwentyFour'' (which would otherwise use the JackBauerInterrogationTechnique instead). In Day 8, Jack threatened a suicide bomber that if he kills himself, Jack will escort his mother to the detonation site, absorbing a lethal dose of Cs-137 in five seconds.

* It's a recurring point in ''Series/BurnNotice'' that physical torture doesn't work. The show mentions, and even sometimes uses, "non-violent" methods that ''do'' break someone such as prolonged isolation, being subjected to loud noise for long periods of time, sleep deprivation, etc. In the end most of those methods take too long, so Michael and company devise clever ways to make a target either trust them or become completely terrified of them, usually without ever laying a hand on the subject. (For example, in one case Sam breaks a con artist by cutting ''himself'' open, dripping the blood all over the con artist, all while talking about what he'll do to the guy. It completely freaks the con artist out. As the narration puts it, at that point the thought process of the person being interrogated goes "If he's willing to do that to himself, what is he going to do to ''me?!"'')

* ''Series/TheBarrier'' is set in PoliceState that pratices the casual PoliceBrutality that usually part of such states. Interrogation rooms are no exception.

* Well, as a member of The Truth Commission, [[Wrestling/{{Kurrgan}} Robert "Kurrgan" Maillet]] was a {{Heel}} ''called'' The Interrogator, but The Truth Commission were more like ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything.

* In ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'', you are allowed, and even required, to interrogate captured aliens. The reports from the lab division make it clear the "interrogated" aliens don't survive the process. One of the characters later comments that he's shocked that [[BewareTheNiceOnes the seemingly-benign Dr. Vahlen would go to these lengths]] (though everyone admits that, ghoulish and inhumane though the methods may be, they are necessary in the face of possible extinction). Although it's stated that the interrogations are less a series of questions but more forcing electrodes into its brain to administer painful stimulation for the purpose of reading the alien's brain waves, since the invaders either can't or won't talk.

* In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' (with a crossover with ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'') the elderly Bruce Wayne pulls the captive Ghoul away from Batman (his younger self), who had been dangling the villain over the side of a building. "I can't believe I was ever that green," he scoffs. "''This'' is how you interrogate someone." Wayne hefts his cane and advances toward Ghoul. One fade-to-black later, the villain has confessed not only to the organization and capabilities of the Jokerz, but to being a bed-wetter until he was fourteen.
* Shows up in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' of all shows. In "Party of One", [[CloudCuckoolander Pinkie Pie]] goes insane when she thinks her friends ditched her party because they hate her. She lures Spike into her house/lair with gems and then interrogates him as brutally as an E/I show for kids will allow. Her pet gator grabs his tail to keep him from escaping, she shines a bright lamp on him in a pitch black room, and eventually she starts screaming at him and giving him a DeathGlare while demanding that he confess. Spike (who had no idea what a PerpSweat was in the first place) is so freaked out that he starts confessing random things. Finally Pinkie Pie snaps and demands that he confirm her suspicions that her friends hate her. Spike has no idea what she is talking about but confirms it anyway to get her to back off.

* Creator/ChristopherHitchens discounted waterboarding as a form of torture during UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror, arguing that it was a morally necessary form of Enhanced Interrogation. Then he volunteered to experience it firsthand ForScience. It [[RealityEnsues took only a few seconds]] for him to invoke a SafeWord, after which he [[https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/08/hitchens200808 wrote an article]] admitting that he was wrong.

* Creator/ChristopherHitchens discounted waterboarding as a form of torture during UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror, arguing that it was a morally necessary form of Enhanced Interrogation. Then he volunteered to experience it firsthand ForScience. It [[RealityEnsues took only a few seconds]] for him to invoke a SafeWord, after which he [[https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/08/hitchens200808 wrote an article]] saying that he was wrong and "if waterboarding does not constitute torture, then there is no such thing as torture."

* The first four ''VideoGame/{{Splinter Cell}}s'' are infamous for Sam's [[BlackComedy wacky torture sequences]], the majority of which involve him psyching out mooks. Holding them at knife- or gun-point, he then gets information by more psychological means; for example, in ''[[VideoGame/VideoGame/SplinterCellChaosTheory Chaos Theory]]'', he reminds a mook [[DestinationDefenestration they're on the 60th floor]], before claiming [[MookHorrorShow you're conscious right until you hit the concrete.]]

* Creator/ChristopherHitchens discounted waterboarding as a form of torture during UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror, arguing that it was a morally necessary form of Enhanced Interrogation, and volunteered to experience it firsthand. It [[RealityEnsues took only a few seconds]] for him to invoke a SafeWord, after which he [[https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/08/hitchens200808 wrote an article]] saying that he was wrong and "if this is not torture, nothing is."

* In ''Discworld/NightWatch'', Vimes is flung to the past where PoliceBrutality is ''scientific'', thanks to Captain Swing's system of "craniometrics". Dr. Lawn mentions that one prisoner wound up with fingers pointing entirely the wrong way. When Vimes and his men invade Swing's headquarters, they find a simple chair next to a rack of hammers... oh, and then there's the ginger-beer trick. Vimes ''fakes'' this one to terrify a confession out of a suspect, and later terrifies a clerk with a long metal ruler, and [[{{Fingore}} his own desk drawer]].

Named for the euphemism used by both the U.S. Government for forms of torture that don't leave marks or cause organ failure, and for ''Verschärfte Vernehmung'', [[GodwinsLaw which is what the Nazis called it when they did it and which translates to about the same]]. Compare JackBauerInterrogationTechnique, InterrogationByVandalism, and TortureAlwaysWorks. See also WeHaveWaysOfMakingYouTalk, MaximumFunChamber. For those who don't see any distinction between "Enhanced Interrogation" and plain old torture, see DistinctionWithoutADifference, InsistentTerminology, and BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord.

Named for the euphemism used by both the U.S. Government for forms of torture that don't leave marks or cause organ failure, and for ''Verschärfte Vernehmung'', [[GodwinsLaw which is what the Nazis called it when they did it and which translates to about the same]]. Compare JackBauerInterrogationTechnique, InterrogationByVandalism, and TortureAlwaysWorks. See also WeHaveWaysOfMakingYouTalk, MaximumFunChamber.

-->-- ''[[VideoGame/SplinterCell Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory]]''

* The first four ''VideoGame/{{Splinter Cell}}s'' are infamous for Sam's [[BlackComedy wacky torture sequences]], the majority of which involve him psyching out mooks. Holding them at knife- or gun-point, he then gets information by more psychological means; for example, in ''Chaos Theory'', he reminds a mook [[DestinationDefenestration they're on the 60th floor]], before claiming [[MookHorrorShow you're conscious right until you hit the concrete.]]

* In ''Series/{{NUMB3RS}}'', Megan Reeves indicates that she was forced to be a party to this as part of a "special assignment" she was on in the latter half of Season 3[[labelnote:*]]the absence was written in because actress Diane Farr was pregnant[[/labelnote]]. Her horror and disgust at this are a major factor in her decision to quit the FBI a season later.

* In ''Series/{{NUMB3RS}}'', Megan Reeves indicates that she was forced to be a party to this. Her horror and disgust at this are a major factor in her decision to quit the FBI a season later.

* Although he doesn't use the precise term "enhanced interrogation techniques", the trope is used in a definite DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything way by Thomas Cromwell in WolfHall. Cromwell eschewes torture for both [[EvenEvilHasStandards moral]] and [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatic]] reasons, but his preferred methods of eliciting confessions both true and false involve the use of sleep and food deprivation, placing someone in a dark room and exposing them to unfamiliar lights and sounds, and (usually implicit) threats of CooldBloodedTorture. The text heavily suggests that these methods are not at all morally superior to physical torture and that Cromwell knows this, but is in denial.

* In ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'', you are allowed, and even required, to interrogate captured aliens. The reports from the lab division make it clear the "interrogated" aliens don't survive the process. One of the characters later comments that he's shocked that [[BewareTheNiceOnes the seemingly-benign Dr. Vahlen would go to these lengths]] (though everyone admits that, ghoulish and inhumane though the methods may be, they are necessary in the face of possible extinction). Although it's implied that the interrogations are less a series of questions but more painful stimulation to read the alien's brain waves.

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' himself has been known to use threats and the like to get what he wants. Since most criminals are terrified of him, this tends to work pretty well. Interestingly, despite being the poster boy for [[AntiHero gritty, no nonsense]] characters, he was ''not'' known for actually torturing crooks - the vague threats were more than enough... until the DarkerAndEdgier [[Film/TheDarkKnightSaga remake movies]], when he is perfectly willing to throw a mobster off a fire escape in order to break his legs.

This is done because TortureAlwaysWorks, but it would be [[MoralDissonance unbecoming]] for our heroes to get their hands dirty with a JackBauerInterrogationTechnique. So instead, they use alternative techniques, usually psychological. They make death threats, point around loaded guns, and use things like sleep deprivation. Beatings may or may not apply depending on [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown how they're depicted]]. And sometimes, the tortures may be exacted on [[ForcedToWatch someone else]]. Also popular is the threat to turn the prisoner into the custody of some ally who does ''not'' have the same inhibitions against ColdBloodedTorture. The most common, though, are probably the DramaticGunCock and HighAltitudeInterrogation.

* In ''Literature/TheCardinalOfTheKremlin'', the {{KGB}} uses sensory deprivation to break an agent for the {{CIA}}, but they're not able to use it on the titular [[TheMole mole]], due to his advanced age and underlying health problems. They use {{Gaslighting}} instead, which actually reinforces his will to resist. Then they discover his weakness, and break him in seconds. In fact, the KGB interrogation techniques can barely be called torture at all (though the sensory deprivation is at least psychological torture).

* In ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'', like the original, allows you to interrogate captured aliens. Unlike the original, the "interrogated" aliens don't survive the process. One of the characters later comments that he's shocked that [[BewareTheNiceOnes the seemingly-benign Dr. Vahlen would go to these lengths]] (though everyone admits that, ghoulish and inhumane though the methods may be, they are necessary in the face of possible extinction). Although it's implied that the interrogations are less a series of questions but more painful stimulation to read the alien's brain waves.

Named for the euphemism used by both the U.S. Government for forms of torture that don't leave marks or cause organ failure, and for ''Verschärfte Vernehmung'', [[GodwinsLaw which is what the Nazis called it when they did it and which translates to the same]]. Compare JackBauerInterrogationTechnique, InterrogationByVandalism, and TortureAlwaysWorks. See also WeHaveWaysOfMakingYouTalk, MaximumFunChamber.

* In ''[[Literature/TheCardinalOfTheKremlin]]'', the {{KGB}} uses sensory deprivation to break an agent for the {{CIA}}, but they're not able to use it on the titular [[TheMole mole]], due to his advanced age and underlying health problems. They use {{Gaslighting}} instead, which actually reinforces his will to resist. Then they discover his weakness, and break him in seconds. In fact, the KGB interrogation techniques can barely be called torture at all (though the sensory deprivation is at least psychological torture).

* In ''[[Literature/JackRyan The Cardinal of the Kremlin]]'', the {{KGB}} uses sensory deprivation to break an agent for the {{CIA}}, but they're not able to use it on the titular [[TheMole mole]], due to his advanced age and underlying health problems. They use {{Gaslighting}} instead, which actually reinforces his will to resist. Then they discover his weakness, and break him in seconds. In fact, the KGB interrogation techniques can barely be called torture at all (though the sensory deprivation is at least psychological torture).

This is done because TortureAlwaysWorks, but it would be [[MoralDissonance unbecoming]] for our heroes to get their hands dirty with a JackBauerInterrogationTechnique. So instead, they use alternative techniques, usually psychological. They make death threats, point around loaded guns, and use things like sleep deprivation. Beatings may or may not apply depending on [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown how they're depicted]]. And sometimes, the tortures may be exacted on [[ForcedToWatch someone else]]. The most common, though, are probably the DramaticGunCock and HighAltitudeInterrogation.