Watch GG Allin - Hated: Special Edition
- 51 min
Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies is a notorious documentary film that follows the life and career of GG Allin, a controversial punk rock musician who became infamous for his outrageous stage antics, violent behavior and nihilistic worldview. The film was directed by Todd Phillips, who later went on to direct comedy blockbusters like The Hangover and Joker, and released in 1994 to critical acclaim and widespread infamy.
The film is shot in a gritty, DIY style, using raw, unfiltered footage of GG Allin's concerts, interviews, and personal life. It opens with GG Allin's 1993 funeral, where his corpse is on display, dressed in his signature outfit of leather jacket, jockstrap, and combat boots. From there, the film goes back in time to tell the story of GG's life, from his troubled childhood in New Hampshire to his rise to infamy as a punk rock outlaw.
Throughout the film, we see GG Allin performing his music, which is characterized by aggressive, distorted guitar riffs, pounding drums, and GG's primal screams and rants. His lyrics are full of graphic depictions of violence, sexuality, drug use, and other taboo subjects, and he often performs in the nude, covered in blood, and engaging in sexual acts with audience members.
The film also shows GG Allin's personal life, including his relationships with his family, his bandmates, and his fans. We see GG's father, a conservative Christian preacher, denouncing his son's behavior and disowning him. We see GG's bandmates, the Murder Junkies, who consist of his brother Merle and a rotating cast of other musicians, struggling to keep up with GG's erratic behavior and drug use. And we see GG's fans, a loyal but often violent and confrontational group of hardcore punk rockers, who worship GG's message of rebellion and self-destruction.
Throughout the film, we are presented with a complex portrait of GG Allin, a man who is simultaneously repulsive and compelling, reviled and admired. On the one hand, we see him engaging in despicable acts of violence, such as assaulting audience members, defecating on stage, and getting into fights. On the other hand, we see him expressing a sincere and urgent desire to break free from societal norms and express his true self, unencumbered by social conventions or moral judgments.
One of the most striking aspects of the film is its portrayal of the punk rock subculture of the early 90s. We see how GG Allin's shows became a magnet for disaffected, working-class youth who were tired of the sanitized, mainstream culture of the Reagan era. We see how these fans formed a tight-knit community around GG, sharing his nihilistic worldview and his rejection of authority. And we see how this sense of belonging and rebellion fueled GG's own self-destructive tendencies, as he pushed himself and his fans to the edge of sanity and beyond.
Overall, Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies is a disturbing but compelling portrait of a deeply troubled and complex individual, who embodied both the best and worst aspects of punk rock culture. It is a film that challenges our preconceptions about art, music, and morality, and forces us to confront our own visceral reactions to extreme acts of rebellion and transgression.