Hated (1998)

This special edition of the legendary documentary from filmmaker Todd Phillips consists of the most detailed and intimate footage the world will ever see of GG Allin. Both fans and critics alike have praised this film for its truthfully brutal portrait o

Pathetic

Absolutely Pathetic... There is nothing more to write. It just shows a sick wannabe 'shocker' insecure, bully-wimp coward eating his own feces on stage. No talent. No wisdom. No punk rock star. Just a dumbass loser who's (thankfully) gone from earth now. May 9, 2008

Utterly amazing and disappointing

"The human is just another animal who is able to speak out freely, to express himself clearly." And that is just what G.G. Allin's problem is. He does not try to express himself with words like any animal who can speak would do, or to express himself clearly like any human with some sense would do. He uses nearly exclusively body language and in that body language only one side of the picture, the gross and the gore, the dirty and the bloody. Punk they say? Punk they have the right to say. But G.G. Allin demonstrates if it is necessary to do so that he, as a punk rocker with a death wish, is an exhibitionist, an aggressive and violent person, a literal s***t-eater, a true p***s-drinker and a self p***e-taster. So what! So nothing. So not much. The death wish is no longer only a death wish in him. It is also a death instinct because he not only wishes death but he is cruelly violent against other people. If he really believes a body is a rock and roll temple, his vision of the temple is particularly dilapidated. It is Stonehenge after a gang of looters armed with twenty bulldozers have been on the site for a fortnight. Look at his temple, at his body: out of shape due to no exercise, extreme alcoholism, drug addiction of all types and kinds, not to speak of his idea that the body is like paper, to be scribbled on I guess. There is no explanation in this very superficial film. And there is no real presentation of his music. It is more some kind of self-satisfying review of this annihilating and nihilistic anti-art attitude on what is not even a stage, but just a piece of floor in some kind of back room. Punk for sure but without the music or without the political anarchism. Just some scatological provocation as if a provocation was enough to be considered as art in the simple fact that it is a provocation or as politics in the simple fact that is outside all norms. Too bad, and what's more he did not even hold his promise to commit suicide on stage. He simply died of an overdose. What a flop! What a let down! An artist should be able to hold his promises.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
April 2, 2008

Five stars for true sicko's

During the opening credits of this incredible documentary, the utter vileness and insanity of GG Allin is quickly laid bare: the camera rolls while GG lies onstage, a naked woman crouched above him, and he removes a hot dog from her anus and begins sucking on it.

And that about sums up the tone of this film. Violence and degradation in equal measure were the essence of GG Allin, and as awful as his music was, we're all probably very lucky he managed to channel so much of his psychopathic rage into his performances. After watching "Hated" it's hard not to believe that, as he often suggested, if not for his "rock and roll" he might well have been a rapist or serial killer.

GG started out as a relatively normal punk rocker in the late 70's, but throughout the 1980's he became increasingly unhinged. Ingestion of large quantities of alcohol and whatever drugs he could find no doubt fueled his growing paranoia and megalomania; by the time of this documentary, GG had become completely convinced that he was "God, Jesus and Satan all rolled into one" - though it is difficult to find any examples of the first two in GG's behavior, lyrics or world view. The man was apparently incapable of any level of empathy or compassion, preferring instead to either beat or be beaten.

The most startling thing about GG, and which "Hated" does a good job of portraying, was his enthusiasm for both receiving and dispensing violence and humiliation. In blunt terms, he was as willing to be hit/cut/burned/sh&t upon as he was willing to do those things to others. Often, he would simply mutilate himself. Without flinching, Todd Phillips managed to keep the camera rolling through all of it.

This is certainly the most disgusting video I own. And I don't usually go for scenes of degradation or mindless violence. Yet I can't deny the morbid appeal of this freak show. And almost as intriguing as GG himself are his bandmates and fans - an assortment of outcasts and weirdos who somehow saw (and smelled) past the surface of this maniac.

The bonus footage from the Gas Station (GG's last show, the day before he died) is the single strangest video I ever saw. The band rehearses, then plays 1 1/2 songs before the power goes out, at which point GG goes completely nuts: breaking windows (buck naked of course) and getting bloody; fighting various crowd members; taking a dump and rubbing it all over himself; storming out to the NYC sidewalk in broad daylight covered in blood and feces, somehow eluding the police who responded to the scene while some of his fans began rioting; and walking for several blocks through Greenwich Village with a couple of creepy hangers-on, repeatedly talking about how he wants to score some heroin and get high; and finally getting into a taxi. My favorite moment is when he runs into some biker outside a bar and after chatting briefly, the biker jovially sends him on his way with an entirely sincere-sounding "God bless, man!"

Within 12 hours, GG would be dead of an overdose.

This video is just downright bizarre. But if nothing else, you will NEVER see another one like it. September 26, 2007

Something Awesome Even Better

The last edition of Hated was pretty awesome, however with the little extras this time, it's even better. There's actually commentaries now (one by Merle Allin and Dino, the other by Todd Phillips), and the rest of the extras are pretty cool as well. The interview with Merle and Dino makes the whole price worth it IMO. There's a cool slide show of the submissions from the cover art contest submitted by fans, though some background music would've made it cooler.

I haven't had any problems with my disc thus far, so I can't comment on the manufacturing error, but this edition is awesome and well worth it.

And as far as the other post, I can't STAND Chicken John's guitar playing, especially live. Bill Weber helped to make that trademark Murder Junkies feel. He made the band's sound change from a goofy garage band to what they tried to be the whole time: BRUTAL. You can't have lyrics as violent as GG's and goofy leads played poorly. September 11, 2007

A life without consequence

I recall thinking to myself after watching Hated - did I just watch a brutally honest man who embodies all that is the punk rock ethos or did I just watch a psychopath at work? I still don't know yet I can't help but find myself steeped in respect for this man. He refused to accept the life on life's terms. He lived on his terms more than anyone I can think of. Did he shock for the sake of shock? Absolutely not. He was shocking because he was who he was and would not give in to anyone or anything. Allin seems to be the combination of every shred of anger and rebellion from every artist that ever tried to break the mold. When others put down their pens, paints, guitars and typewriters, Allin kept screaming.

Think about it. Almost every one of us has compromised to keep a job, a woman, a man, a family, a house, car, whatever. We need to pay the rent, the bills, eat and get to work so we don't end up living beneath a freeway. Allin didn't care. He told everyone to eat sh** and he was more than happy to sit in a jail cell if need be. In some strange way, this apparent lunatic transcended life itself where everything was equal and nothing mattered. Not life, jail or death. But he was no lunatic. He was a bright man who had huge balls and was never hesitant to tell anyone exactly what he thought. Because the consequences were meaningless. If you can live your life where consequences mean nothing, I really think, dead or alive, you've won.

Overall, Hated is a good film. The 50 minutes in the extras can be tough to watch because of the handheld camera bouncing all over the place. This is one of the few things I've seen where I was not only asking myself, "Who is this guy?" but "Who the hell am I?" I still don't know if I think GG Allin is repulsive or inspiring but the fact I'm torn tells me he was one hell of a man.

July 18, 2007

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