Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Todd Phillips’s 1993 film HATED: GG ALLIN AND THE MURDER JUNKIES is one of the most vile films of any type ever produced. It chronicles the life of G.G. Allin, a punk-rocker of the most sickening type. Allin’s live shows are the stuff that would make even the bravest of crowds run in terror, as these performances would frequently end in police storming the venue and arresting Allin. Phillips’s documentary brings the whole story of Allin to view, featuring commentary from band members, former teachers, childhood friends, family, and fans of Allin, and, if you can handle the incredibly disgusting subject matter, you may even find this film to be pretty funny.

G.G. Allin was born in a small New Hampshire town in 1956, originally named Jesus Christ Allin, however soon he had his name changed to Kevin Michael Allin. Throughout his childhood, G.G. was ridiculed and segregated, and soon became involved in obscure music acts. This led to the formation of his first band around 1980, and would lead to one of the darkest chapters in the entire history of rock and roll. Allin had little musical talent at best, writing songs with such titles as “Bite It, You Scum”, “Sleeping In My P*ss”, “Outlaw Scumf*ck” and others too offensive to even include here. Allin was occasionally in the news due to his problems with the law, and often publicly threatened to kill himself onstage. In the end, however, following a wild 1993 show that resulted in a riot, G.G. Allin died of a heroin overdose, going out like a rock star rather than a revolutionary.

I became exposed to Allin’s music as a young punker, and was intrigued at the time by the absolutely unabashed offensiveness of Allin in general. At the time, being a young buck, this kind of stuff was interesting, but anymore, my collection of G.G. Allin CD’s sit unused, a token of what I once was. Although Allin has become something of a novelty to me anymore, the man’s life is still one of the most fascinating, and definitely one of the most sick in the history of rock music, and this documentary film brings the viewer the whole story of G.G. Allin told by the man himself.

Todd Phillips’s biography of Allin is both intriguing and repelling, holding no punches in its depiction of Allin as he existed in his career as a punk rocker who would put Marilyn Manson to shame hands down. Allin, during the course of his life, was arrested some fifty times, most often due to charges of assault, public indecency or disorderly conduct stemming from one of his live shows. Seeing Allin live was like entering a war zone. Fans in the front row were frequently assaulted by Allin, sometimes using chairs, mike stands, and basically anything he could get a hold of, and frequently, fans at G.G.’s shows would end up assaulting him right back. Allin would also frequently urinate or defecate on stage, often eating or drinking the resulting excretions. Yes, if you ever wanted to see this kind of stuff for real, HATED is a place you can do it.

Perhaps the most revealing footage in the film is interviews conducted with those who knew G.G. Allin best, namely, G.G. himself. Allin was totally anti-authority, and actually he was a bit of a philosopher, although I doubt that he would admit to it, nor want to be called that. The interviews we see with him however, leave as many questions unanswered as they answer. Merle Allin, G.G.’s brother and the bass player in G.G’s band “The Murder Junkies” is also interviewed on the tape as well as other band members, including the drummer, Dino, who has earned a reputation by playing a majority of shows in the nude. Allin’s teachers from high school are interviewed, as well as some childhood friends. There is also utilization of quite a bit of archival footage, including clips from Allin’s appearance on the “Geraldo” show, and numerous clips from live performances of both music and spoken word by Allin. In the end, the only real thing that HATED proves it that G.G. Allin was one screwed up human being.

If you can handle the extremely graphic content, HATED is actually a very good documentary about this man who will go down in the annals of the worst acts in music history. There actually are some funny moments. Allin’s childhood friends recount some of his teenage antics while they burn a joint, and who could forget the moment when G.G.’s high school band director is forced to listen to G.G’s recording of “Suck My A$$ , It Smells” and tries to remember the days when G.G. played drums in the band. HATED is also pretty amusing to see people’s reactions to Allin’s live act. There’s one instance where G.G. gives a spoken word performance in the nude at a college, and some of the stuff that goes on there is pretty funny, especially if you have a sick, SICK sense of humor.

On the other hand, there is some footage here that is absolutely disgusting. Besides Allin bashing himself bloody onstage, eating his own feces, and running around naked constantly it seems, there’s one scene where Allin has a prostitute urinate into his mouth. Halfway through this act, Allin vomits all over the place, still continuing to gulp down urine. During the performance at the college, we also see the heartwarming sight of a grown man inserting a banana into his anus. Yes sireee, this is good family entertainment... yep. As a bonus, at the end of the tape, you get footage from G.G’s odd funeral. HATED is definitely NOT a film for anyone who is squeamish at all. It is really probably one of the sickest films ever made, with some nasty, disgusting, repulsive footage contained in it, but it is also one of the best documentary films about rock and roll, and its all true.

Todd Phillips’s HATED has my highest recommendation for viewers who can handle the content, but it is perhaps the best example of a film that you will either love, or completely hate. It is a top-notch documentary, and is well made technically, and is quite interesting if you can get past the whole deal with the poop eating. The film also includes some extensive music from Allin’s repertoire, some of which is undeniably catchy. Phillips would later go on to direct mainstream films, including ROAD TRIP, and I believe the “G.G. Allin Fan” called “Unk” in this documentary is actually Phillips himself. For Allin fans, punk rockers, people as fed up with the current music scene as I am, or generally interested parties, if you can hack the content, I would say check HATED out.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: None of the Above
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age