SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2025 REVIEW! Time to face the facts, as we gotta know about the hard times of survival on the streets in the monumental hardcore documentary Harley Flanagan: Wired For Chaos, directed by Rex Miller. It is a look back over the life of New York Hardcore legend Harley Flanagan, leader of the band The Cro-Mags.
During the film, Miller includes interviews with various punk rock elders, including Henry Rollins, Darryl Jenifer, and Flea, about their memories of Flanagan from the day. Also speaking, there are several New York celebrities that you wouldn’t normally associate with hardcore punk, such as Ice T and actor Michael Imperioli.
Flanagan’s tragic childhood is explored when he was abandoned on dirty mattresses in his infancy by his junkie parents. His rise from the Bronx begins when he becomes the drummer for the punk band The Stimulators, despite being a pre-teen.
“Flanagan’s wild years…he raised a baby he had rescued from a crack house.”
Immersed in the punk universe at a young age, Flanagan naturally moved over to the faster and harder hardcore style in his teens, forming The Cro-Mags. They were able to get on Donahue, where it was highlighted that Flanagan and another band member were followers of Krishna.
Flanagan’s wild years are explored, including the time he raised a baby he had rescued from a crack house. Flanagan himself speaks at length as he discusses how he has had to work to have what ruined the first part of his life, not ruin the next parts.
I need to point out that Slamdance has lived up to its name this year, as Harley Flanagan: Wired For Chaos is one of the finest pieces ever made on hardcore music and its survivors. It is instant required viewing for anyone who has ever worn studded leather, while those who missed out will see what they were missing.
Think about it, kids: imagine being let loose amongst your tribe with no supervision and no cameras in everyone’s pockets. Back in the 80s, you were “out,” and you would be “back later” if you weren’t killed in the process. Miller makes sure you have that little taste of unsupervised teenage heaven that just isn’t there anymore.
"…instant required viewing for anyone who has ever worn studded leather..."
