"Penelope Spheeris's Suburbia is a clear- eyed, compassionate melodrama...Her new film is probably the best teen-agers-in-revolt movie since Jonathan Kaplan's Over the Edge [1979]. It's far better than Francis Ford Coppola's Outsiders [1983] and Rumble Fish (1983), having none of the ersatz poetry that was poured like maple syrup over the two Coppola movies. Suburbia is at its best when it is simply observing the randomness of the lives of its young people, watching them at aggressive play in a punk- rock club, stealing food from suburban freezers or just sitting around in the garbage of their beloved pad. The performances by the nonprofessional young actors are self-conscious and completely believable."
- Vincent Canby, The New York Times. Published: April 13, 1984

"Shows enormous empathy and sensitivity in capturing the angst and alienation of American youth, making it seem both rooted in a specific time and place and strangely timeless."
– DVD review by Nathan Rabin, The Onion

"Combines intelligent social comment with the conventions of the teens-in-revolt exploiter to gripping effect."
- Time Out Film Guide

"A bracingly insightful study of youth as the tragic detritus of adult delusion, Suburbia is pretty much unbeatable, and pretty much unforgettable."
– Ian Grey, City Paper

"Despite its visceral qualities (it opens with a rabid dog attacking a defenseless baby) the film now has a glow of roseate, nostalgic charm - partly a product of the winning incompetence of most of the performances. Sure, these hometown nihilists gob, puke and fight, but they're pretty sweet with it."
- Channel 4 Film

"This is both plotless and pointless, a movie as aimless and dull as the lives of its characters. In terms of the script, the acting, and the production values, this is barely better than basic backyard filmmaking."
- L.A. Morse, Video Trash Treasures

"Casting real-life street kids, Spheeris achieves the realism that Hollywood actors couldn't have offered, but the movie still suffers from amateur acting and shoddy production. However, the technical details aren't really the point for the D.I.Y. attitude of the intended audience....Suburbia ranks up there with Repo Man [1984] as an enjoyable rebellious '80s teen movie."
- Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

"Uncompromising account of unlovely LA punks and unlovelier adults that makes something personal out of standard teen-rebellion material." - Halliwell's Film & Video Guide

Compiled by Millie de Chirico