As anthropology, Out of the Blue is engrossing; as a social document, it is essential; but as undiluted raw power, it is absolute. No filter.

Dennis Hopper made the film while still in the depths of his various addictions, yet the dark shambolic energy that both radiates from the actor and suffuses every minute of Out of the Blue never once overwhelms Linda Manz.

[An] unspeakable, unbearable and virtually unreviewable movie...

In true New Hollywood fashion, Out of the Blue’s bleak human drama hits all the harder because it prioritizes naturalism.