Dead End Kids is not a belated entry in Leo Gorcey/Huntz Hall manifest, but instead the film adaptation of Mabou Mines' off-Broadway play. The full title is Dead End Kids: A Story of Nuclear Power, and that is essentially that. Scientific articles, interviews and eyewitness accounts are woven together to trace the history and consequences of nuclear energy. The cast includes David Byrne and Phillip Glass, who also wrote the film's music. Though its visual style cannot be described as cinematic, Dead End Kids is one of the best of the many filmed "readings" on the subject of nuclear power that appeared in the mid-1980s.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide