More popular than Jesus Cleave's article mentioned that Lennon was "reading extensively about religion", and quoted a comment he made: Cleave's interview with Lennon was published in the "Evening Standard" in March 1966 and provoked no public reaction in the UK. Church attendance there was in decline and the Christian churches were making no secret of the need to transform their image into something more relevant to modern times. Music historian Jonathan Gould wrote, "The satire comedians had had a field day with the increasingly desperate attempts of the Church to make itself seem more relevant ('Don't call me vicar, call me "Dick" ...')."
Interview with the Assassin McGavin for the "Chicago Tribune" stated ""Interview With the Assassin" is imbued with a sinister air of danger that unfortunately dissipates in the final moments." Calling Barry's performance "excellent", McGavin wrote: "He has an authoritative presence and a sense of mystery and danger, that like this movie, demands to be taken seriously." Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly" compared its cinematography to "The Blair Witch Project" and described it as "a verite enigma-thriller, the pieces of which are more gripping than the finished puzzle." Manohla Dargis in the "Los Angeles Times" complimented Burger's cinematography and his choice of Barry as Ohlinger,