Bridget Byrne of the "LA Weekly" alternately praised the film as "brilliant, audacious, and grotesque," likening it to a fairytale, but added that audiences "have to grasp its philosophy, work out the undercurrents of seriousness, close the structural gaps for even as [they are transported by a literal orgy of splendor." Writing for the Hackensack, New Jersey "Record", John Crittenden praised the film's visuals as "genius," but criticized Reed's performance while asserting that Redgrave was underused. Stephen Farber of "The New York Times" noted the film as an ambitious work, conceding that the "ideas in Russell's film may seem overly schematic, but his terrifying, fantastical nightmare images have astonishing psychological power."