Kenneth Turan, then also of "The Washington Post", stated that "I was going take the high road, be the Father Flanigan of film criticism, and say there is no such thing as a bad movie, that standards are relative, tastes differ. Then I saw 'Rollercoaster.' 'Rollercoaster,' slambang title notwithstanding, is a singularly tepid piece of work, so dull not even Sensurround can keep you fully awake. Yes, I cried when it was finally over, there is such a thing as a bad movie, and this it it. By the next morning, I'd calmed down, decided 'Rollercoaster' had its virtues after all, and was maybe even marginally entertaining."