In a guest column for "Entertainment Weekly"s 1000th issue in 2008, author Neil Gaiman listed Tooms as one of his favorite monsters, while UGO Networks listed the character in a 2011 countdown of the "Best TV Serial Killers", and described Hutchison's acting as "uber-creepy". Also in 2008, IGN's Christine Seghers listed Hutchison as the fourth-best guest star of the series in a top-ten countdown, complimented his "brilliantly perverse" performance, and wrote: "Even when he doesn't appear to be doing anything, Hutchinson can still make your skin crawl with his dead, shark-like stare". In 2009, Connie Ogle from PopMatters listed Tooms amongst the greatest monsters of the series.