The film's reputation has grown since its initial release. Film historian William K. Everson found the same sense of beauty at work in "The Curse of the Cat People" and Jean Cocteau's "La Belle et la Bête". Director Joe Dante said that the film's "disturbingly Disneyesque fairy tale qualities have perplexed horror fans for decades", and the film has been utilized in college psychology courses. In 2010, "The Moving Arts Film Journal" ranked it the 35th greatest film of all time. On Rotten Tomatoes, "The Curse of the Cat People" holds an approval rating of 88% based on 33 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Foregoing the horror thrills of its predecessor in favor of childhood fantasy, "Curse of the Cat People" is a touching and psychologically complex family film couched in a ghost story."