Jeremy Wheeler of AllMovie praised "The Mutilator's" level of gore but criticized every other aspect of it, noting, "With effects echoing early Tom Savini, the killings in "The Mutilator" are not only gratuitous, but sickeningly ingenious in that blood red sort of way. It hearkens back to a time when the real stars of horror cinema were the effects, with each kill representing a new creative challenge for the makeup maestros. Yes, the acting is horrible and no, it does nothing to further the genre, but those should be the last reasons to catch this flick."