Film scholar Adam Rockoff notes that the film was frequently compared to the films of Brian De Palma upon release, as Rosman had previously worked as an assistant for De Palma. Frank Hagen, published in the "Standard-Speaker", favorably compared the film to the works of De Palma and Alfred Hitchcock, adding that it is "cuts above the routine rip-and-slash fare... Rosman knows how to maintain suspense and deliver a shock or two." Kevin Thomas of the "Los Angeles Times" praised the film as a "skillfully made horror picture that builds suspense and terror in which obligatory gore is presented with surprising restraint," ultimately deeming it a "promising debut from writer-director Rosman." The "Daily Press"s Henry Edgar echoed this sentiment, writing that the film favors suspense over gore, noting it as a "quality" thriller, and praising the performances of McNeil and Davidson, describing them as "credible" and "cunning, and realistic," respectively.