Chuck Middlestat of the "Albuquerque Journal" deemed the film a "light-weight spooker that starts off pretty slowly but builds into a good nail-biter in the last half-hour," but noted the dialogue as weak, adding that "the actors... do as well as they could with sophomoric lines." Glenn Erickson of "DVD Talk" wrote, "The reason "Deathdream" works is its superior dramatic staging. The actors are excellent, especially John Marley and Lynn Carlin, both honored for their roles in John Cassavetes' "Faces". Clark stages the domestic scenes with a fine simplicity and what we remember the most is the looks of bewilderment on nicely-framed faces." Paul Corupe of "DVD Verdict" wrote, ""Deathdream", the second collaboration by director Bob Clark and screenwriter Alan Ormsby, is a marked artistic and technical leap forward from the pair's overrated debut feature, "Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things". A modern spin on the classic "be careful what you wish for" theme, Ormsby's screenplay balances a pointed Vietnam War allegory with pulpier aspects—a "shock" ending, distinct moments of morbid comic relief and beyond-the-grave retribution ripped from the pages of a 1950s horror comic."