Stephen Holden of "The New York Times" gave the film a mixed review, praising Renner's performance and the supporting roles, but saying the film "falls headlong into the trap of imagining that it can somehow rationalize the monstrous." Robert Koehler of Variety wrote: "Jacobson produces a remarkably creepy piece of cinema that disturbs by suggestion, nuance and ambiguity." Carla Meyer of the "San Francisco Chronicle" gave the film a middling review, writing, "Filmmaker David Jacobson doesn't seem to know where to go with his version. He approaches crass exploitation by juxtaposing scenes of carnage with shots of chocolate spilling into a vat (Dahmer worked in a candy factory). Other moments carry real suspense and emotional weight." Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly" praised Renner's performance, stating that he "imbues Jeffrey Dahmer with a very solemn desolation that looks just enough like "normal" pain to let you in on the way that this repressed, lonely freak could pass himself off as just another sad-eyed outcast."