On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 92%, based on 24 reviews with an average rating of 7.73/10. In 1992, critic James Monaco rated "Hour of the Wolf" three out of five, dubbing it a "fine acting exercise". "The New Yorker" recalled it in 1999 as "probably the darkest of Ingmar Bergman’s journeys into his shadowy interior", mentioning the "ferocity" of the scene where Johan murders a boy. In 2000 Kim Newman of "Empire Online" praised "Hour of the Wolf" as "one of the most sinisterly beautiful black-and-white horror films you will ever see". "Time Out London" called it "a brilliant gothic fantasy".