On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 81% based on 74 reviews, with an average rating of 7.34/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "An audacious, unsettling Japanese horror film from director Takashi Miike, "Audition" entertains as both a grisly shocker and a psychological drama". On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Ken Eisner ("Variety") gave the film a positive review. The reviewer referred to the film as a "truly shocking horror film" that was "made even more disturbing by its haunting beauty". Geoffrey Macnab, writing in "Sight and Sound", referred to the film as a "slow-burning but ultimately devastating horror pic" and wrote that "it's a virtuoso piece of film-making with much more subtlety and depth than Miike's other films". "The Hollywood Reporter" Frank Scheck described the film as "one of the most audacious, iconoclastic horror films in recent years". Mark Schilling ("The Japan Times") praised Shiina and Ishibashi's acting, but noted that "among the film's few irritants is a smarmy, snarly bad guy turn by Renji Ishibashi as Asami's wheelchair-bound ballet instructor. He is a reminder of where too many other Miike films have headed – straight for the video racks". Schilling concluded that "Miike is ready for a bigger role – as one of the leading Japanese directors of his generation".