Most critics admire it. Ten of the twelve reviews are positive, and the praise gathers in the same places: the lead performances of Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet, and the fantasy sequences, which most reviewers treat as the heart of the film rather than decoration. The consensus reads it as the moment Peter Jackson turned from splatter comedies into a serious dramatist, and finds he kept his energy in the move.
The disagreement is about point of view. The film stays inside the girls’ heads, and the two dissenters, both American and both from the 1994 release, think that is the problem. The New York Times finds the tension leaks away because we never step outside the pair; The New Yorker goes further and objects to the tenderness shown to the killers. Time Out notes some irritating camera moves and Variety warns the flashy style may divide audiences. The spread is wide; the later British reviews are the warmest.