In his book Legacy of Blood: A Comprehensive Guide to Slasher Movies (2004), film writer Jim Harper notes that the film is "handled in traditional slasher style...  done quite well, with a few stylistic flourishes her and there." Film critic and writer Scott Aaron Stine deemed American Nightmare a "seedy murder mystery" that will "undoubtedly interest fans of '70s sleaze more than '80s horror or splatter."
