100 Christian Science Monitor | David Sterritt This thoughtful, troubling drama is leagues above the sensationalistic stuff Araki peddled in earlier films. Read full review
88 New York Post | Lou Lumenick Not for the squeamish, but it is a beautifully crafted and thoughtful film that genuinely provokes. Read full review
88 Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert At once the most harrowing and, strangely, the most touching film I have seen about child abuse. Read full review
83 Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman Mysterious Skin dawdles more than it flows, but it comes alive whenever Araki, hovering between tragedy and voyeurism, reveals how sex can tear lives to pieces. Read full review