One interpretation of the song describes a predatory woman named Susie who seduces Jackson before plotting to stab him with a knife.

"Blood on the Dance Floor" was the only track from the remix album performed on the HIStory World Tour.

The song's backing track, composed by Teddy Riley, was originally presented to Jackson during the Dangerous recording sessions in 1990.

Riley was reportedly upset that Jackson did not call him to "vacuum clean this old master" upon realizing it would be included on Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix.

[5][6][7][8][9] Neil Strauss of The New York Times suggests that the predatory woman in the title track, "Susie", is a metaphor for AIDS.

It is likely that the reason some of these remixes were released as part of this single is due to its association with the Dangerous album, since it was originally created during its recording sessions.

Regardless, the majority of Sanchez' original remixes remain unreleased, and are only available on a rare digital audio tape distributed among label executives.

[12] Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Produced by the artist with Teddy Riley this track chugs with a pleasant jeep-styled groove that provides a firm foundation for a lip-smacking vocal and a harmony-laden hook that is downright unshakable."

[5][14] Anthony Violenti of The Buffalo News said of the single, "[it is] laced with Teddy Riley's new jack swing sound and a pounding techno beat", whereas The Cincinnati Post characterized the song as a "lackluster first release ... dated, played-out dance track", but gave the album an overall favorable review.

[9] David Sinclair from The Times constated, "With his voice little more than a whisper, and the groove screwed to a very high torque, this is as lean and urgent a piece as Jackson has ever produced.

"[16] William Ruhlman of AllMusic observed, "'Blood on the Dance Floor' is an uptempo Jackson song in the increasingly hysterical tradition of 'Billie Jean' and 'Smooth Criminal' with Jackson huffing, puffing, and yelping through some nonsense about a stabbing ... over a fairly generic electronic dance track".

[18] A longtime commentator on Jackson's public life, J. Randy Taraborrelli, gave a retrospective analysis of the album in the biography, The Magic & the Madness.

[18][24] Interviewed on her experience during the video one of the dancers, Carmit Bachar (of The Pussycat Dolls) noted, "I was called in by Vincent Paterson for 'Blood on the Dance Floor'.

I arrived wearing a little salsa dress, fish nets, heels, and my hair was up in a kind of bun with a flower.

[26] The New York Times described the United States promotional effort for the Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix campaign as "subdued", creating "hardly a sound" and "perplexing to many people in the industry".

The New York Times acknowledged that promotion was stronger internationally, where Jackson had more commercial force and popularity.

[29] It was Jackson's seventh and final UK chart topper as a solo artist, although it fell to number eight in its second week of release.

This relatively lower peak position has been attributed to the lack of US promotion and—according to J. Randy Taraborrelli and AllMusic writer William Ruhlman—the ongoing US public interest in Jackson's private life over his music.