[2] Jessica Winter, writing for The Village Voice, said of Close Your Eyes, "Willing's confused procedural—derived from a novel by Madison Smartt Bell—is a hasty throwback to the sado-medieval Exorcist descendants of the turn of the millennium (Stigmata, Stir of Echoes, Lost Souls).

It is an indication of this movie's concern for its characters rather than bloody special effects that it spends as much time delving into the hypnotist’s sometimes tense relationship with his pregnant wife (Otto) as it does having him hunt for the killer.

"[4] Mark Jenkins, reviewing Close Your Eyes for The Washington Post, described the film: "Effectively foreboding and rather silly, director Nick Willing's creep-out has a British accent but a Hollywood soul."

"[5] Stephen Holden of The New York Times called Close Your Eyes "a flashy, mildly tingly British thriller... adapted from Madison Smartt Bell's novel 'Doctor Sleep'".

"[6] Slant Magazine's Joe McGovern said, "Shirley Henderson and Goran Visnjic sex up Close Your Eyes—an achievement worth noting given the otherwise neutered condition of this leaden procedural, and the fact that the two actors virtually never touch."