[5] Adam Graham of Detroit News had compared the film to Fear and Taken, and praised Kormákur for setting "[an] icy tone from the beginning".

[6] Matthew Lickona of San Diego Reader jokingly have said that "[The Oath] is [a]n anti-Taken, though definitely not a Given", adding in his closing comments that "Everyone gets sympathy; no one gets excused".

[8] Brent McKnight of Seattle Times had commented on film's "escalating psychological tension", adding that it "eschews the action trappings for delicate character work".

[9] According to Laura DeMarco of The Plain Dealer, "[the film] is a philosophical drama that asks is it right for a father to go to such lengths".

[10] Unlike other critics, Chicago Reader's Ben Sachs found the film "ugly and misanthropic".