Critical reception for the film was predominantly negative, with both
Variety and
People panning the film. The
Sun-Sentinel criticized the film as "pointlessly violent" and stated that "[t]he only people who should be more ashamed of it than USA and Raphael -- who obviously won't be -- are those who encourage more such trash by watching".
The Stalking of Laurie Show was also criticized for "[distorting] the truth", with an article in the
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal stating that Lambert was not the "90210-style prom queen" nor Show the outcast that they were portrayed as in the film. The reporter went on to argue that the changes to the film, along with the sexual content "designed only to titillate", was largely unnecessary and detracted from the crime itself. ==References==