Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas

Merhige understands how exciting going to the edge of credibility can be without falling off, and he has the bravura talent and imagination needed to pull off the sheer, hurtling audacity of Suspect Zero.

Washington Post by Michael O'Sullivan

With its spooky atmosphere to spare and a riveting central performance by Kingsley, an actor who manages to elicit both terror and sympathy, I was able to forget all those things, basking in the pleasure of my own goose bumps. So, for an hour and a half, will you.

Chicago Tribune by Michael Wilmington

The script isn't really good enough to worry about whether it's being over-directed; in fact, E. Elias Merhige's over-direction is one of the best things about this movie--along with Ben Kingsley's grimly unstoppable killer-of-killers, Benjamin O'Ryan.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Liam Lacey

The trouble is that the plot is so elliptical to be almost unfollowable (though it helps to have seen the trailer).

The Hollywood Reporter by Kirk Honeycutt

Suspect Zero has enough going for it to eventually develop a cult following. But compared to "Silence of the Lambs" and "Seven," it's still the minor leagues.

Wall Street Journal by Jim Fusilli

Directed by E. Elias Merhige, the film is never less than entertaining, but Sir Ben's portrayal of a sympathetic psychopath gives it a special zing.

Miami Herald

Ultimately the story of someone who preys on other serial killers, but can't seem to come up with an original way in which to do it.

Philadelphia Inquirer by Steven Rea

Fails to provide one essential ingredient: suspense.

Charlotte Observer by Lawrence Toppman

Kingsley gets the film's one big emotional scene and makes it count.

Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum

The truth is, the freakiness kinda turns the director on, and he nearly strangles Suspect Zero with love.

Dallas Observer by Gregory Weinkauf

Merhige is too talented to be dismissed as a wannabe, but here his gifts for clever angles and oogy feelings are tethered to blasé genre redundancies and clunky storytelling. Looks great, less thrilling. I blame the screenwriters.

Miami Herald by Peter Debruge

Ultimately the story of someone who preys on other serial killers, but can't seem to come up with an original way in which to do it.

Variety

A plodding and familiar "cop sees what the killer sees" riff that plays like a poorly inflated "The X-Files" episode.

The A.V. Club by Keith Phipps

Given nothing to do, Carrie-Anne Moss looks on from the sidelines as the film halfheartedly toys with the tired old notion that only a thin line separates the dogged investigator and the compulsive killer. She looks bored, and she should.

TV Guide Magazine

It's not easy to make a thriller that's both incredibly convoluted and intensely boring, but director E. Elias Merhige scores on both counts with this lame excuse for a spooky crime story.