ReelViews by James Berardinelli

Egoyan has taken a seemingly-simple story and woven it into a near-masterpiece, creating images and an atmosphere that establish the perfect backdrop for a tale of loss, grief, and eroticism.

Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert

Exotica is a movie labyrinth, winding seductively into the darkest secrets of a group of people who should have no connection with one another, but do.

Chicago Tribune by John Petrakis

Exotica may be a gloomy journey up river, but it's a trip worth taking. See it with a friend. One who has something to say. [03 Mar 1995, p.J]

Miami Herald by René Rodríguez

Exotica seems to be about lust for the flesh, but it ends up as something much more tender -- and deeper. [24 Mar 1995, p.4G]

Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman

Like Christina’s dance, the movie is a gorgeous tease, an artful promise of something that never quite arrives.

Rolling Stone by Peter Travers

Egoyan is an acquired taste, but once in, you’re hooked. Exotica is Egoyan’s most accomplished and seductive film to date — even tackling acute psychic distress, Egoyan’s deadpan comic eye never flinches.

Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas

Atom Egoyan has made one of his most accessible films to date, a haunting and complex fable of loss and desire with wide implications.

Austin Chronicle by Marjorie Baumgarten

Egoyan's greatest strength as a filmmaker may be his ability to create and sustain particular moods and atmospheres. In that sense, Exotica lives up to its name.

San Francisco Examiner

Exotica is a worthy addition to an increasingly rich body of work by one of our most prolific and accomplished international filmmakers.

San Francisco Examiner by David Armstrong

Exotica is a worthy addition to an increasingly rich body of work by one of our most prolific and accomplished international filmmakers.

Washington Post by Hal Hinson

Stylish, intelligent but rather soulless bit of moviemaking.

The New York Times by Caryn James

Exotica may not be as perfectly formed as some of Mr. Egoyan's earlier work. Because Thomas's subplot is not as intriguing as the scenes in the club, the stories take too long to merge. But the flaws are minor. Mr. Egoyan continues to build an important, uncompromising career.

San Francisco Chronicle by Mick LaSalle

The picture gives the impression of a director in control of his vision, making precisely the film he intends to make. But the vision is a distinctly idiosyncratic one that will appeal only to certain tastes.

Washington Post by Desson Thomson

At its worst, which ends up being most of the time, the movie traps us in art-house pretentiousness, as we're obliged to follow the yearnings and abstract corruptions of the urban zestless.