"Very tight and well-crafted-a great exploitation movie."
Joe Dante

"A minor classic."
Art Black, Psychotronic Video

"The Sadist is a tense, violent film, one unrelenting nail-biter."
Wesley Holt, Filmfax

"Brace yourself."
Marty Baumann, The Astounding B-Monster

"A surprisingly taut and effective B&W thriller."
John Charles, Video Watchdog

"Hall (so awful as the teen hero of Eegah! [1962]) is creepily convincing as a young psycho...Cheap but compelling, with effective B&W photography by Vilmos Zsigmond."
James O'Neill, Terror on Tape

"Surprisingly good shocker never resorts to exploitation in telling the taut tale of a serial killer....Arch Hall, Jr. is excellent as the cackling killer who talks like Richard Widmark and taunts victims with cat-and-mouse threats. Writer-director James Landis throws in nifty twists of plot and brings prestige to a story that in lesser hands would be schlock."
John Stanley, Creature Features: The Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Movie Guide

"I was shocked, but Arch Hall, Jr. is awesome in this movie and plays one of the best crazies I have ever seen, which is impressive since I have seen a lot of cinematic troubledoers. In the end, I loved The Sadist."
Marc Girdler, DVD Authority

Compiled by David Kalat