The film was the second highest-grossing New Zealand film in New Zealand at the time with a gross of $350,000, behind Sleeping Dogs (1977).[2]
The film received mixed reviews which has largely been attributed to its avoidance of genre clichés. The film did receive praise when it screened at the 1981 Chicago Film Festival, with director John Laing recalling that "the audience was passionate". The film also received praise from Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun Times where he described it as a "remarkable film".[full citation needed]
In New Zealand the film was well received with Punch stating that it "inspires respect" and suggesting that the film "stirs [hope] that New Zealand may be about to join the cinema producing countries". Due to the high-profile nature of the case in New Zealand the film was described as a "story that a lot of people in the country wanted to forget about". In spite of this the film was New Zealand's most successful film until the release of Goodbye Pork Pie the following year.[3]
References
^"The 1980s". No. 97–98. Cinema Papers New Zealand Supplement. April 1994. pp. 6–7. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
