Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly wrote of the film: "For an hour or so, Demonlover is an entrancingly devious soap opera of executive decadence. When Gina Gershon shows up, playing an American entrepreneur who may or may not be linked to a website that features forbidden sexual torture, her hostile lubriciousness only thickens the atmosphere of cutthroat desire... The movie morphs into a ”dream,” all right, but I confess that all I wanted to do was wake up from it and return to the slithery intrigue of corporate depravity." The Chicago Tribunes Michael Wilmington gave the film a favorable review and praised its themes, noting: "The film is best enjoyed from a detached perspective, one which allows you to pick out political and cinematic ironies among the stylized thriller conventions. Unlike almost every other sexy modern thriller—especially most recent studio blockbusters—this one gives you a lot to think about." In a 2021 retrospective review, J. Hoberman of The New York Times wrote: "The movie struck many as annoyingly trendy when it premiered at Cannes in 2002. Nearly two decades later, its Everything-is-Now pyrotechnics have aged well, although it is hard to ignore the flip-top phones." Home media Palm Pictures released the film on DVD in North America on 16 March 2004, first in a 115-minute truncated R-rated version of the film, which eliminates some of the explicit sexuality, as well as pixellating some of the hentai footage shown in the film. Palm Pictures subsequently issued a two-disc unrated director's cut DVD on 14 September 2004, which runs 117 minutes. This unrated version was released on Region 4 DVD with an R18+ rating and later aired on Australian television with the equivalent AV15+ rating. As a bonus feature on the two-disc edition, a secret code (found in the text printed on the DVD itself) can be entered to gain access to the unedited Hellfire Club footage. Arrow Films released a 2K-restored special edition Blu-ray of the film in 2019 through their Arrow Academy line, available in the United Kingdom. In December 2020, Janus Films announced they would be screening a newly restored print of the film in February 2021, pending a DVD and Blu-ray release through the Criterion Collection. This newly-restored print was made available for streaming via the Film at Lincoln Center in February 2021. References Sources External links 2002 films 2002 thriller films French erotic thriller films French neo-noir films