 The film was released as part of producer Takashige Ichise's J-Horror Theater series along with "Infection", "Premonition", and "Reincarnation", among others.Adam DiLeo of IGN gave "Retribution" a mixed review, saying that the films is worth seeing despite it is not on par with Kiyoshi Kurosawa's previous films such as "Cure" and "Bright Future".Derek Elley of "Variety" praised Kōji Yakusho's performance, saying he "makes an ideal protagonist, one with whom the audience is never quite sure whether it can identify".