 "Rolling Stone"s Anthony DeCurtis terms it "haunting" and comments that the lyrics reflect fears that Harrison hoped to calm with his religious beliefs.Chip Madinger and Mark Easter call the song "a stunning composition", reflecting the considerable growth in Harrison's songwriting abilities since his early Beatle days.Writing for the music website Something Else!, Nick DeRiso includes "Beware of Darkness" among the highlights of Harrison's solo career on Apple Records; DeRiso describes it as Harrison's "best album's very best song – one where he perfectly matches a lyrical meditation on overcoming life's harder moments … with the sound, mysticism and fury of one of the early 1970s' greatest amalgamations of sidemen".