"Massacre at Central High" attracted little attention when first released, but when reissued in 1980, "New York Times" critic Vincent Canby praised it as "an original, fascinating work", and named it as one of his 20 favorite films of the year. Roger Ebert also discussed the film favorably on his television show "Sneak Previews", describing it as "intelligent and uncompromising". Dave Sindelar from "Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings" praised the film's characters, political subtext, and depth, while criticizing some of the dialogue, and soundtrack. Sindelar concluded his review by writing, "Nevertheless, movies with this much thoughtfulness behind them are uncommon, and whatever its flaws, the movie is definitely worth viewing." TV Guide gave the film three out of five stars, writing, ""Massacre at Central High" is a fascinating little movie that delivers its expected exploitation thrills while presenting a political allegory, albeit a somewhat confused one." Time Out London also reviewed the film favorably, calling it "An intriguing, diagrammatic example of subversive cinema." By contrast, John Ross Bowie, in comparing the film with the more comedic "Heathers", dismissed "Massacre at Central High" as "exploitative" and "devoid of technique", and criticized its technical flaws and "wooden acting".