Hellfire (song) - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

The song was critically acclaimed, and it is considered to be one of the highlights of the film's soundtrack, which in turn received mixed reviews. The general consensus is that if the direction taken with Hellfire had been taken for the other songs, the film as a whole would have been substantially better.

In a review of the soundtrack to the film, Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks.com stated that "the darkest depths of The Hunchback of Notre Dame exist in 'Hellfire,' one of the most stunning visual and aural combinations in animation history". Though the film was aimed at children as well as adults, Clemmensen comments that the "constantly frightening Latin chants and a heavy string, timpani, and choral bass" scared the younger demographic (despite attempts at lighthearted music and humour to dilute the film). He argues that if Disney had fully embraced the dark nature of the source material by building the soundtrack upon numbers like "Hellfire" and "Sanctuary!", "the film could have been a brilliant adult feature". He says the "spattering of comedy pieces", which include three "silly songs", are "a significant detriment to the gains of the aforementioned themes and performances", and ultimately cause both the film and soundtrack to be a "mixed bag". Pieces such as Hellfire are "serious, dramatically brilliant some of Menken's very best work". Later on in his review, Clemmensen notes the Latin mass which leads into " Jay's hauntingly deep performance of Frollo's torment", and adds that it "produc a song so overwhelmingly compelling in an evil sense that it alone was worth the cost of admission (and the album)".

Jim Miles of Laughingplace.com says that "Frollo's passionate pleading" is "visually astounding, masterfully conceived and animated", and the "standout" of the film. He adds that "accompanied by intense music of agony and complex lyrics of psychological revelation, Hellfire is everything a musical scene aspires to be".

Reviewer Kenneth E. Rathburn said the song's "grandeur...contributes and fulfills" more than other songs, such as "A Guy Like You", making it one of the better tracks.

Jack Smith of the BBC describes the tone (set by the opening number) as "an unholy marriage of the Tridentine Mass and Les Mis". He says the score, "driven by hysterical choirs and crashing percussion" is most effective in Hellfire.

The San Antonio Express-News described it as The Hunchback of Notre Dame's "true show-stopping tune". A blog review described Hellfire as "the darkest Disney song ever" and "the best in the whole film".

Simon Brew of Den of Geek! says the suffering Frollo goes through in this song makes him a "far more rounded villain". He describes Hellfire as "a stunning piece of work, with the visuals and music working in complete tandem".

Sean Griffin in his work Tinker Belles and Evil Queens: The Walt Disney Company from the Inside Out says that Frolo's hate for Esmerelda seems to stem from his hatred of his own feelings. His shame of "turning to sin" overwhelms him, and he turns to blaming and punishing others. He says that Frollo's lust for Esmerelda is strictly heterosexual, his behaviour "mirros conclusions from studies about homophobia...unconscious conflicts about one's own sexuality or gender identity". He argues that "Frollo's grim determinations to punish Esmerelda " are sparked from his own denial that he has "'urges' that fall outside the rigid parameters of social acceptance".