"Heck" Adapted for the Silver Screen

By Paige MacGregor

The film will be adapted for the screen by Spyglass Entertainment, the production company behind other kid-friendly features such as Stick It, 27 Dresses and The Pacifier. The story will follow Milton and his sister to Heck, where they meet a boy named Virgil who has a map of the Nine Circles of Heck. Together, the youngsters plan their escape from the underworld and the principal of Heck, Bea “Elsa” Bubb.

According to Spyglass Entertainment reps, the company wants the Heck adaptation to be a big, “effects-driven family adventure in the vein of Beetlejuice”, the popular 1988 horror comedy starring Michael Keaton, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin and Winona Ryder. Director Juan Jose Campanella (whose foreign-language film, The Secret in Their Eyes, took home the Oscar this year) is set to direct the Heck adaptation. Reportedly, Campanella’s work is a testament to his dark side—along with an obsession with the color red—that seems to hold great potential for a film like Heck.

I don’t know a lot about Juan Jose Campanella—although I plan to take a look at his recent Oscar-winning film in the very near future—but I’m still very excited about this cinematic adaptation. Not to mention the outrage and anger that will be incited among parents who say that the film glorifies death or some other ridiculous thing.

For more information on Dale E. Basye’s book series, head over to the series’ official Web site. The film project is currently in development, so unless you have an IMDbPro account you won’t find much on the IMDb site, but we’ll keep our eyes peeled for updates on the film and an official web site.