Hel's story on film

 I am adapting the section of “The Children of Loki”, pages 96 to 97, in Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology. I would adapt the scene in Norse Mythology to portray Loki’s daughter Hel in a positive light. I want to challenge prejudiced, preconceived notions about witchcraft being evil. The thematic intent in this scene would be tortured heroes struggling to make a righteous decision or choosing to purposely create evil. Another theme I would like to implicitly talk about is family, centering on Odin as a grandfather, Loki as a father, and Hel as a sometimes-disobedient daughter. To make the audience fall in love with Hel and make them want to follow her story for the rest of the movie, I would add poetry to the dialogue between Hel, Loki, and Odin. According to Syd Rafid Kabir, “Hel is more than just a keeper of the damned” and it would be interesting to see the hidden aspects of her story told. Through this scene, I would convey that the traditional Christian hell is not the same as the Norse interpretation of the underworld, and it is necessary to talk about mythology without judgement. 

In the novel, Odin orders Loki’s daughter to step towards him (Gaiman) and asks her what they call her. It is revealed that her name is Hel. She is polite and addresses him as All-father. The right side of her face is described as beautiful, and the left side as dull and implied to be evil. She is the daughter of Loki and a giant, after all. Hel says that she likes the dead because they respect her, but the living “look at [her] with revulsion” (Gaiman). Odin announces that Hel will be the ruler of the underworld, and while Hel seems okay with this and excitedly discusses her bowl and her bed, there is a negative undertone. I would like to challenge this negativity and adapt the story on film to create a positive story about Hel and the underworld. 

The story starts with a dark screen, and computer-generated imagery creates silver stars to introduce the scene that is about to happen. The song “Who am I to you” by Tzayla is playing to create the feeling of a mystical, magical world. The story is set Asgard, the city of the gods. Odin’s hall has a golden throne, which was created by applying gold paint to a regular chair. I would use cinematography to create lighting that highlights a golden glow around Odin’s throne to show that he is important. 

 A third person narrator says, “This is the story of the first witch. She loved the dead, and she drank in their power. Her father, Loki, believed in her – at least for some of the time.” 

 After this, a man with long, black hair walks onto the scene, shadows of mist surrounding him. This man is Odin, and the camera uses lighting techniques to create shadows on his face. Ominous classical music starts playing. Odin is played by John Glover and wears a wig because Glover currently does not have long hair. I chose John Glover because he is older – over seventy – and because he successfully played Lionel Luther in the television series Smallville. Lionel Luther was a dark, grifty character and I want Odin to appear in a similar light.  

Odin says, “Come here, girl” with a cracking voice. The eerie music in the background will make the audience suspect that even if Odin might be slightly evil, he is without a doubt wise. The camera lense captures an image of his black, gouged out eye socket. This emphasizes the long journey and sacrifices Odin went on and gave to achieve eternal wisdom – it also asks serious students of paganism to risk the same. 

Then the song “King and lion heart” by Of Monsters and Men starts to play. The song would be non-diegetic music; only the audience would hear it. I would use this song to create the mis-en-scène: a dark, mystical film. The song also introduces the main character, Hel. Hel is played by Danielle Rose Russel because she triumphantly played the witch Hope Michealson in the television series Legacies. I would cast this actress because of her good representation of witches. It is important for people who identify as pagan or as a witch to be fairly represented in film. Hel is looking at the ground, afraid of Odin. Odin reaches for her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. True to the mis-en-scène, there is a sense of foreboding darkness created by shadow. Hopefully, this would make the audience see Hel as a tormented, brooding character – an anti-hero. 

Lighting reveals that the right side of Hel’s face is beautiful and alluring, highlighting her potential to be pure and good. A lone tear escapes, highlighting the magical green of her right eye. The camera lenses capture soft brown hair falling over the left side of her face, hiding the grotesque nature of this side. The creepy mis-en-scène continues as Odin angrily yanks Hel’s hair away, revealing ghostliness – dark shadows under the witch’s eyes along with bruised, swollen red skin. Make-up creates a horror movie feel when the audience sees the darkness and evil portrayed on half of Hel’s face. Maggots crawl out of Hel’s left eye, making the audience cringe and look away. Additionally, since Hel is “sometimes described as half-flesh colored and half-blue" (Kabir), the rotting side of her face is painted with heavy, blue make-up. 

“You must not be afraid, Hel daughter of Loki,” Odin says. Hel shakes violently, afraid of Odin, her grandfather. She refuses to show her terror, and there is a close-up shot of Hel’s arms, which reveals sweat. 

“I am not afraid, Odin,” Hel whispers quietly. We see an angled shot of Hel looking up at the corner of the room, whispering and humming softly. She is peacefully singing an ancient hymn although she has long forgotten all of the words – though, her soul would never forget. Hel can be angelic as well as monstrous. I would attempt to portray her as a character who has as much potential for good as her great potential for evil. 

“Then tell me what they call you,” Odin says, with a loud, booming voice. Odin is portrayed as the powerful All-father by the shadows surrounding him. The camera captures a shot of Odin staring angrily into Hel’s eyes. 

“They call me Hel. I am the keeper of all things dark and decayed,” Hel says, her voice stronger and suddenly powerful. Her father, Loki, played by Jared Padalecki, enters the scene. I would choose Jared Padalecki because of his performance as the tormented character Sam Winchester in the television series Supernatural. Jarad Padalecki is good at playing multifaceted characters, and his curly hair is fitting for the role of Loki. 

“Stop it, father,” Loki says, rolling his eyes. 

“Let me listen to her, son,” Odin insists. “Go on, Hel. Tell me if you are alive, or a mere corpse?” 

The girl Hel reaches to her right eye, where her tears sparkle. She looks up at Odin and Loki, suddenly wanting to make a good impression on her family. She smiles and looks up. 

“I am only myself,” Hel says like she does in Norse Mythology (Gaiman, page 97). “I like talking to the dead. They are nice people.” 

Loki shakes his head. The lense captures an angle of Loki looming over Hel, appearing to be creepy, abusive father. Then his eyes sparkle, and the audience will see that he is also a man with heroic potential to protect his daughter. 

“What of the living?” Loki asks with a booming voice. 

“You know that already, daddy. The living hates me,” Hel whispers. The camera lens now captures Hel’s torso, showing a decaying body, expressing the chaotic nature of Hel’s dark side. Computer-generated imagery creates the world tree of Norse mythology, Yggdrasil. It is a tree with a grayish trunk, its leaves a vibrant green that seems to glow. Hel starts climbing down it to the underworld. Loki grins, following his daughter down. Make-up and lighting reveal that he is proud of his daughter by highlighting her beauty. The icy underworld is Hel’s fortress, where she goes to experience solitude and commune with the spirits of people who have passed from their time on the mortal plane, Earth. They are her victims as well as her friends. 

Because “A dog is sometimes said to guard its entrance, much like Cerberus in Greek mythology” (McCoy, Daniel) a hound dog starts barking. It is a black dog, and it is there to be a symbol of darkness. Next, the camera captures a shot of a dark world made of snow and mist. It is not the place that many Christians would interpret as the traditional Hell, nor is entering the realm a form of punishment. I would use cinematography – glowing lighting highlighting safety - to make Helheim seem like a positive place for the dead to carry on. Instead of a place of eternal torment, this is a magical realm led by a Norse goddess. According to the History Cooperative, “It is important to note that ‘good’ and ‘evil’ are subjective and often shaped by cultural and personal values and beliefs” (Kabir). Therefore, the people who go to Hel’s halls need to be talked about with passion and justice. 

“Look at them, Loki,” Hel says, her face filled with laughter and joy. Character acting makes the audience focus on the character instead of on Danielle Rose Russel. “They need me.” She smiles at a sleeping woman that got in a few weeks ago. The woman has gaunt, gray skin. Her skin is pale, and she is emaciated from recently dying after a life tormented by anorexia. She is played by Kristen Stewart, who wears a blonde wig. I chose Stewart because of her portrayal of the vampire-obsessed Bella Swan in the Twilight series. Additionally, I chose this actress because she is skinny and fits the role of this character. The girl appears to be peacefully dreaming, and quietly mumbles, “Thank you, Hel.” This brief dialogue reveals the inspiration and salvation Hel offers to the people who come to Helheim. 

Hel looks at Loki with a look of fierce, violent passion. “My bowl, Hunger, is a cauldron for all witches. My knife, Famine, will cause sickness to all who betray me.” Hel knows that the honorable dead are destined to go to Valhalla, but the people that enter her realm are certainly not unworthy - just different. The camera captures Hel as pensive and quiet with an image of her staring obsessively into her bowl, a typical witch’s cauldron. The clear water in her bowl shows her reflection: an image of her face that appears ethereal. 

An important idea that would bring this scene to life is that “there is some debate as to whether Hel was a place of suffering. While most accounts depicted the realm as a place where the dead carried on as they had in life, others suggested it was a bleak, horrifying place” (Apel, Thomas). Hel looks up at her father with both excitement in her right, green eye and tragedy in her nearly closed, endarkened left eye. In this way she is like Odin – she has one working eye, and because of this she is wise. We see a shot of just Loki and Hel. Loki’s make up makes him look older, and he is looking down at his daughter with precious pride. Then the camera shifts to just Hel, revealing a close-up of Hel’s teary face so the audience can focus on her deep, psychic emotion. 

“Daddy, the wicked amuse me,” Hel says, her eyes winking. 

“Me as well, child,” Loki says. He has a grin that is akin to Batman’s Joker. He also cackles, showing that he can be mischievous. Sound effects and make up reveal Loki to be a cunning trickster like he is in the television show Supernatural. He has black liner around his eyes to emphasize crazed eyes. Also, like in Supernatural, the music – classical music with violins - creates the sense that Loki also has the potential to be heroic. 

The camera is being used to gravely respect the life cycle by capturing the image of a newborn baby crying and stretching his tiny toes. People are born, they die, and they go to the afterlife. Some of them reincarnate, and the cycle starts over. A third person narrator speaks, “This is Helheim. This is where you will find your power, young witches. This is where you may find peace after your long stirrings.” Hel shakes her head violently and sobs hysterically, thinking about the people who in life honored her. The mis-en-scène creates the image as well as the perceived smell of black rot on the left side of her face. Now Hel smiles, knowing she has a purpose. The right side of her smile has intense, red lipstick. 

The screen shifts to a green, grassy path and a steep, snowy mountain looming in the distance. The music and lighting reveal a cheery setting. We now see Odin again. “This child will be the ruler of the deepest of the dark places”, as he said in Norse Mythology (Gaiman, page 97). 

“She will be a dark Goddess, a queen for all who are in love with the dark. The ones that crave the occult, who study witchcraft and demonology,” Odin says. He says this because many young people are drawn to fantasy movies about witchcraft, which would not only make the movie money, but inspire young people. “She is not only dark. I am proud of her. They will tend to her, and she will tend to them,” Odin finally says. The History Cooperative suggests that “In Norse mythology, death and the underworld are not necessarily seen as hostile forces, [and] in this sense, Hel might be seen as a neutral or even positive figure, as she is fulfilling an essential role in the Norse worldview” (Kabir). In this light, I would paint Hel as a hero for people who dare to be different. Odin will smile, and, staying true to the dark, misty mis-en-scène, he will wink. 

The screen would shift back to Hel one more time. Like in the film textbook, I would use editing to juxtapose images of Hel being a violent villain with images of her as an innocent, dreamlike leader for sinners that inspires magic. I would use this to make the audience feel terror, anger, joy, and hope. Hel would be looking up at the camera, the lenses narrowing in on her and making her appear very important and larger than life. McCoy writes that “Throughout the Old Norse sources, we find instances of such journeys to Hel undertaken by gods or humans in order to recover a dead spirit or obtain knowledge from the dead.” This scene would be an introduction to the mythical character Hel, and future scenes would involve shamans visiting Helheim. Hel's interaction with these visiting shamans would drive the sequel’s story. 

Works Cited 

Apel, Thomas. “Norse realm. Hel (Realm).” Mythopedia. Published in 29 December 2022. Hel (Realm) – Mythopedia 

Gaiman, Neil. Norse Mythology. W.W. Norton & Company. Published in 2017. 

Kabir, Syed Rafid. “Hel: Norse Goddess of Death and the Underworld.” History Cooperative. Published 21 November 2023. Hel: Norse Goddess of Death and the Underworld | History Cooperative 

McCoy, Daniel. “Hel (The Underworld).” Norse Mythology for Smart People. 2012 to 2019. Hel (The Underworld) - Norse Mythology for Smart People (norse-mythology.org)