Paperhouse

1988 Directed by Bernard Rose

A drawing that became a dream. A dream that became reality.

A young girl lost in the loneliness and boredom of reality finds solace in an ill boy, whom she can visit in a surreal dream world that she drew in her school composition book.

Charlotte Burke Glenne Headly Elliott Spiers Gemma Jones Ben Cross Steven O'Donnell Jane Bertish Samantha Cahill Sarah Newbold Gary Bleasdale Karen Gledhill Barbara Keogh

Country

Language

English

drama fantasy horror

92 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by FoundOnYouTube ★★★★ 3

8/10
People say that this is a horror film, but its really not. Its more of a fantasy-drama where 10 minutes of it become a horror film.
The fact that our protagonist is a child gives this film a unique child-like nature to it, especially during the dream sequences. When Anna fixes up the house, she fixes it up in a way that every British child in the 80's would by putting an ice cream machine, a hanging cricket ball, and a stack of hamburgers for dinner in it. Even when this film gets to the dark parts, it is reminiscent of a nightmare that a child typically has.
This is one of the first films that Hans Zimmer has…
Review by Filipe Furtado ★★★★ 1

If Guillermo De Toro fantasy images actually cointained real pain and horror. The episode with the father remains one of the more troubling represantations of childhood trauma put on film and everything else is not that far off that quality-wise.
Review by DirkH ★★★★ 5

This was a return to an old love affair that didn't disappoint at all.
It's hard to accurately classify this film. At its heart it's a fantasy film, with horror elements wrapped in a coming of age drama. It is a beautifully told story that is as enchanting as it is moving.
A standout are the visuals. We are slowly pulled into a fantasy world, made out of the drawings of a young girl. The clever thing director Rose does here is to not go over the top, but to make it all look real, but out of proportion, much like a child's drawings. There is some horror here as well and it is very good. There is always some…
Review by Eva Zee

godly...like the exact negative of those awful roald dahl stories about how being a bookish kid gives you magic powers and makes you better than everyone else. escapism without escape and the limitations of dreams brought into focus so that we might understand the things they *can* do better, the pain of isolation and fear alleviated just enough by these brief moments of connection in the fantasies of the sickly. literally broke my heart, also straight up one of the most elegantly composed movies i have ever seen, zero exaggeration
Review by Steve G 🐝 ★★★★

You Gotta Be Fucking Kidding: The 1980s Horror Month - REWATCHES
Paperhouse is a film that I've seen several times now, and is a film that seems to have its status as an oddity upgraded each time I watch it.
There's a lot of intrigue around the people involved in this film in particular - how Bernard Rose, after showing such immense promise with this, Candyman and Immortal Beloved has regressed to almost nothing. The fact that Charlotte Burke would act in exactly nothing else after this. And also the tragic death of the film's best actor, Elliott Spears.
What always interested me most of all about Paperhouse though is the one thing I dislike about it, and that is…
Review by Kodiak ★★★½ 2

Hi. Sorry I never review anything anymore. In case you’re not tired of the echo yet, I’ve been depressed and haven’t felt like writing anything in weeks. That’s probably why my followers have been dropping like flies, but thank you to everyone who’s stuck with me through my funk. I promise I’ll get back on the ball soon.
So I’ve had this on my watchlist for like three years now and saw it was on Prime so I finally got around to watching it. I was very pleased. It’s like PG but also carries enough adult themes to keep older audiences engrossed. I got a lot of PTSD, Dissociative Disorder, and paternal abuse vibes from this, and I mean, I…
Review by Hollie Horror ★★★½ 3

It's probably a good thing I don't have children because if Anna was my daughter I would have probably smothered her while she was having a fever dream.
Great concept, surreal and dreamlike, I wish I would have seen this as a kid, I think I would have been able to appreciate it even more then.
Review by Corie ★★★½

Basierend auf dem Kinderbuch "Marianne Dreams" der britischen Autorin Catherine Storr wird hier die (etwas unbekanntere) Geschichte eines jungen Mädchens erzählt, das mit Zeichnungen ihre Träume beeinflussen kann und sich damit ihre Fantasiewelt sozusagen selbst bebildert...
Diese werden aber nach und nach zu bedrohlichen Albträumen.
Bernard Rose, der auch "Candymans Fluch" gedreht hat, hat hier sein Debüt vorgelegt.
"Paperhouse" zeichnet sich nicht durch Schock-Momente oder gar blutigen Splatter-Einlagen aus...
Vielmehr lebt dieser Film von der wirklich düsteren und beängstigenden Grundstimmung.
Charlotte Burke (Anna) spielt wirklich toll, warum dieses Mädel in keinen weiteren Rollen mehr zu sehen war, bleibt mir ein Rätsel.🤷🏼‍♀️
Elliot Spiers (Marc) verstarb leider viel zu jung im Alter von 19 Jahren...😢
Lobend hervorheben möchte auch auch den…
Review by AJ ★★★½

The fantasy world is surreal and gorgeous. The dream aesthetic is powerful, and it helps drive the simple metaphors present in the film home. I think this would have been an all-time favorite, if I had saw it as a child.
Also, I’ve had a crush in Glenne Headly for as long as I can remember, so, even if her acting here is subpar for her, her presence is always a big draw for me.
Review by Sally Jane Black

While questions about what constitutes a horror film are usually steeped in pretense, I feel like questioning Paperhouse's genre is a worthwhile way to analyze the film. For an extended segment in the middle, it does engage in a lot of horror tropes and suspense as a shadow version of Anna's father chases her and Mark through the dreamhouse, but much of the film engages in coming-of-age teen drama and fantasy qualities that have no scariness or other horror characteristics to them. I won't argue that you can't call this a horror film, but I will say that contrast muddles the pacing of the film. It gives a false climax as the children escape danger, but then drags on as…
Review by Jaime Rebanal ★★★★½

Part of me feels like this might have laid an influence of sorts on the writing of Neil Gaiman, but the inventive set pieces of Paperhouse make this ride unlike most other horror films from the era. Bernard Rose's skill comes clear with establishing atmosphere, but in capturing the vision of a child's nightmare it allows him to craft the perfect coming-of-age film within that realm of being within a dark fantasy - as if it were a children's story being read out to you.
It's a shame that this film doesn't seem to be as widely known, but given where Rose has gone since this, I'm almost certain it'll acquire a bigger audience.
Review by Gabriel Jewett ★★★½ 2

Bernard Rose is a very underrated director, I mean obviously he has Candyman to his nane, But when do you hear people discuss his vision of Frankenstein? Or Beethoven?
He has a really unique vision, I think his ability to balance horror with drama is unmatched.
Paperhouse is a great example of this, although I would consider this more of an experimental drama. Not to say that's a bad thing whatsoever but I got some What Dreams May Come vibes and vibes from the underrated Australian classic Celia.
There's some Creepy scenes in this that are quite effective, sometimes more so then the emotional dramatic elements.
I'm not going to go on a huge quite long review of this but…

Recent reviews

Review by Moandor ★★★★½

Catherine Storr'un 1958 tarihli Marianne Dreams adlı kült çocuk kitabından uyarlama bir film. Bir çocuk kitabına göre korkunç karanlık, kasvetli ve üzücü. Clementine'i andırıyor biraz, bir çocuğu korkutup üzebilir. Uyarlaması da Guillermo del Toro esintileri taşıyan, değerli bir film.
Review by adam ★★★½

While I very much enjoyed this, I don't really have much to say.
It's definitely the obvious choice here but "dreamlike" is the perfect word to describe this movie about dreams. There's just something ever so slightly /different/ about the way it's shot, the weird score where i pesronally can't tell if some of the instruments are midi or not, the coloring, the clearly artificial sets, the practical effects, the microphones used, etc.
It reminds me of TV movies or lower budget shows from the early 90s, specifically Are You Afraid of the Dark comes to mind, not necessarily in terms of content but in terms of production. I think you'll get what I mean if you watch it.
This…
Review by Dragondays ★★★★★

If only I had seen this when I was younger, it would have been endlessly captivating. I mean the silhouette dad is freaky as shit, this may have scared me half to death but it's worth it for such a beautiful film. With minimal looking designs it effectively builds up a great atmosphere, it reminds of a low-key I Spy book. This is the second time I've watch a Bernard Rose film and been completely floored, I'm now very intrigued by the rest of his work.
Review by Dylan San Roman ★★★½

Interesting depiction of the fantasies and dreams of lonely children, but a finer line needed to be drawn between where the fantasy begins and reality ends.
I could spend hours debating what was or wasn't real. But the hook of the story never made me want to.
Still, the fantasy elements present support the belly of this film from collapsing and made me enjoy my ride.
The film fully lives up to its name. Its outward appearance offers a structural sound appearance that could house something special, but any stress on the joints cause this piece to crumble.
Review by Noah Segura ★★★½

what if chalkzone was REAL????? woah!
also the british have to realize how ridiculous their voices sound man how can anybody take them seriously
Review by Scott Audetat ★★½

Kind of a weird film where a girl begins drawing a house with a handicapped little boy in it, then she seemingly finds a way to actually visit the house in her dreams I suppose?
For some reason her father is the bad guy in this world as well, as we meet him in her real world and there doesn't seem to be any issue with him as a character.
This is an art film, no doubt about it, and I found to be kind of bland feeling while watching it.
I kept wondering what was going on in this girl's real life where she needed to run away to this made up house, as we really only see her…
Review by Antonio Ortega ★★★★½

A Beautfiul and imaginative Fantasy Horror film that excels on every level. Great acting, great set designs, and good use of sound and musical score within. From the same director as Candyman as well!!! Loved it!
Review by geekent ★★½

Kind of a funky story with some wild and surprisingly intense moments, but the acting is horrendous. Like, sub- made-for-Canadian-TV-in-the-1980's quality acting. Yeah, real dogshite performances, no chemistry between any of the players...but a really solid, menacing score
Review by Valdemar Martins ★★★½

ONE OF THE MOST UNDERRATED MOVIES I'VE SEEN LATELY...
Review by James Bowers ★★★½

kind of a portal into the kind of anxiety kids experience explored, if nothing else, in a pretty unique and surreal way. the first thing people say with a glance at reviews is that they would love this if they were a kid and I dunno, if I was younger than thirteen this would have scared me shitless. shows both the endless selfishness and terrible repression the restless child's mind is capable of. would just be a lot of psychology for kid brain to unpack. but hell if I had a kid this is the type of thing I'd kinda want to re-experience and discuss together someday
Review by The Film Knower Abouter ★★★★

I’d put this on a double bill of magically unnerving stories of repressed family trauma with Drop Dead Fred (a movie ive been thinking a lot about lately). It doesn’t shy away from some surprisingly dark stuff, but it’s also not afraid to have hope. Move away from the edge, it’s dangerous! Also extremely commendable work on the paper house itself by the good folks at whatever the British equivalent of IATSE is.
Review by Goose ★★★★

Like if Roald Dahl tried to write a crossover between Nightmare on Elm Street 3 & Harold and the Purple Crayon.