Paperhouse

My friend and I picked "Paperhouse" out of a random pile of movies on our weekly excursion to the Horror section-- neither of us had heard of it, but the blurb on the box was really promising. And the movie didn't disappoint, though I still probably wouldn't call it a horror movie exclusively.

11-year old Anna Madden draws a house, and visits it in her dreams. She is definitely asleep when she's seeing the house, but it's so real in a sense that it's almost like a completely separate reality. Which, in view of later events, doesn't seem like a far cry from the truth. Anyhow, she finds she can add to the house, its contents and its surroundings by simply adding to the picture.

While this is going on, Anna is getting increasingly more ill with a fever, and besides that is getting totally obsessed with the house and her drawing. On top of that, she and her mother are also dealing with her absent father; he has a job that takes him away for long stretches, though one gets the impression there's actually more to the story than that.

OK, so the drawing stuff sounds nice enough-- but frankly there's something really menacing about it. The dreamworld is eerily surreal -- the house, for instance, is just a grey block in the middle of a desolate field. The folks who made the movie did a great job of making us very uncomfortable with this alternate world/ongoing dream...

One of the things Anna adds to the house is a boy, Mark, who seems to be the same patient her doctor keeps talking about (I'm not giving that away, you know from the moment he appears that it's the same kid). In reality, Mark can't walk due to an illness; in Anna's drawing-world, he can't walk because she didn't draw him any legs. She blames herself for his real-life illness, and tries to rectify the situation, but... everything starts getting really weird. She even brings her absent father into the drawing, with disastrous results. The bits with the father are really terrifying.

I don't want to give anything away, so I'll stop there... There seems to be a lot going on in this film. I'm sure you'll have a ball analyzing this thing do death with your pals after you watch it-- Is it a simple a story as it seems, or are there actually layers of meaning? I don't know, but either way it's quite fascinating. There was a "Nightmare On Elm Street"-ish quality about it, in that at a certain point reality and dreams intersect. I love things like that.

My only complaint is that it feels like it COULD have ended many times, but didn't. I'm satisfied with the ending it had (some of you sensitive types might want to have Kleenex handy!), though it really could have a variety of conclusions. Anyway, it doesn't exactly feel drawn out once it's actually over, but while you're watching and it keeps fading back in, it's a little nerve wracking.

Still, "Paperhouse" is a really GOOD film. It's well done, and acting-- especially Charlotte Burke as Anna-- is top notch. Burke, who has never before or since appeared in a film, is a real gem. I don't know why she never went onto do anything else, but either way she's really convincing and enjoyable to watch.

"Paperhouse" isn't exactly a horror movie, it's sort of a fantasy/suspense/something else type of movie, with some definite horroresque moments-- but you can still watch it with your family and not be worried that your little brother or grandmother will get grossed out by blood splashing or something.

Give it a chance, you won't regret it! And maybe you should read the book, too...

Paperhouse is a unique film which captures the imagination of an eleven year old girl through her continuing nightmares. Throughout the movie, the scenes are carefully thought out and the production of the 'dream house' is of superb quality. The lifeless pencil drawings of Anna's are sprung into life with an obvious amount of realism.

The horror within the film can be established during the scenes in which Anna and her father meet. The darkness of the sky during the nightmare as well as the music, come together to create a chilling atmosphere. This film should be watched.

I just watched this remarkable 1988 film which somehow managed to escape my attention previously. It may have been the Vestron distribution that worked against it - the company went under, and the film was not released on a mass scale.

I have not seen a "horror" film which involved children that impressed me as much as this since "Curse of the Cat People." "The Innocents" has just been knocked out of second spot by my viewing of this stylish film that puts "The Other" and "The Others" to shame.

The film concerns young British teen Anna, who suffers fainting spells, and in her dreams visits the house which she had drawn on paper. As the dreams go on, she meets a young male teen named Mark, whom she had drawn in the window on paper. At first she couldn't get to visit his room - he tells her she has to go back and draw the stairs.

I won't reveal more of the plot, it would be doing the film a great disservice, even though most viewers will probably be one step ahead. That's not a negative in this case, as it enables one to be more attentive to the production design of Gemma Jackson and the direction of Bernard Rose, which combine to depict incredibly stark visuals - there's no cheating with splashes of color and hazy or overlit photography that are often erroneously used to indicate a dreamlike state.

Charlotte Burke will tear at your emotions as Anna, a shame she made this her solo acting experience. Elliott Spiers is equally impressive as Mark, but he only made one more film. Glenne Headly - a New London, Connecticut native, does remarkably well in her role as Anna's mother, her accent is impeccable. This one is not to be missed.

I would not call paperhouse a horror film but more like a PSYCHOLOGICAL FANTASY. This film is about a young schoolgirl who is drawing pictures of a house with a boy in it and she having dreams that are becoming real this is a really good PSYCHOLOGICAL film and somehow this film reminds of The Ring 2002 i mean the feeling to it has anyone notice it?? The acting was ok but not great had a good cast and thought the dad in the drawing was good and spooky abit. I am giving this film 9/10

A great film this, and a shame that it will receive little attention outside of arthouse circles and students who stay up until two in the morning to watch it on Channel Four.

The plot is a simple one but works very effectively, the blurring between child-like fantasy and hard-hitting nightmare is very well blurred. The budget looks pretty low, but to the credit of those involved it doesn't show too often. It also hasn't dated that much either.

I was lucky enough to tape this off the telly when it was on a few years ago, and it has withstood half-a-dozen viewings. It's one of those films that won't appeal to all; though as usual, those with a more thoughtful approach to cinema would get a lot out of this.

Charlotte Buerke puts in a good performance as Anna, the spoilt brat and it is a shame she seems to have gone from the acting scene. Cross is also very good, carrying the stature of his character very well within the context of the picture.

There are some genuinely (and I don't say that lightly) disturbing moments in this film, both half-second shockers and more drawn-out tensions. Watch it with the lights out!

Highly recommended.

9/10