MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Up 455 this week

Paperhouse (1988)

6.7
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 6.7/10 from 2,811 users  
Reviews: 53 user | 23 critic

Anna is becoming lost in the loneliness of her own world when she discovers she can visit another, a house she has drawn herself and occupied by a young disabled boy. But as she discovers ... See full summary »

Director:

Writers:

(novel), (screenplay)
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 10000 titles created 2 months ago
 
a list of 1177 titles created 1 month ago
 
a list of 1019 titles created 9 months ago
 
a list of 128 titles created 13 Nov 2011
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: Paperhouse (1988)

Paperhouse (1988) on IMDb 6.7/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of Paperhouse.
3 wins & 1 nomination. See more awards »
Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Pet Sematary (1989)
Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.4/10 X  

Behind a young family's home in Maine is a terrible secret that holds the power of life after death. When tragedy strikes, the threat of that power soon becomes undeniable.

Director: Mary Lambert
Stars: Dale Midkiff, Fred Gwynne, Denise Crosby
Mystery | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

A rare book dealer, while seeking out the last two copies of a demon text, gets drawn into a conspiracy with supernatural overtones.

Director: Roman Polanski
Stars: Johnny Depp, Frank Langella, Lena Olin
Drama | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl who turns out to be a vampire.

Director: Tomas Alfredson
Stars: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar
Ghost (1990)
Drama | Fantasy | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

After being killed during a botched mugging, a man's love for his partner enables him to remain on earth as a ghost.

Director: Jerry Zucker
Stars: Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Tony Goldwyn
Silent Hill (2006)
Horror | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X  

A woman goes in search for her daughter, within the confines of a strange, desolate town called Silent Hill. Based on the video game.

Director: Christophe Gans
Stars: Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean, Laurie Holden
Wolf (1994)
Drama | Horror | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X  

Publisher Will Randall becomes a werewolf and has to fight to keep his job.

Director: Mike Nichols
Stars: Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, James Spader
Cat People (1982)
Drama | Fantasy | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.9/10 X  

In this erotic remake of the 1942 classic, a young woman's sexual awakening brings horror when she discovers her urges transform her into a monstrous black leopard.

Director: Paul Schrader
Stars: Nastassja Kinski, Malcolm McDowell, John Heard
May (2002)
Drama | Horror | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

Psychological horror about a lonely young woman traumatized by a difficult childhood, and her increasingly desperate attempts to connect with the people around her.

Director: Lucky McKee
Stars: Angela Bettis, Jeremy Sisto, Anna Faris
Mystery | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

A young FBI agent disappears while investigating a murder miles from Twin Peaks that may be related to the future murder of Laura Palmer; the last week of the life of Laura Palmer is chronicled.

Director: David Lynch
Stars: Sheryl Lee, Ray Wise, Mädchen Amick
The Craft (1996)
Drama | Fantasy | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6/10 X  

A newcomer to a Catholic prep high school falls in with a trio of outcast teenage girls who practice witchcraft and they all soon conjure up various spells and curses against those who even slightly anger them.

Director: Andrew Fleming
Stars: Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell
Drama | Horror | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

A married couple grieving the recent death of their little daughter are in Venice when they encounter two elderly sisters, one of whom is psychic and brings a warning from beyond.

Director: Nicolas Roeg
Stars: Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland, Hilary Mason
Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X  

An insurance investigator begins discovering that the impact a horror writer's books have on his fans is more than inspirational.

Director: John Carpenter
Stars: Sam Neill, Julie Carmen, Jürgen Prochnow
Edit

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Charlotte Burke ...
Anna Madden
Jane Bertish ...
Miss Vanstone
Samantha Cahill ...
Sharon
...
Kate Madden
Sarah Newbold ...
Karen (Anna's school friend)
Gary Bleasdale ...
Policeman
Elliott Spiers ...
Marc
...
Dr. Sarah Nicols
...
Dustman
...
Dad Madden
Karen Gledhill ...
Nurse
Barbara Keogh ...
Hotel receptionist
Edit

Storyline

Anna is becoming lost in the loneliness of her own world when she discovers she can visit another, a house she has drawn herself and occupied by a young disabled boy. But as she discovers more of the links between her fantasy world and the mundane present, she is drawn only deeper into a dream turning into a nightmare. Written by David Carroll <davidc@atom.ansto.gov.au>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

house | nightmare | fantasy world | dream | boy | See more »

Taglines:

A drawing that became a dream. A dream that became reality. See more »


Certificate:

PG-13 | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

17 February 1989 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Paperhouse - Alpträume werden wahr  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Gross:

$241,278 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

When it was decided two days before the film was theatrically released that the character of Kate should be British, American actress Glenne Headly had to very quickly dub all of her dialogue using an English accent. See more »

Goofs

While in the car with her mother, Anna puts her father's telegram in her pocket twice. See more »

Quotes

Kate Madden: Go away please
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Animaniacs: Video Review/When Mice Ruled the Earth (1993) See more »

Soundtracks

"Requiem"
Music by Gabriel Fauré (as Faure)
Performed by Choristers of Westminster Cathedral
Published by Editions Harnelle
Arranged by Stanley Myers (uncredited)
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
Brilliant and inventive psychological fantasy
21 November 2000 | by (The Underverse) – See all my reviews

The best horror movie you've never heard of. Though calling it a horror may be selling it short. Paperhouse is a profound psychological drama that deftly deals with themes of growing up, regret, sorrow, loss, resentment and leaving childhood innocence behind. Director Bernard Rose made his feature debut with this film and truly gave us something for the ages. Shot in 1988 there is very little that dates Paperhouse and it has the lasting ability to make new impressions upon every new generation.

Liberally adapted from Catherine Storr's novel "Marianne Dreams" (and not the first live-action adaptation either) the film follows a girl called Anna who falls ill with glandular fever on her 11th birthday. She draws a house on a shred of paper from her exercise book and falls into a dream in which the house exists as a lonely structure on a desolate landscape. Each subsequent dream that she has is altered by the presence of whatever she adds to the picture. In her third dream she meets a boy she thinks she has created called Marc. She befriends him and their relationship becomes stronger as the dreams become darker and scarier.

Charlotte Burke who plays Anna is a terrific actress and it is very strange that, after just one film, she should disappear and never be in anything ever again. She really does give a great performance. Eliott Spiers died in 1994 giving his sorrowful performance as Marc, Anna's dreamworld friend, a bittersweet edge. But special mention has to be made of Hans Zimmer's wonderful score. Eerie, mysterious, joyful with a hint of sadness; his score to Paperhouse has it all. It sounds a little bit too close to main melody of Broken Arrow, but when it's this good who cares? Along with Total Recall, Paperhouse proves that architects of subversive dreamworlds existed in film long before Christopher Nolan made it Inception.


19 of 24 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
1988 interview with Charlotte Burke Rob59
Marc?? bufy14800
Why not on DVD, Remake?? Monkee27
The dad shes_dead
dvd CharlieDalton
Scary Movie blue_away03
Discuss Paperhouse (1988) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?