Paperhouse (1988)

Director:

Bernard Rose

Writers:

Catherine Storr (novel)
Matthew Jacobs (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 February 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

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

Plot:

Anna is becoming lost in the loneliness of her own world when she discovers she can visit another, a...

Plot Keywords:

Dream | House | Fantasy World | Boy | Nightmare

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Charlotte Burke	...	Anna Madden
Jane Bertish	...	Miss Vanstone
Samantha Cahill	...	Sharon
Glenne Headly	...	Kate Madden
Sarah Newbold	...	Karen (Anna's school friend)
Gary Bleasdale	...	Policeman
Elliott Spiers	...	Marc
Gemma Jones	...	Dr. Sarah Nicols
Steven O'Donnell	...	Dustman
Ben Cross	...	Dad Madden
Karen Gledhill	...	Nurse
Barbara Keogh	...	Hotel receptionist

Directed by
Bernard Rose

Writing credits
Catherine Storr		(novel "Marianne Dreams")
Matthew Jacobs		(screenplay)

Produced by
Tim Bevan	....	producer
Jane Frazer	....	associate producer
Dan Ireland	....	executive producer
M.J. Peckos	....	executive producer
Sarah Radclyffe	....	producer

Original Music by
Stanley Myers
Hans Zimmer

Cinematography by
Mike Southon

Film Editing by
Dan Rae

Casting by
Ros Hubbard
Susan Needleman

Production Design by
Gemma Jackson

Art Direction by
Anne Tilby
Frank Walsh

Costume Design by
Nic Ede

Makeup Department
Sarah Grundy	....	hair stylist
Jenny Shircore	....	makeup chief

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Pat Aldersley	....	third assistant director
Waldo Roeg	....	first assistant director
Rupert Ryle-Hodges	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Alan Booth	....	construction manager
Bob Hedges	....	property master (as Bobby Hedges)
Mark Hedges	....	stand-by props
Paul Hedges	....	stand-by props
Peter Hedges	....	dressing props
John Moore	....	dressing props
Howard Weaver	....	scenic artist

Sound Department
Mark Auguste	....	supervising sound editor
Ronald Bailey	....	sound maintenance
Gerry Bates	....	boom operator
Andrew Glen	....	assistant sound editor
Peter Glossop	....	production sound mixer
Mark Harris	....	trainee sound assistant
Nigel Holland	....	sound designer
Justin Krish	....	footsteps editor
Peter Maxwell	....	dubbing mixer
David Bugden	....	chief dubbing projectionist (uncredited)
Steve Hancock	....	sound camera operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Steve Crawley	....	wire effects
Alexander Gunn	....	special effects technician
Robert Harman	....	wire effects (as Bob Harman)
Alan Whibley	....	special effects supervisor

Stunts
Gareth Milne	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Peter Allwork	....	helicopter camera operator
Paul Borg	....	electrician
Micky Brown	....	gaffer
Ben Davis	....	clapper loader
John Foster	....	clapper loader
Mark Hanlon	....	electrician
Jamie Hunt	....	electrician
Mike Laye	....	still photographer
Ian Murray	....	rigger
Kevin Noble	....	electrician
Michael O'Connell	....	best boy
Steve Parker	....	focus puller
Jan Pester	....	Steadicam operator
Kelvin Richards	....	second camera focus
Malcolm Sheehan	....	camera grip
Philip Sindall	....	camera operator

Casting Department
Donna Isaacson	....	casting: USA
John S. Lyons	....	casting: USA (as John Lyons)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Stewart Meachem	....	wardrobe master

Editorial Department
David Gamble	....	second assistant editor
Anna Ksiezopolska	....	first assistant editor (as Anna Ksiezopolska)

Music Department
Al Clay	....	music mixer
Al Clay	....	music recordist

Transportation Department
Richard Booz	....	transportation manager
John Murphy	....	driver: generator

Other crew
Mike Barker	....	jobfit trainee
Libbie Barr	....	script supervisor
Chuck Becker	....	title designer
Graham Bradstreet	....	financial controller
Beryl Brown	....	assistant accountant
Deborah Harding	....	production coordinator
Mark Harris	....	jobfit trainee
Alison Jackson	....	script associate
Su Lim	....	assistant to producer
Richard Morrison	....	title designer
Henry Neild	....	location manager
Sandra Nixon	....	production accountant
Neil Ravan	....	location manager
Ann Tasker	....	unit publicist
Debra Wilson	....	jobfit trainee

Production Companies

• Working Title Films

Distributors

• Vestron Pictures (1989) (USA) (theatrical)
• Vestron UK (1989) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• Concorde Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Delta Vidéo Diffusion (1991) (France) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Lions Gate Films (2006) (UK) (DVD)
• Vestron Video (1989) (UK) (VHS)
• Vestron Video (19??) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Pinewood Studios  movie studio
• ARRI Lighting Rental  light equipment
• Film Wheels Ltd.  transport
• Sapex Scripts  post-production script services

Also Known As:

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

West Germany:12 | Iceland:16 | Australia:M | UK:15 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Devon, England, UK

Company:

Working Title Films

Trivia:

Despite playing the lead character in this film, Charlotte Burke never appeared in any film ever again.

Goofs:

Continuity: While in the car with her mother, Anna puts her father's telegram in her pocket twice.

Quotes:

Anna Madden:Is anybody there?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sweets to the Sweet: The Candyman Mythos (2004) (V)

Pretty darn cool

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...