Customer Reviews

Paperhouse [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A moody 11 year old girl draws a picture of a house. Then she starts to dream about the house. After she discovers that she can change the dream by changing the drawing, she falls ill and becomes trapped in her dream-which turns into a nightmare...
This is a strange, often disturbing, thought-provoking film by the director of Candyman. I might not exactly classify it as a horror movie, but it is very dark, and worth seeing.

I agree that this is not the best film in the world but it is still not as bad as some people are making out.

It is quite atmospheric in its own way and the little girl played by the unknown Charlotte Burke portrays the lonely Anna with surprising depth. You can tell she is lonely and unhappy, her father is away and she is not well so she spends a lot of time in bed, whiling away the hours by drawing.

Anna soon finds herself dreaming about the house she has drawn, and in the house is a boy who she becomes friends with. In her bid to help her dream friend she adds things to her drawing but in doing so endangers not only him but herself.

Their only hope is to get away from the house but the house is surrounded by sinister stones that are moving toward the house and its captive occupants and in desperation Anna draws a helicopter to come and rescue them and it is here we are realise that Anna's dreams have their basis in reality and only her father can save her just as only she can save her friend in the paper house...

I do not like horror, but I love this movie! It is scary, true, but it earns its scares honestly, by exploring in-depth the inner life of a troubled young girl. The day she turns 11, Anna falls ill and, while unconscious, enters a drawing she has made. As she changes the drawing, the dream world also changes - what's more, it seems to affect her waking life. The young girl playing Anna gives a fine performance, and the film is visually very beautiful. It captures perfectly an atmosphere of dream sliding into nightmare - and is also notably honest about the complexities of early adolescence. It respects the imagination and courage of children. Different - but, if you like it, you'll want to see it more than once.

If you have not watched this movie yet, do not read the review written by M.S. Roberts below. It is full of spoilers and gives no warning. These kind of reviews are careless and, in this case, can ruin certain elements of a movie. Paperhouse is an excellent little fantasy/horror film that most certainly is not for children. Think of it as one of Grimm's fairy tales treated the adult way.

Anna [Charlotte Burke] is a difficult girl, so no one quite believes her when she says she is feeling ill. But very ill she is, and when she falls into fever dreams, she enters a world created by her own drawings. Living in this world, stretched between dreams and reality is Marc [Elliot Spiers], a boy who is dangerously ill as well. Together, Anna and Marc try to save themselves from the demons that their illnesses bring. Amazing sets capture perfectly the feel of a fever dream, and the excellent acting of the two children make this a intelligent, mesmerizing, unforgettable movie. It will appeal to horror fans and non-horror fans alike.

A friend of mine recommended that I see this movie in 1994, but I couldn't find it in any chain-store video shop. After a long search I found it available in a small, hole-in-the-wall video store that advertised hard-to-find titles. I immediately took it home and watched it and was left with a profound and deeply-moving impression of its premise and its enigmatic ending. While viewing, I couldn't stop watching it. I rewound and replayed certain passages where the dialogue was unintelligible due to the strong British accents or to the slang expressions of the child lead actors. It was one of the most intense motion picture experiences of my life and I still recall the stark images and thought-provoking linking of those images with the dialogue and scene changes to this day. This is NOT a horror movie, as often classified. But, it is a penetrating look into the mind of a child during a serious illness and the process of dealing with the mind that is part of the world of a child and part that of an adolescent. Anyone who has ever experienced knowledge of facts or events without any possible previous connection to those facts or events will immediately connect with the lead character, 11-year old Anna Madden, brilliantly portrayed by Charlotte Burke. The accuracy of her medical condition of the mysterious dream character named "Mark" is expertly handled by the director as it becomes apparent that Mark is, in fact, a real person with a serious medical condition that eventually takes his life. Though they never actually meet in person, they develop a close relationship in Anna's dream world, created by her drawings of a paper house, from which the movie title is taken. It will be hard to see this movie unless you purchase one of the few remaining VHS tapes available, or happen to catch it on a cable movie channel like IFC. Sadly, the only DVDs that exist are recorded using the European format and won't play on US DVD or Blue Ray. But, if you love a fantasy thriller that may take you back to your own childhood, see this movie. It is not likely that you will ever forget it.

I absolutely love the premise of this movie. A little girl's drawings come to life in her dreams. What happens when she forgets to include something in her drawing? What happens when she adds something? What if she makes someone look too angry in a drawing? Will they be angry in her dreams? What if she needs to erase something to reverse a mistake? Will the drawing let her? Will there be consequences? What a wonderfully original and very clever premise for a movie.

However...

I have to say my husband and I were disappointed. I had read so many reviews of this movie over the years and grew very intrigued to see this film. It resides on many "best ever" lists from top reviewers and it is highly acclaimed by critics and fans. So perhaps I expected too much? I thought it would be scarier and given so many great reviews, I expected it to be more entertaining. But it dragged in some places, wasn't that scary, and some of the acting was incredibly bad. But overall, it was such a clever idea for a movie, I couldn't help but continue to watch it. You simply can't turn away.

It's a very strange movie... one of those movies most people will either love or hate and that makes it very hard to recommend it to others. Overall, I think the movie itself was overrated, but the clever plot concept wasn't. And that's what saved the movie for me in the end. If someone would only remake this... because the storyline had more potential and today's actors and special effects could make it amazing.

It is hard to find this movie in a rental store, so I was forced to buy it to see it. If you have the opportunity to rent it instead, I recommend you do so before adding it to your collection. For most people, I think it's one of those movies you just HAVE to see, but only once.

This has go to be one of the most freaked out movies ever made. You simply have got to see it to believe it. I've owned this movie for quite some time now, and it is among my favorite films of all time. Its a blend of horror, adventure, and drama that works out very well.

A great psychological thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat!

*This film is rated PG-13 for intense, scary sequences and a scene of graphic child abuse.

Before Paperhouse I didn't bother to even rate the films that would came out Australia, and New Zealand.
Paperhouse is a horror movie, but it isn't gory or bloody,
and most people who into horror films, would rather watch a bad horror movie with blood and monsters, than watch a good movie with no blood or evil creatures.
For that reason horror fans don't always like Paperhouse the first time they see it.
Also the film is directed in a certain way, and leave questions.
For example, the lead character of Anna, who is played Charlotte Burke, passes out in school, and she keeps passing out throughout the entire movie:
she simply falls right over, and it is never explained why.
Some people are turned off by the things that were left unexplained in this movie: while others liked PAPERHOUSE the first time they saw it.
I have watched Paperhouse several times, over and over again trying to figure out just what I liked about it:
but those who hated never watch it again, it's just that kind of movie.
It's not like BLADE 2, where you watch it because there is nothing else on: You'll either like it, or you hate it, and there is no middle.
If you hate it, you'll never watch it again:
but if you liked it, you'll watch it over and over until you love it.
It's that kind of movie, and that's "PAPERHOUSE," that's what it is.
Most of us only want to know if a movie is cool good,
no matter what it's about:
we'll approve a badly received movie if it wasn't as bad as were told.
And PAPERHOUSE? The acting in paperhouse is played ordinary,
and their actions portray the lives of real people,
like the kind of people you and I meet every day:
that isn't done very often in the movies.
Not everyone will love the film for that: all people are different.
Some of us would rather see stylized blood and guts,
than a good horror movie, and that's just how it is.
A horror fan will either hate PAPERHOUSE for being orignal,
or they will love PAPERHOUSE for being original.
If you hate it for it's originality, you'll never bother with it again: if you liked it, you'll watch it over and over again,
untill ya loved it.
~ I'M CHAGAS.

Easily one of the most unique and creepy films that I've ever seen. Lots of startling scares and the plot is very intriguing.

Rose, the director, also directed "Candyman" which is also a great film. See them both.