Film

Paperhouse

Name: Paperhouse
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Released: 1988
Cast: Charlotte Burke, Elliott Spiers, Glenne Headly, Gemma Jones, Ben Cross

Fantasy
Strange

A girl discovers her pencil sketches open a door to a dreamworld where she can visit an ill boy—but her doodles have dangerous power. Part coming-of-age fable, part psychological thriller, *Paperhouse* glides between domestic mundanity and genuine menace with the logic of dreams. A small, strange film about loneliness finding unexpected connection, and the terrifying responsibility of creation.

TMDb rating

3.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love dreamlike British films where the fantasy leaks into the bedroom and the drawings feel like real places, with an eerie, hushed unease rather than jump scares.

Skip it if you need brisk plotting or a clear sense of where things are going, since it drifts through its dream logic slowly and its horror builds by atmosphere more than by action.

What it asks of you: Around ninety minutes, unhurried and quiet, with long stretches of ordinary life that you have to sit inside before the strangeness takes hold.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The NeverEnding Story1984

A child's imagination literally powers an entire universe. Like *Paperhouse*, it takes the supernatural seriously: imagination isn't escape, it's real work, and failure has consequences. Beautifully designed, genuinely moving.

But Slow by modern standards, and the 80s effects, while charming, are unmistakably of their time. Some find it sentimental.

Spirited Away2001

A girl navigates a dreamlike world of her own making, where her choices carry weight and danger. The animation is extraordinary, the atmosphere hypnotic. Like *Paperhouse*, it's about a young person finding herself through a surreal journey.

But Subtitled, and the pacing is meditative rather than propulsive. It rewards patience but doesn't grab you by the throat.

The Secret of Kells2009

Gorgeous hand-drawn animation about a boy unlocking a magical book. Has that same sense of a girl or boy as conduit between worlds, with the same blend of wonder and genuine threat. A smaller film but deeply felt.

But Short runtime means the plot is thin. Visually lush but narratively slight for some viewers.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Paperhouse

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Nimona2023

Both explore the moral weight of creation: when you draw something, make something, imagine something into being, you're responsible for what it does and who it hurts.

Animated, meta-textual, and unexpectedly profound about creation, power, and what happens when your art turns against you. Like *Paperhouse*, someone's imagination becomes literal reality—but here it's weaponised and gloriously chaotic. Also queer, also angry.

But Animated superhero film packaging might disguise how dark and strange it actually is. Some will feel it's confused about what it's trying to say.

Flatliners1990

Medical students deliberately kill themselves to explore the afterlife. Dark, unsettling, with the same 80s-tinged dread as *Paperhouse*. Young people playing with forces they don't understand, and suffering the consequences.

But Occasionally tilts toward unintentional camp, and the logic frays if you think too hard. Not the most sophisticated thriller.

The Company of Wolves1984

A girl dreams her way through fairytale and nightmare, where folklore becomes literal threat. Surreal, bloody, visually inventive. Same era as *Paperhouse* but more baroque. Bold and strange.

But Willfully obscure, with dream-logic that doesn't always cohere. Some will find it pretentious; others, fascinating.

The Secret Garden1993

Lonely children find transcendence in a hidden place. The 1993 version has proper darkness underneath the period beauty. It's about the power of imagination to heal—and to consume. Surprisingly sophisticated.

But Period drama aesthetics might feel genteel. The pacing is deliberate, almost Victorian in its own way.

Bridge to Terabithia2007

Two kids build an imaginary kingdom in the forest as refuge from pain. Like *Paperhouse*, it understands that fantasy isn't childish escape—it's how children survive real grief. Tender and unexpectedly heavy.

But Family film marketing means some will dismiss it. The emotional stakes might feel saccharine if you're not in the mood.

Labyrinth1986

A girl trapped in a goblin king's maze has to use her wits and imagination to escape. Jim Henson's practical magic, David Bowie, and genuine menace. A young woman learning she has more power than she knew.

But Uneven tone, and it leans hard into 80s kitschy production design. Bowie is extraordinary but can overshadow the story.

A Tale of Two Sisters2003

Two sisters navigate a house that becomes increasingly unreal and hostile. Korean horror that prioritises atmosphere and emotional truth over jump scares. Visually sumptuous, psychologically complex.

But The twist divides people, and the slow-burn pacing demands your full attention. Subtitled, and deliberately ambiguous.

Mulholland Drive2001

Both films treat dreams not as escape from reality but as a truthful alternative to it—perhaps even *the* truth. In both, you can't leave the dream; you can only wake up changed.

A woman's dreams and reality collapse into each other in Los Angeles. David Lynch at his most devastating. Like *Paperhouse*, the line between what's real and what's imagined isn't just blurred—it's the entire point. Hypnotic and cruel.

But Three hours, deliberately opaque, with no easy interpretation. If you don't like ambiguity or slow-burn dread, you will actively hate it.

The Innocents1961

Both use a young person's interior world—their drawings, their perceptions, their loneliness—to raise the question: is the horror external or internal? And does that distinction even matter?

A governess in a country house grows convinced the children are haunted by ghosts—or is she the one poisoning the air? Exquisite black-and-white cinematography, profound ambiguity about a young woman's perception. Psychological horror at its finest.

But 1961 means measured pacing and zero explicit scares. Entirely dependent on suggestion and psychological tension. Not for anyone wanting visceral horror.