Paperhouse

Having looked into the people starring in the film, I found out that the little girl who played the lead role, never acted again after this film. Another interesting fact was that the actor playing the young boy died at the tender age of 21; with the internet yielding little results on the reason for his death. It seems tragic that the cast of this film never really worked after this film. Another interesting fact is that the score of the film I believe was also written by the now famous, Hans Zimmer! I love his work, and to find out he started out with such humble beginnings was rather refreshing.

Anyway let's start this review up with a little bit about the film. A young school girl is gradually becomes ill with glandular fever, and as a result is bed ridden for a little while till it clears past the worst. She begins to draw a house in her sketch book one day and then falls asleep only to find out that she has been transported to the very house she created. Living in this house is a small disabled boy who has been left there, but is not sure why. It is brought to light that the doctor treating the young girl has a patient matching the description of the little boy she meets in her sleep.

As time progresses she befriends the young boy, drawing more and more things for them to enjoy when she falls asleep. However, things begin to take on a new quality when she attempts to draw her father; who isn't around very often due to work. The drawing goes all wrong, and her dreamland becomes a nightmare.

To be honest I didn't really know what to expect from an 80's Brit horror film, but by the end of it I felt that watching it had been worthwhile. The film did not really rely on gore, and loud noises to shock you. Instead, there was a great sense of fear brought on by the disturbing dream world she lived in. The addition of an evil character to this fantasy made me feel extremely uneasy every time she would fall asleep.

The film itself is almost like a slightly more cerebral Nightmare on Elm Street, maybe throwing in a few elements of Labyrinth. Unfortunately, I by the end, it was dragging on a little, and that their problems were all to easily solved. Despite this, the film was still a pretty good. A few little down points here and there bring the score to a respectable 6.5. I would recommend watching this movie if you enjoyed Nightmare on Elm Street and other films in the same vein. For what looked like a low budget horror flick, they certainly made it work with what money they had.

Rating 3 out of 5

See it if you liked:
Nightmare on Elm Street
Labyrinth
New Nightmare

What does IMDB say?

Reviewed by Stephen King