Hey there,
Poking about a bit, it appears you don't have an article yet about PAPERHOUSE. I got a deep little scar from that one a long time back that drove me to buy the film on laserdisc even though I don't have a player. Hasn't made it to DVD so far except overseas, but I see that it's on YouTube. Time to see if it's as disturbing as I recall:
Whoa, yeah.
UNK SEZ: Dear Steve, Thanks for bringing up PAPERHOUSE, a perfect film for the pages of Kindertrauma. I have not seen that one in a while but I remember being impressed with it as well. It was directed by BERNARD ROSE the same guy who delivered one of my all time favorites, CANDYMAN. For those interested, PAPERHOUSE involves a young girl named Anna (CHARLOTTE BURKE) who upon becoming ill begins to draw her way into another world. Whatever she adds to the drawing becomes real in this alternative landscape. This is a good thing when she adds a pal named Marc and a bad thing when she adds her long lost dad. Turns out Dad has a thing for hammers and Anna's dreamworld quickly becomes a nightmare. PAPERHOUSE leans toward psycological fantasy more than horror but there is no denying that Anna's pop is a real figure of menace. PAPERHOUSE is based on a book called MARIANNE DREAMS by CATHERINE STORR which also has a devout fan base. As you pointed out Steve, for the time being PAPERHOUSE can only be viewed on youtube or tracked down on VHS. Too bad Anna can't draw PAPERHOUSE onto DVD!
What a great movie! Definitely one of the highlights of the late '80s. Bernard Rose really seemed like he was going to be a name to watch after this and Candyman but sadly that was pretty much it for him and the horror genre. I know he made a movie called Snuff-Movie a couple of years ago but I don't recall it ever getting a release in theaters or video.
Jeff, thanks for reminding me about Snuff Movie. I really wanted to see that. I'll have to see if there's a version available anywhere (in any form!)…
I love this movie. I haven't seen it since the early 90s, but I remember it being very effective and smart. I have it on vhs somewhere. I need to dig it up!
A DVD is available through iOffer, though that's real caveat emptor territory.
In 1972 Marianne Dreams was made into a children's TV series called 'Escape Into Night', which had – instead of the angry 'Dad' – stones with eyes surrounding the house (as in the original book) which made an awful noise.
I've never seen the whole thing (I was only 2 at the time!) but a few clips turn up on YouTube now & then.
The title sequence is here (the noise you hear is the sound of the stones):