Paper House- Cult Film Review

I had heard of Paper House through the recommendations on my Amazon but also through several articles on old British TV serials that petrified kids in the 70s and 80. I had never seen the film but had seen the older 70s show Escape into Night several years ago when I went down a ‘Creepy British TV Shows’ YouTube rabbit hole a few years ago. The show was inspired by the same source material as the later film, Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr, and tells the tale of a young girl whose drawings come to life in her dreams. So far so Penny Crayon, but when she draws a creepy house with a creepy kid inside, things take a slightly more sinister turn.

The Paper House film adapts Storr's novel further by adding a further layer that is similar to The Company of Wolves in that a young girl, on the onset of tweendom and puberty, is going through an emotional time and, whilst going through a lot of emotional turmoil, enters a dreamlike world which may or may not be real.

The film is more cinematic than the series, obviously, and the economy of design of the house, as well as the rugged landscape, made it more surreal and strange. Faure's Requeim is used effectively to bring this fantasy thriller film alive. The lead actress, Charlotte Burke, plays the role of the confused Anna very well. She starts the film a bit of a naughty pickle but shows growth and depth so that the audience is fully behind her as she tries to get to the bottom of what is going on and support the boy in the house.

I thoroughly enjoyed the film as it was a throwback in terms of fashion and sensibilities, but also because it is a good character study on what an adult’s alcohol abuse does to the child. If you’ve got a spare hour and a half you could do worse than watch this movie.