
The Lighthouse(2019)
Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.


“A drawing that became a dream. A dream that became reality.”
A young girl lost in the loneliness and boredom of reality finds solace in an ill boy, whom she can visit in a surreal dream world that she drew in her school composition book.

Charlotte Burke
Anna Madden
Elliott Spiers
Marc

Glenne Headly
Kate Madden

Gemma Jones
Dr. Sarah Nicols

Ben Cross
Dad

Jane Bertish
Miss Vanstone
Sarah Newbold
Karen

Steven O'Donnell
Dustman
Samantha Cahill
Sharon

Gary Bleasdale
Policeman
Paperhouse is a drama, fantasy film released in 1988 exploring themes of dreams, nightmare, house, lighthouse, disabled child, drawing. Directed by Bernard Rose, it stars Charlotte Burke, Elliott Spiers, Glenne Headly. A young girl lost in the loneliness and boredom of reality finds solace in an ill boy, whom she can visit in a surreal dream world that she drew in her school composition book.
Discover titles like Paperhouse — ranked by similarity and community votes
We found 15 movies similar to Paperhouse
If you enjoyed Paperhouse, you'll love these handpicked recommendations. Each title below shares similar themes, tone, and storytelling style. Our algorithm analyzes genres, keywords, director filmography, and cast connections to find the closest matches. Whether you're looking for the same emotional depth, narrative structure, or visual style, these picks are curated to deliver the best viewing experience for fans of Paperhouse.

Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.

The impressionistic story of a Texas family in the 1950s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father. Jack finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith.

A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgängers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.

An orphaned child's dreams—and nightmares—manifest physically as he sleeps.

When a man is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he takes custody of his misanthropic teenage son, for whom quality time means getting high, engaging in small-time prostitution, and avoiding his father.

A young man who arrives at a remote island finds himself trapped in a battle for his life.

Waking Life is about a young man in a persistent lucid dream-like state. The film follows its protagonist as he initially observes and later participates in philosophical discussions that weave together issues like reality, free will, our relationships with others, and the meaning of life.

Two angels, Damiel and Cassiel, glide through the streets of Berlin, observing the bustling population, providing invisible rays of hope to the distressed but never interacting with them. When Damiel falls in love with lonely trapeze artist Marion, the angel longs to experience life in the physical world, and finds — with some words of wisdom from actor Peter Falk — that it might be possible for him to take human form.

Bullied at school and ignored and abused at home by his indifferent mother and older brother, Billy Casper, a 15-year-old working-class Yorkshire boy, tames and trains his pet kestrel falcon whom he names Kes. Helped and encouraged by his English teacher and his fellow students, Billy finally finds a positive purpose to his unhappy existence.

Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.

Hapless family man Paul Matthews finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom.

Recently deceased, a white-sheeted ghost returns to his suburban home to console his bereft wife, only to find that in his spectral state he has become unstuck in time, forced to watch passively as the life he knew and the woman he loves slowly slip away.

A couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.

Austin, Texas, is an Eden for the young and unambitious, from the enthusiastically eccentric to the dangerously apathetic. Here, the nobly lazy can eschew responsibility in favor of nursing their esoteric obsessions. The locals include a backseat philosopher who passionately expounds on his dream theories to a seemingly comatose cabbie, a young woman who tries to hawk Madonna's Pap test to anyone who will listen and a kindly old anarchist looking for recruits.

In the aftermath of a car crash, a man discovers his dreams are tied to a stranger's sleepwalking.