Secrets and puzzle-solving are both vexing and exciting. An air of mystery and intrigue are necessary for good storytelling, and the hidden door trope exists for a reason. If you've ever seen a room with a secret door, you'll find the palpable feeling of discovery isn't just something movie magic can create. For those that love the concept, here are some of the movies with hidden doors.
Clue
This movie is a classic. If you haven't seen this beguiling comedy, then you are missing out. Featuring one of Tim Curry's finest moments as a deceitful butler and based on the popular board game of the same name, Clue is a masterful who-done-it movie. The manor that trapped all the guests has several hidden passageways and doors. One of the film's best moments was seeing the hidden fireplace door, where Miss Scarlet and Colonel Mustard find out how the killer is moving seamlessly from room to room. Subsequently, they get locked in the room with the dead body as the fireplace firmly closes behind them.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
The magical and ever-popular world of Harry Potter has shaped the course of many childhoods. Many adults love the series, as well. It’s partially due to the adventurous wonder of a hidden magical world we muggles can't even see. The series is full of books and movies with hidden doors. However, the door to the Chamber of Secrets stands out. Hidden in plain sight, this door only needs a bit of Parseltongue to open. The intricate way the pipes and entire sink transform makes this one truly remarkable.
Coraline
Children sometimes have moments when they wish they could have different parents. It's not always malicious — sometimes, they just get bored or end up grounded. What they probably don't want is their eyeballs replaced by buttons. Once Coraline finds an open hidden door, a whole new world is on the other side. Unimpressed at first, Coraline learns this door should probably remain shut.
Pan's Labyrinth
A bit more frightening is a door that shuts behind you and disappears after you go through it. In this movie, the protagonist Ofelia uses a piece of chalk to draw a door to a terrifying room with a sleeping creature inside. She is told to not eat any of the food displayed on the banquet in front of this monster. However, as children are apt to do, she doesn't listen. Watching as the Pale Man eats her fairy friends, she just barely escapes.
Young Frankenstein
In this classic, Mel Brooks gives us a multitude of funny moments. One of which is when poor Dr. Frederick Frankenstein gets caught in between a bookshelf and a wall. The trigger for this hidden door seems to be a bit faulty. The candle in question, no matter if it's in its holster or not, just keeps spinning him round and round. Eventually, he manages to trick the mechanism allowing them to pass.
Labyrinth
A cult classic, David Bowie's Labyrinth has young Sarah roaming a complex labyrinth to save her baby brother. At one point in the movie, some helping hands drop her down a hole. This only manages to get her stuck in an oubliette. Luckily, Hoggle comes to save her by opening a secret door into a broom closet — or does he? No, wait, that was just the wrong side of the door.
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