Our Fantasia Film Festival 2026 coverage continues with the vampire horror mockumentary I Love You Paris.
Think of I Love You Paris as What We Do in the Shadows’ Parisian cousin. One that feels wholly its own with a lot of inspiration taken from the darkly comedic Man Bites Dog. Director and co-writer Nicky Murphy creates an elegy for Paris nights, musicians, and just how hard it is to find success no matter if you’re an all-consuming creature of the night.
A documentarian is following Paris (Aminata Thiboult), a rambunctious twenty-something with more audacity and presence than possible talent, trying to make it in this social media-obsessed era of music. After a particularly hard setback and wandering the streets, Paris (the city that Paris the musician makes her home) is violently attacked. That attack turns Paris into a vampire. Months later, with her vampire creator Lutèce (Leonor Oberson), Paris attempts to push her career forward. Though the duo finds that it isn’t as easy as Lestat had it. A drug-fueled chase, a stun gun fight, a cabal of vampires, and a spoiled bratty popstar (Louiza Aura) all contribute to the trials and tribulations of Paris’ ascent (or is it descent) to pop stardom.
The trio of actors Aminata Thiboult, Leonor Oberson, and Louiza Aura does impressive work here. The film feels balanced as each plays off the others in the best, most toxic way possible, leading to some great comedic and dramatic moments. Thiboult excels as Paris, finding that right tone of youth, stupidity, arrogance, and empathy that feels like a real character rather than some “monster”. The film smartly casts a wide net of various supporting cast that, like Noé Hermelin in dual roles of music producers Joe and Kevin and Antoine Dumortier as Paul, an event promoter in over his head, are equally good.
Director and co-writer Nicky Murphy has created a character study in twenty-something vitality more than she has a look at vampirism. Though the horror elements are there, the film never forgets how complicated it is to succeed at anything, let alone as a pop singer. Much of the humor and horror comes from Paris and Lutèce’s plans going horribly awry because life gets in the way. It’s that adroit mixture that makes I Love Paris as much a love letter to vampires as it is to Paris and its youth.