‘I Love Paris’ Review: We Have a New Vampire Icon on Our Hands [Brooklyn Horror Film Fest]

There are only so many ways to film a documentary about an up-and-coming musician, and even fewer ways to make a vampire movie feel like something we haven’t seen before. Enter I Love Paris, Nicky Murphy‘s mockumentary about an aspiring musician named Paris (Aminata Thiboult) whose ambitions of playing a buzzy music festival hit an unexpected snag when she’s turned into a vampire. It’s a premise that sounds like several concepts we’ve seen before, but Murphy finds plenty of laughs and fresh takes in this clever, wildly entertaining examination of the music industry and fame in the TikTok/streaming age. 

The film’s most immediate point of comparison will be What We Do in the Shadows, Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s beloved mockumentary-turned-television-series about a group of vampires navigating modern life. And while that makes sense, it’s not entirely accurate. At the Q&A after the film, Murphy cited the Belgian mockumentary Man Bites Dog as an influence, pointing to its “punk-rock attitude” and its “no fucks given” main character. 

Which brings us to Paris. For all the amateur culture critics online complaining about how the “new pop girls aren’t hungry enough,” Paris is the exception. Vivacious, talented, and willing to do whatever it takes to break into the music industry, she has the sort of energy that reminded me of Charli xcx early in her career. Does anyone remember the video of her performing in what looks like a bunker? Paris is the kind of artist who would happily do the exact same thing if that would guarantee her to move onto the next level. She gives us a tour of her tiny apartment, squatting on the floor to show us a statuette with an erection she keeps by her bed because she “has a boner for music.” She brings us along to the studio just outside of the city and introduces us to Joe, her manager and human “Swiss Army knife,” willing and able to provide anything Paris needs in order to succeed.