Writer/director Julie Pacino makes her feature film debut with the lush & surreal psychological thriller I Live Here Now. Shot on a mix of 35mm and 16mm film, this journey through the mind of an aspiring actress is a nightmare odyssey of scarred memories, bad boyfriends, and the cruel standards of the film industry. From a story perspective it’s maybe not the most groundbreaking examination of trauma but it is an undeniable visual feast from start to finish, with a stunning colour palette and a cast of kooky characters.
I Live Here Now stars Lucy Fry (Bright) as Rose, an actress that’s being pushed to the brink of starvation just for a chance to be considered worthwhile to a casting director (played by Cara Seymour, who genre fans will no doubt recognize from American Psycho and Adaptation). With an incredibly important opportunity just days away, she should be focusing on her audition tape but Rose is forced to leave town in search of an abortion after her fuckboy boyfriend and his overbearing mother pressure her to keep the pregnancy quiet. Looking for a place to lay low Rose finds The Crown Inn which, like all your favorite Hotels in California, she can check out anytime she likes but she can never leave.
“[…] such a striking debut that I doubt this is the last time you’ll hear from Julie Pacino. “
The film features a mostly female cast, including Twin Peaks icon Sheryl Lee as the oppressive Beverly Hills mother, but in a hilarious turn the only substantial male character (Rose’s boyfriend) is played by comedian Matt Rife who slips into the slimy mamma’s boy role effortlessly. At The Crown Inn Rose finds a handful of eccentric personalities including Lillian, played by Fantasia alum Madeline Brewer (Cam) who slowly pulls Rose into an eerie realm where fantasy and reality blur together and she begins to question whether she will ever escape the dreamlike world of The Crown Inn.
I’m not always the best person to analysis fantasy stories. I often get bogged by the illusory interpretations of emotions that are clear and present without the genre’s frills. Story wise, I Live Here Now spins its wheels a bit too much for me but damn near every second of the movie was a vibrant painting I wanted to stare at all evening. And although some aspects didn’t work for me personally, the piece as a whole is such a striking debut that I doubt this is the last time you’ll hear from Julie Pacino.
In the strangest Ven Diagram of year, it’s the perfect film for fans of Anna Biller’s The Love Witch, the Coen brothers’ Barton Fink, and the novels of Shirley Jackson. If that’s you, waste no time seeking out I Live Here Now. You’ll love its style, its ethereal (maybe inescapable) hotel labyrinth, and its fractured character study of minds that have been shattered by tragedy.
Julie Pacino’s I Live Here Now celebrated its World Premiere at the 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival. Click HERE to follow our continued coverage of the fest, and let us know if you’re excited to see this 35mm Psychological Horror over in The Official Nightmare on Film Street Discord! Social Media is A Cesspool. Come Hang Where All The Cool Creeps Are.
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