Don't Look in the Bedroom

Jeffrey Arsenault
Forty Years of Film
1980 - 2020 (and beyond!)

Jeffrey Arsenault began making films in New York's Lower East Side in 1980. His films were shown at bars, cafes, clubs, galleries and underground screening rooms. An early short, TOMPKINS SQUARE PARK OF DEATH, screened at the New York Film Festival Downtown and toured Europe. His first feature, NIGHT OWL (1993) starring John Leguizamo premiered at the Laemmle Sunset 5 Cinema in Los Angeles. Screenings at festivals throughout Europe followed. NIGHT OWL is a black-and-white East Village vampire movie that pre-dates Nadja (1995) and The Addiction (1995) by two years.

Arsenault temporarily relocated to London to edit the feature film HEAVEN'S A DRAG (1996) (aka TO DIE FOR), directed by Peter Mackenzie Litten, which was released by First Run Features. Returning to New York, he directed his second feature, DOMESTIC STRANGERS (1996). Frustrated by the frequent delays encountered while making the film, he moved forward with his third feature, ROME '98 (1998). Inspired by the East Village "no wave" film movement began circa 1978, ROME '98 uses the same basic tools as available 20 years prior (Super 8 sound film) but is shot with a different aesthetic.

Finally biting the bullet and trying DV, Jeffrey produced two features, CRIMSON NIGHTS (2000) AND DATE WITH A VAMPIRE (2000). He embraced the medium full-force by directing PASSING TIME (2006) in the DV format.

After a hiatus from production to focus exclusively on writing, Arsenault returned to filmmaking in 2018 with ROME ’18, followed by TIME PASSING (2019), NOTHING MATTERS (2020), and his first horror film in eighteen years, DON’T LOOK IN THE BEDROOM (2021).