deadmau5 is expanding his work into film with a cameo appearance in the upcoming psychological horror movie A Ben Evans Film. The electronic music figure, whose real name is Joel Zimmerman, has built a career that consistently moves past traditional album releases and live sets. Known as the producer behind the standout track ‘Strobe’, he has long shown interest in crossing into different creative spaces. His track record includes sound work for PlayStation’s Sound Shapes, a featured spot in the Fortnite 2020 Party Royale event, and a recent project link with World of Tanks Blitz around his song ‘Familiars’. On top of music, Zimmerman has gained respect as a technologist through creating hardware for creators, working on video games, and backing tech startups.
Production for the film is underway in Detroit. It follows a filmmaker, played by Sky Elobar, whose drive to create what he sees as a masterpiece pulls him into deep obsession. The story comes from a short piece by Josh Malerman, writer of Bird Box. James Henry Hall and Bret K. Hall handle writing and directing duties, with Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League on board as executive producer. No release date has been confirmed.
This role in horror lines up with how deadmau5 approaches his output overall. The genre’s focus on building intense worlds and tension fits an artist who keeps pushing the connections between sound, visuals, and tech. Rather than staying inside the studio, Zimmerman treats different platforms as extensions of the same experimental drive that defined his music path from the start.
