‘The Strangers’ and ‘Haunt’ Slasher to Star in Liminal Horror Movie ‘The Space Between’

Damian Maffei (The Strangers: Prey at Night, Haunt, Wrong Turn) will star in The Space Between, a contained psychological horror movie set over a single night inside a Midwestern shopping mall after closing, Dread Central learned.

The actor portrayed the Man in the Mask in The Strangers: Pray at Night, the Devil on the indie classic Haunt, and Deer Skull in the Wrong Turn remake.

“Maffei plays Rick, an overnight security guard who takes a quiet job following a recent personal loss, believing the predictable routine will help him reset. But when unexplained incidents begin occurring throughout the building, Rick is forced to question his memory and his grip on reality.

“Surveillance footage shows activity he doesn’t remember. Corridors change between patrols. Time seems to shift. His only contact is an off-site dispatcher focused on keeping him on schedule and on protocol, even as Rick becomes increasingly unsure whether the threat is inside the mall or inside his own perception.

“What begins as a standard shift spirals into a night he may not escape.”

Written and directed by Wisconsin-based filmmaker Joshua Garity, the film blends psychological tension with grounded practical filmmaking, favoring in-camera effects and real-world environments over heavy visual effects, hypes the press release.

---

Production begins in April at a recently revitalized Wisconsin mall, where the filmmakers have been granted access to vacant units and public spaces after hours. The contrast between active retail space and the cold concrete architecture in empty units forms both the visual and thematic backbone of the film.

“At its core, this is about someone who believes structure will protect him,” Garity said. “When that structure begins to drift, there’s nothing left to hold onto.”

Maffei added, “It’s grounded and intimate. The horror doesn’t come from spectacle, it comes from realizing the systems around you may not be reliable.”

Supported in part by the new Wisconsin Film Office, principal photography is scheduled as a concentrated three-day production anchored in performance and atmosphere.

The Space Between is targeting a Fall 2026 release.