‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ Is Getting A Rotoscoped Makeover

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The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is getting a new animated version coming out in 2027. This new interpretation is through the use of hand-animated rotoscoping. The other kicker is that this is being done entirely free of the use of AI. If there’s one thing that Leatherface hates, it’s AI slop. Dark Sky Films and Exurbia Films today announced that a hand-animated rotoscoped version of THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE is currently in production, the pioneering animation technique used in early Disney classics (Snow White, Cinderella) and animated features including The Lord of the Rings, Heavy Metal, and Fire and Ice). The film is anticipated to debut as an all-new feature in 2027.

An Interesting Choice For The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

The project is being led by Animation Director and Art Director Paul Beck, an Austin-based multimedia artist whose collaborations with acclaimed filmmaker Richard Linklater helped redefine modern rotoscoping. Beck served as a lead animator on Waking Life, A Scanner Darkly, and Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood, and has exhibited his paintings, sculptures, films, and video installations internationally in New York, Berlin, Brazil, Croatia, and Romania.

The rotoscoping of THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE transforms Tobe Hooper’s 1974 masterpiece through the painstaking art of rotoscoping. Every frame will be illustrated by hand using the labor-intensive animation technique in which artists meticulously trace live-action footage frame by frame. Employing no artificial intelligence, the production relies exclusively on the craftsmanship and decades of experience of veteran artists to preserve the performances, atmosphere, and intensity of the original film while presenting audiences with a striking new visual experience.

Footage Arrives On Texas Chain Saw Massacre Day

Audiences will get their first look at the hand-animated rotoscoped version of THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE through exclusive exploration footage of the project during the annual Texas Chain Saw Day, presented by Dark Sky Films and Fathom Entertainment, on August 18. For one day only, theatergoers nationwide will see a behind-the-scenes featurette that includes a sneak peek of hand-animated footage from the film while production is still underway.

Dark Sky Films has been busy with projects related to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre for a while now. They’ve done a beautiful 4K restoration of the film and the excellent documentary Chain Reactions.

This is an interesting choice but as with anything like this, we’ll have to see to make a judgement when we get actual footage.

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