By MICHAEL GINGOLD
It’s coming in 2027 and will be previewed during this year’s Texas Chain Saw Day.
Dark Sky Films and Exurbia Films have announced that a new hand-animated (no AI), rotoscoped version of Tobe Hooper’s classic THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE is currently in the works for release next year. According to Dark Sky, this new edition “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. 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 [including WAKING LIFE and A SCANNER DARKLY] helped redefine modern rotoscoping.”
“The original TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE is a masterpiece that changed cinema forever,” Beck says. “Our goal is to honor its legacy by reimagining it through the timeless art of hand-drawn rotoscoping, giving audiences a completely new way to experience a film they thought they already knew.”
The first footage from the rotoscoped TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE will be presented as part of Dark Sky and Fathom Events’ Texas Chain Saw Day on August 18. As part of that event, “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.” Tickets are currently available here, and you can a trailer for Texas Chain Saw Day below.
