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Texas Chain Saw Massacre Reimagined as Hand-Drawn Rotoscoped Animation

Producers say every frame will be hand‑illustrated by veteran artists with no use of AI to preserve the film’s performances and atmosphere.

Overview

  • Dark Sky Films and Exurbia Films publicly announced the animated reimagining on Tuesday, saying the project is now in production and is expected to reach audiences in 2027.
  • Paul Beck is credited as animation director and art director, with Max Peake and Nate Bayless named as lead animators and Jeremy Martinez listed as background artist.
  • The producers pledged that every frame will be created by hand using rotoscoping, a frame‑by‑frame tracing technique that is time‑intensive and does not employ artificial intelligence.
  • A first‑look preview of newly created rotoscoped footage will be screened at Texas Chain Saw Day on August 18 alongside a one‑night 4K theatrical re‑release of the original film via Fathom Events.
  • The project frames itself as an artistic reimagining that relies on traditional craft rather than automation, tapping a century‑old technique first developed by Max Fleischer and later used by filmmakers such as Richard Linklater.