On August 13, 2026, Dark Sky Films announced additions to the 2026 Texas Chain Saw Day, the annual celebration of Tobe Hooper’s seminal horror The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, taking place on August 18th. Dark Sky and Exurbia Films also released the first official still from the hand-animated rotoscoped version of the landmark film, which is set to debut in 2027. The newly released image offers the first public glimpse of the ambitious visual reimagining.

During Texas Chain Saw Day, theaters present a behind-the-scenes featurette offering an exploration of the rotoscoping process along with a first look at footage from the film. Additionally, Dread Central, its parent company Be Afraid Media, and the Creepy Podcast produce an original four-minute audio experience that plays before the film. Narrated by Creepy Podcast’s Jon Grilz and several of his narrators, the chilling prologue recounts the horrific events of August 18, 1974. The audio takes audiences inside one of horror cinema’s most infamous murder sprees.

Fans in Los Angeles and Austin receive even more as part of two special event screenings. At Regal LA Live in Los Angeles, Texas Chain Saw Massacre cinematographer Daniel Pearl participates in a live Q&A following the August 18th screening. In Austin, original cast members Teri McMinn and Allen Danziger take the stage for a Q&A following that screening at AMC Barton Creek.

The rotoscoped version of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre transforms Tobe Hooper’s 1974 masterpiece through the painstaking art of rotoscoping. Artists trace the original live-action footage frame by frame entirely by hand. The project is designed to preserve the performances, atmosphere and intensity of the original, while creating an entirely new visual experience.

The rotoscoping team is led by Animation Director and Art Director Paul Beck, an Austin-based multimedia artist and longtime Richard Linklater collaborator whose credits include Waking Life, A Scanner Darkly and Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood. Other crew include Lead Animator Max Peake, Lead Animator and Special FX artist Nate Bayless and Background Artist Jeremy Martinez.

Presented by Dark Sky Films and Fathom Entertainment, Texas Chain Saw Day brings The Texas Chain Saw Massacre back to theaters across the country with a 4K presentation for a one-night-only event on August 18, 2026.

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