Aileen Wuornos documentary uses generative AI for reenactments

The new true crime documentary ‘Unmasking a Monster: Aileen Wuornos’, available on HBO Max via Investigation Discovery (ID), is the first to utilize advanced generative visual effects to recreate scenes from the life of the American serial killer.

Rather than relying solely on traditional actor reenactments, the production uses a technology described by Arrow Media Vice President Stephen Dost as a ‘digital mask’. This process applies an AI-enhanced layer over reenacted scenes to create highly realistic digital versions of Wuornos. The series incorporates archival audio, trial records, and contemporary interviews to explore the seven murders for which Wuornos was executed in 2001.