a grave robber steals several remains from a cemetery near Newt, Muerto County, Texas. The robber ties a rotting corpse and other body parts onto a monument, creating a grisly display which is discovered by a local resident as the sun rises. Driving in a van, five young people take a road trip through the area: Sally Hardesty, Jerry, Pam, Kirk, and Sally's handicapped brother Franklin. They stop at the cemetery to check on the grave of Sally and Franklin's grandfather, which appears undisturbed. As the group drive past a slaughterhouse, Franklin recounts the Hardesty family's history with animal slaughter. They pick up a hitchhiker who says that his own family also has experience with animal slaughter. When the group refuse to pay the hitchhiker for a photograph, he attacks Franklin and smears a bloody symbol on the side of the van as he is ejected. Low on gas, the van stops at a station whose proprietor says that no fuel is available. The group explore a nearby abandoned house, owned by the Hardesty family. Kirk and Pam leave the others behind, planning to have sex. They discover another nearby house, running gas-powered generators. Hoping to barter for gas, Kirk enters the house. A large man wearing a mask made of skin attacks Kirk with a hammer, killing him. When Pam enters the house, she finds its living room strewn with human and animal bones. The man grabs her, impales her on a meat hook, and starts up a gas-powered chainsaw to dismember Kirk's body as Pam watches. In the evening, Jerry searches for Pam and Kirk. When he enters the other house, he finds Pam's nearly-dead, spasming body in a chest freezer. The masked man kills Jerry with a hammer. At night, Sally and Franklin start towards the other house. The masked man ambushes them, killing Franklin with the chainsaw. The man chases Sally into the house, where she finds a very old, seemingly dead man and a woman's rotting corpse. The man chases Sally back to the gas station and vanishes. The station's proprietor comforts Sally for a moment, after which he beats and subdues her, loading her into his pickup truck. The proprietor drives to the other house, and the hitchhiker appears. The proprietor scolds him for his actions at the cemetery, identifying the hitchhiker as the grave robber. As they enter the house, the masked man