Upon stopping for gas and directions on the Texas back roads, bickering yuppies Michelle (Kate Hodge) and Ryan (William Butler) get harassed by leering service-station owner Alfredo (Tom Everett). When the helpful intercession of a hitchhiker named Tex (Viggo Mortensen) leads to violence, the couple flees the area. Eventually, an unknown truck forces them off the road and into an accident with the sports utility vehicle of Benny (Ken Foree), a well-armed survivalist. Pursued by unknown assailants, Benny and his fellow accident victims must abandon both vehicles and armaments. Eventually all three end up trapped on the boggy forest estate of a family of cannibalistic serial killers who range in age from a feral little girl (Jennifer Banko) to an aged matriarch (Miriam Byrd-Nethery). The clan also includes the title character, whose chainsaw-wielding rampages are among the few direct links between this installment and the earlier two films in this series.