 Upon hearing that vandals have desecrated a graveyard where her grandfather is buried, Sally recruits her boyfriend Jerry, her brother Franklyn, and her friends Pam and Kirk to investigate. On a side trip to the grandfather s deserted farm, the travellers pick up a slimy hitchhiker who cuts himself and slashes Franklyn. After arriving at the farm, Pam and Kirk search for an old swimming hole--Kirk hears a generator and believes he can find some gasoline. He enters the house hoping to find the owner. Unfortunately, this is the home of the hitchhiker, as well as Leatherface, who has some surprises for the travellers consisting of sledgehammers, chainsaws, and assorted cutlery.