When Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) discovers that the Texas graveyard where her grandfather is buried has been damaged, she gathers her brother Franklin (Paul A. Partain) who is wheelchair-bound and several other friends together to see if grandpa's remains are still in one piece. While in the vicinity, Sally and her friends decide to visit grandfather's old farmhouse. Unluckily, a family of homicidal slaughterhouse workers has taken over the house next door. Included is Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen), a chainsaw-wielding human horror show who wears a face mask made out of human skin. Sally's friends are quickly killed one-by-one by the next-door neighbors, leaving only Sally left to fight off Leatherface and his race.