On the outskirts of the city, nine people have gathered to celebrate Thanksgiving at the ranch of Harold Bradley. Harold’s girlfriend Linda; his tenant Scott and his girlfriend Jennifer; Linda’s friend Gail; Harold’s business associate Wayne and his girlfriend Maria; Harold’s son Mistake, who serves in the Kiss Army; and Harold’s young daughter Angel fill the quiet estate with chatter, food, and a sense of normalcy that feels earned after years of hustle. With no wine in the house, Linda and Gail borrow Scott’s car to fetch some, while a menacing energy lingers in the background as a dangerous visitor lurks nearby.
A blackout hits the house when Jay Jones, an escaped mental patient and PCP addict who was institutionalized after bludgeoning his parents, slips through the shadows. He cuts the power to the ranch, throwing the gathering into a tense, fidgeting darkness. Harold, ever the host, fires up the emergency generator and steps outside to grab more gasoline. Fate twists when he spots Jay’s abandoned station wagon. As Harold tries to remove the battery from the car, a horrific second attack erupts—the car’s back seat occupant lunges forward, and Jay’s attacker is revealed in a brutal form that crushes Harold’s skull on the hood.
The danger takes a sharper turn as Jay severes the telephone line, isolating the house from the outside world. When Wayne goes out to search for Harold, he is garroted by the unseen killer who has been hiding in the backseat of the car. Linda and Gail, having drifted away in the confusion, run out of gas and find their way back toward the ranch, only to collide with Jay along the way. In a savage sequence, Jay slams Gail’s head into a rock and then stabs Linda with a broken bottle, leaving the housekeeper and the party-goers in a state of shock and fear.
With Harold gone, the survivors attempt to keep the dinner going, but Jay’s presence is a constant, violent reminder that the night has fallen into a nightmare. Maria disappears to the washroom, and Jay follows, stabbing her in a chilling act of predatory control. He then chases Mistake around the property, a brutal pursuit that ends with Mistake being fatally shocked by his own electric guitar and portable amplifier that Jay has brought into the fray. Scott discovers Maria’s body while out gathering firewood, returns to the ranch, and barricades the building, bringing Jennifer and Angel inside for safety. Yet Jay manages to force his way in again, and when he closes in on Scott, Jennifer fights back, wounding him with a knife before he can finish the struggle.
As night fades into dawn, the tension remains unresolved. Jennifer eventually wakes and steps outside, only to be grabbed by Jay in a final, desperate escalation. Angel, having alerted the authorities, draws the attention of a pair of police officers who race to the scene. They arrive with shotguns drawn and burst through the doors, blasting Jay and ending his rampage. One officer helps Jennifer and Angel into his car, while the other checks on Jay—only to find him startlingly conscious, his eyes flickering open in a last, unsettling moment of ambiguity.
