Stephanie Davenport, Kyle Richards, spends a night out with her boyfriend, John, Peter Nelson, and friends while her parents, Walter Davenport, Frank Miller, and Megan Davenport, Jean Brooks, prepare to leave for a weekend away from their small California town.
Meanwhile, Ray Perkins, Wendell Wellman, and his brother Bob Perkins, John Putch, two inmates who have escaped from death row with a burned-in plan for revenge against Stephanie’s father, the district attorney, begin to move through the town. Their first acts of violence are swift and brutal: they terrorize a psychologist who had analyzed them before their trial and then murder a man they hitch a ride with, stealing his car. The siblings’ spree continues as they break into the home of Judge Collins, Douglas Robinson, and his wife, bludgeoning them to death with a gavel.
Stephanie returns home around 10:00 p.m. to check on her curfew, only to discover Mrs. Alva, the babysitter the family hired, lying dead in the guest bedroom. The terrified teenager confronts the intruders, and they force her to flee to the neighboring Collins residence, where she stumbles upon their lifeless bodies. Desperate, she hitchhikes with an elderly man, but Ray and Bob soon take control of the road again, forcing the old man’s car off the highway and leaving him unconscious.
Seeking help, Stephanie heads to a nearby diner and pleads for assistance. A young police officer, Sam, Christopher Knight, escorts her back toward safety, but when they reach the Davenport house, they are greeted by a stunned Megan and Walter who misinterpret Stephanie’s warnings as a prank.
The night escalates as Ray and Bob subject the Davenports to a twisted night of humiliation and torture. Walter is forced to walk on shattered glass while Ray fires at him, driving him to the point of collapse. Megan endures taunts as she’s made to apply garish makeup before being forced into a bathtub. The family is mostly confined to the basement, with Bob watching over them. Stephanie tries to use her charm to coax Bob into letting her see her mother, and when Bob finally releases her, Walter seizes the moment to incapacitate him, giving them a chance to rush upstairs.
John, now drunk, arrives with his friends Pete, Niels Mueller, and Monica, Nori Morgan, intending to consummate an evening with Stephanie. The trespassers move through the house, and Pete discovers Mrs. Alva’s corpse while John and Monica are killed in separate rooms. A frightened Sam stumbles upon the evidence of the attackers and quickly recognizes their features, and an all-points bulletin is issued.
As Ray prepares to execute Stephanie and the others with makeshift electric chairs, Sam arrives at the Davenport home. Stephanie pleads with Bob, offering herself to him in hopes of sowing discord between the brothers. The gambit works briefly, sparking a fight between Ray and Bob that ends when Ray kills Bob with an electric drill. Sam descends into the basement, but Ray shoots him, injuring him, and then follows the wounded officer upstairs, stealing his gun. Stephanie seizes the moment and frees herself from the chair, emerging from the shadows to deliver the decisive shot that ends Ray’s rampage.
In the aftermath, Stephanie experiences a troubling nightmare in which she leaves her home and gets into John’s car, only to find Bob seated in the driver’s seat, a chilling reminder of the night’s terror. The film settles into a quiet, uneasy aftermath as the danger passes, but within Stephanie’s memory the terror lingers, a stark reminder of how quickly a routine evening in a small town can unravel.
