On August 7, 1939, tragedy strikes in a meat-packing plant located in rural Travis County, Texas, when a young woman unexpectedly goes into labor and dies while giving birth in a back room. The heartless plant manager shows no compassion, abandoning the newborn baby in a dumpster. Fortunately, a local woman named Luda Mae Hewitt discovers the infant while searching for food. She decides to name the baby Thomas and takes him to her home, raising him as her own.
Fast forward 30 years, and Thomas (portrayed by Andrew Bryniarski) has grown up to work in the same slaughterhouse where he was born. When the terrible conditions of the plant lead to its closure, Thomas returns and violently kills the owner with a sledgehammer before claiming a chainsaw for himself. The sadistic Charlie Hewitt (R. Lee Ermey), Luda Mae's son, learns from Sheriff Winston Hoyt (played by Lew Temple) about Thomas's crime. In a shocking turn of events, Charlie accompanies the Sheriff to apprehend Thomas, but when they find him, Charlie kills the Sheriff with a shotgun, seizing his identity. Soon after, Charlie and Thomas butcher the Sheriff's body for stew meat, assuring their family that they will hold their ground even as the surrounding area decays.
By July 1969, two brothers, Eric (Matthew Bomer) and Dean (Taylor Handley), are traveling across the country with their girlfriends, Chrissie (Jordana Brewster) and Bailey (Diora Baird). They are draft dodgers, intending to flee north to evade being sent to fight in Vietnam. Their journey takes a dark turn when they stop at a diner and encounter a gang of bikers. A female biker named Alex (Cyia Batten) follows them, leading to a frantic chase that culminates in a car crash, throwing Chrissie into the weeds and out of sight.
Before they can regroup, Charlie Hewitt/Sheriff Hoyt arrives at the scene, mercilessly shooting Alex and forcing the remaining members of the group into his squad car. He then calls for his Uncle Monty (Terrence Evans) to tow the wreckage, oblivious to Chrissie's hidden presence in the car. At the Hewitt residence, Hoyt orders Thomas to dispose of Alex's body before imprisoning Eric and Dean in a barn where they are tortured for being draft dodgers. Meanwhile, Chrissie witnesses her friends in distress and escapes back to the road to seek help.
In a twist of fate, Chrissie encounters Holden (Lee Tergesen), one of the bikers, and leads him back to the Hewitt home. Their attempts to save the captured friends descend into chaos, as Hoyt and Thomas engage in brutal tactics to maintain their twisted control. The horror escalates when Thomas transforms into Leatherface, slaughtering anyone who stands in his way, including Eric, whom he gruesomely kills before skinning his face and wearing it as a mask.
As the nightmare unfolds, Chrissie fights for survival, desperately attempting to free her friends while evading the horrors of the Hewitt household. The situation intensifies, leading to a showdown that involves a heart-stopping chase and desperate escapes. Yet, no matter how far she runs, the relentless pursuit of Thomas/Leatherface seems almost inevitable, culminating in a brutal confrontation that leaves a trail of destruction and despair in its wake. In the end, Chrissie's fight for survival becomes a haunting tale of terror as she faces the grim fate that awaits anyone caught in the grips of the Hewitt family's horrifying legacy.
