本片在澳大利亚80年代初才被允许放映。 电影取材自50年代连续杀人魔Ed Gein的真实事迹。 几个年轻人——Sally (玛丽莲·伯恩斯 Marilyn Burns 饰) 、Franklin (保罗A. 普泰 Paul A. Partain 饰)、Jerry (阿伦·丹齐格 Allen Danziger 饰)、Kirk (威廉·韦尔 William Vail)和Pam (泰瑞·麦克明 Teri McMinn 饰),驾驶房车驶入荒漠中的德州特拉维斯镇。途中,一个满身伤痕、丧魂落魄的搭车人(埃德温·尼尔 Edwin Neal 饰)。勾起了他们的好奇心,他们在他的带领下进入一幢阴森大屋试图弄清真相。大屋被一股神秘、恐怖的氛围所笼罩,仿佛有一双眼睛始终在窥视着他们的一举一动。正当这群年轻人惊恐万分、不知所措时,电锯声骤然而起,他们最后的噩梦随之降临……
In a sleepy coastal village a curse lies waiting. Legend has it one night centuries ago when a smuggler was delivering his illicit wares, the excise men pounced. One of the villagers had betrayed him. The smuggler was caught and quickly hanged as an example but, his widow was more than she seemed, the practitioner of an ancient religion of magic and sorcery. The villagers formed a mob to hunt her down as a witch, they brutalised her, tarred and feathered her, but before they could kill her she put one last curse upon the land; that nothing should flourish, no life or love, before taking her own life and spilling her blood upon the land.