| Director | Quentin Tarantino |
|---|---|
| Budget | $30 million |
| Box office | $31.1 million |
Three friends, Arlene, Shanna and radio DJ "Jungle" Julia Lucai, drive down Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas, on their way to celebrate Julia's birthday. In a bar, Julia reveals that she made a radio announcement offering a free lap dance from Arlene in return for addressing her as "Butterfly", buying her a drink, and reciting a segment of the poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening". Aging Hollywood stunt double "Stuntman" Mike trails the women to a bar and claims the lap dance. Arlene is suspicious, having seen Mike's car earlier that day, but he convinces her to give him the lap dance.
The women prepare to depart with Lanna, another friend. Pam, Julia's old classmate, accepts Mike's offer of a ride home. Mike takes Pam to his Hollywood stunt car rigged with a roll cage and tells her the car is "death proof", but only for the driver. He speeds and slams on the brakes, smashing Pam's skull on the dashboard, killing her. He catches up with the women's car and drives into it head-on at high speed, killing them. Mike survives with no serious injury. Texas Ranger McGraw believes Mike killed the women intentionally, but because Mike was sober while the women were intoxicated, he cannot be charged.
Fourteen months later, three young women, makeup artist Abernathy Ross, stunt driver Kim Mathis and actress Lee Montgomery, are driving through Lebanon, Tennessee on break from a film shoot. They stop at a convenience store, where Mike watches them from his car. The women pick up their friend, stuntwoman Zoë Bell, from the airport while Mike photographs them unaware. Zoë tells them she wants to test-drive a 1970 Dodge Challenger, the same type of car from the 1971 film Vanishing Point, and has found one for sale nearby. The owner, Jasper, lets them test-drive it unsupervised after Abernathy tells him Lee is a porn star, and she is left behind as collateral.
Zoë tells Abernathy and Kim that she wants to play a game they call "Ship's Mast", whereby she rides the hood holding belts fastened to the car while Kim drives at speed. Kim is hesitant but agrees. The three enjoy the stunt, unaware that Mike is watching them. He rear-ends them in his car, causing Zoë to lose her grip on both belts and be left holding on to the hood. After several more collisions, he T-bones them, throwing Zoë from the hood. Kim shoots Mike's left shoulder and he flees in his car. Abernathy and Kim cry over the apparent loss of their friend, until Zoë emerges uninjured. The three agree to catch up to Mike and kill him.
The women catch up to Mike as he is treating his wound and ram him, then Zoë gets out and beats him with a pipe. They continue chasing him as he pleads for mercy, finally flipping his car off the road. They drag him from the wreckage and beat him to death, then celebrating their victory.