| Director | Ti West |
|---|---|
| Budget | $1 million |
| Box office | $15.1 million |
In 1979, police officers arrive on a lonely farm in rural Texas and find numerous dead bodies wrapped in bags. They then enter the farmhouse and find something shocking in the basement.
Twenty-four hours earlier, aspiring adult film star Maxine is on a trip to shoot a pornographic film with her producer fiancé Wayne, fellow burlesque dancer Bobby-Lynne and her Marine Corps veteran boyfriend Jackson, director RJ, and RJ's timid girlfriend Lorraine. The group arrives at a farm owned by World War veteran Howard and his wife Pearl, an elderly couple who have a guesthouse they rented for the shoot. Howard expresses his disdain to the group, but Wayne excuses this due to not informing Howard of their intentions.
While Bobby-Lynne and Jackson act out a scene, Pearl discreetly observes Maxine nude swimming in a nearby lake, before inviting her into the farmhouse. Pearl expresses an unusual fixation on her, as Maxine looks similar to Pearl in her youth. Howard returns home and Pearl rushes Maxine out, urging her to keep it a secret. Maxine returns to the guesthouse and shoots a sex scene with Jackson in the barn, as Pearl secretly watches and imagines herself in Maxine's spot. Later, Pearl attempts to seduce Howard but he turns her down, citing heart problems. That night, Lorraine participates in the shoot, upsetting RJ. When everyone is asleep, an angry RJ attempts to drive away and strand the group at the farm, but finds Pearl in the driveway. After he rebuffs her advances, Pearl stabs him repeatedly in the neck, decapitating him.
Noticing RJ's absence, Lorraine and Wayne search for him. In the barn, Wayne steps on a large nail and is stabbed in the eyes by Pearl with a pitchfork. Meanwhile, Howard lures Lorraine into their house, claiming Pearl has gone missing. He asks Lorraine to retrieve a flashlight from the basement. When she goes down, Howard locks the door and she discovers a naked male corpse hanging from the ceiling. Howard goes to the guesthouse and asks Jackson to help find Pearl. When they split up to scout the lake's perimeter, Jackson finds a car submerged in the water. After failing to draw Jackson into the water with his flashlight, Howard confronts him and shoots him in the chest. Meanwhile, Pearl sneaks into the guesthouse, undresses, and climbs into bed with Maxine, caressing her body, who awakens in horror to find Pearl lying next to her, her scream waking Bobby-Lynne.
Back in the house, Lorraine breaks through the basement door with a hatchet but Howard breaks her fingers. Bobby-Lynne finds Pearl standing on the lake's edge and tries to help her. Pearl insults Bobby-Lynne and pushes her into the water where an alligator kills her. Pearl and Howard reunite and enter the guesthouse where they have sex. Maxine escapes to the van and arms herself with a pistol. She frees Lorraine, who runs out of the front door, only to be shot by Howard. As the couple moves her body inside the house, Lorraine's corpse twitches, startling Howard and causing him to have a fatal heart attack.
Maxine retrieves the keys to Howard's truck and attempts to shoot Pearl, but finds the pistol is empty. Pearl shoots at Maxine with Howard's gun, but she dodges it and the recoil knocks Pearl back onto the porch, breaking her hip. As Maxine gets into Howard's truck, Pearl berates and insults her. Maxine reverses the truck, crushing Pearl's head before driving away. It is revealed that Maxine is the daughter of a televangelist frequently heard throughout the film. The police discover RJ's camera, with the sheriff speculating that it contains footage of "one goddamn fucked-up horror picture."