黛拉•梅尔斯（金·贝辛格 Kim Basinger 饰）和丈夫肯尼斯（克雷格·谢菲尔 Craig Sheffer 饰）及一对可爱的孩子生活在城市近郊的富人区。他们生活优渥，饮食无忧，却同样有着无休无止的烦恼。黛拉温良贤淑，是家中的贤内助，肯尼斯性格急躁，时而对妻子大发雷霆。 　　在圣诞前夜，肯尼斯的暴脾气令黛拉倍感失落，她决定暂时出去购物缓解一下心情。然而事与愿违，在停车场黛拉被修伊（Jamie Starr 饰）、文格（Leonard Wu 饰）、托马斯（Luis Chávez 饰）、查基（Lukas Haas 饰）等四个小青年纠缠。一名警察上前制止反被查基等人杀害，黛拉则落荒而逃。由于她目击枪杀警察的全过程，小青年们随即紧追不舍，企图杀人灭口。黛拉的恐怖圣诞夜就此拉开序幕……Della Myers is an overwhelmed upper-middle-class housewife who lives in a large house in the suburbs with her twin children and her abusive husband, Kenneth. Kenneth lets Della know that he thinks she gives all her attention to the twins and neglects her house and her appearance. Late on Christmas Eve, Della drives to the local mall to buy gift-wrap. While searching for a parking space in the jam-packed lot, Della notices an old car taking up two spaces. Frustrated and annoyed, she decides to leave a paper message on the windshield of the old car, writing, "Hey, 'Jack'. How selfish can you be?" After the mall closes, Della's car is held by the driver of the old car and she is threatened by four punks -- Chuckie, Huey, Vingh, and Tomás. When the security guard of the mall attempts to protect Della, he is shot and killed by Chuckie. Della tries to escape from the criminals in her truck, but the gang chases her. In the chase, she crashes in a nearby forest. What unfolds in the woods is Della's lone fight for survival against a band of angry young men who would like nothing more than to see her dead.