It's the wedding anniversary of rugged Cleveland police detective "Big Bob" Carter and his chatty wife Ethel and to celebrate, Bob's asked his extended family to cruise to California with them, hoping the joys of the open road might help fuse their frayed connections.

No one is particularly happy about it. Eldest daughter, Lynn, worries about her new baby's safety and comfort while her husband, mild-mannered tech geek, Doug, worries about close encounters with his father-in-law. Meanwhile teen daughter, Brenda, detests the idea of leaving her friends for a family bonding trip, while young prankster Bobby is anxious to entertain the family's two German Shepherds, Beauty and Beast. Nevertheless, the entire clan piles into a weathered Suburban pulling Bob's beloved '88 Airstream trailer and heads west. Then, Big Bob takes a detour.

Suddenly, the Carter family finds themselves in a desolate stretch of desert, with nothing seemingly alive for miles. When they run into a little unexpected vehicle trouble, they realize they are in dire straits, far from help, with a relentlessly sweltering desert sun overhead. But even as they fight to survive the deadly desert, a far greater threat emerges. Now the Carters become aware that they are not quite as alone as they first thought.

There is another group of survivors in the hills surrounding the desert: a genetically mutated, insatiably hungry, blood-thirsty clan the terrifying offspring of miners left behind in the days when atomic tests spread radioactive fallout across the desert who will stop at nothing to prey on the Carters one by one. Facing the very depths of savagery, the Carter family must pull together if they are to find any hope of returning to civilized life again alive.

Directed by
Alexandre Aja

Cast
Aaron Stanford - Doug Bukowski
Kathleen Quinlan - Ethel Carter
Vinessa Shaw Lynn - Carter Bukowski
Emilie De Ravin - Brenda Carter
Dan Byrd - Bobby Carter
Tom Bower - Gas Station Attendant
Billy Drago - Papa Jupiter
Robert Joy - Lizard

Production Co.
Craven Films, Wes
Peter Locke Co.
Dune Entertainment

Produced by
Frank Hildebrand
Marianne Maddalena
Peter Locke

Studio
Fox Searchlight Pictures

Writer
Alexandre Aja
Wes Craven
Gregory Levasseur

Music
Tom Hajdu (Tomandandy)