Prelude to Carnage
In the desolate landscape of the New Mexico desert, a quiet diner becomes the scene of a bloodbath. Mickey Knox and his wife Mallory, partners in both love and crime, arrive under the veil of a typical roadside stop. The atmosphere shifts quickly as Mallory draws the attention of two rednecks who begin harassing her near a jukebox. What begins as flirtation becomes a savage counterattack. Mallory beats one man viciously before Mickey joins the melee, culminating in a brutal massacre. One customer is spared only to bear witness to their names: Mickey and Mallory Knox.
The couple retreat to the desert to camp for the night. As they sit by their fire, Mallory recalls the origin of their partnership. Their connection began when Mickey, once a meat deliveryman, came to her household. Mallory, trapped in a toxic environment with an abusive father and a neglectful mother, found solace in Mickey. Their bond intensified quickly, disrupted when Mickey was imprisoned for car theft. Upon his escape, Mickey returned for Mallory, and together they murdered her parents. Only her younger brother, Kevin, was shown mercy. Their love sealed in an impromptu bridge-top ceremony, they fled into their new reality: one drenched in blood.
Descent into Violence
The couple’s journey grows darker. At a motel, Mickey holds a woman hostage. When Mallory discovers Mickey’s intent for a threesome, she storms out in disgust. Left behind, Mickey rapes the hostage. Meanwhile, Mallory drives to a gas station, flirts with a mechanic, and begins to engage in a sexual act. But a traumatic flashback of her father causes her to snap. The mechanic, realizing her identity, tries to act, but she kills him. Their rampage continues, amassing 52 known victims across the southwestern United States.
Detective Jack Scagnetti emerges as their primary pursuer. A deeply troubled man shaped by the childhood trauma of witnessing his mother’s murder by Charles Whitman, Scagnetti walks a tightrope between law enforcement and sadism. Behind his decorated public persona lies a man who has strangled prostitutes and thrives in the shadow of killers.
Parallel to Scagnetti’s chase is Wayne Gale, a fame-hungry tabloid journalist hosting “American Maniacs.” He glamorizes the Knoxes, turning them into cult icons. His obsessive coverage elevates their infamy, blurring the line between reporting and complicity.
Collapse and Captivity
The desert offers no peace. After ingesting psychedelic mushrooms, Mickey and Mallory stumble onto a ranch owned by Navajo man Warren Red Cloud. Warren offers them shelter and food. As they rest, Warren, sensing darkness in Mickey, attempts to spiritually cleanse him through ritualistic chanting. Haunted by dreams of his abusive childhood, Mickey awakens mid-ritual and fatally shoots Warren. The murder burdens the couple with unshakable guilt.
Soon after, a swarm of rattlesnakes bites them. Desperate for antidote, they reach a drugstore. The pharmacist recognizes them and alerts authorities before Mickey shoots him. A shootout ensues. Overwhelmed, the couple is brutally beaten and apprehended by police. The chaos is recorded by an eager media crew.
One year passes. Mickey and Mallory are institutionalized and deemed criminally insane. Their transfer to psychiatric facilities is overseen by none other than Scagnetti. However, Warden Dwight McClusky harbors a different plan: eliminate the duo during transfer, staging it as an attempted escape.
Meanwhile, Wayne Gale schemes to reignite his fame. He arranges a live post-Super Bowl interview with Mickey, manipulating access through flattery and showmanship. The broadcast becomes a catalyst. As Mickey speaks, prisoners watching riot. McClusky, alarmed, ends the interview, leaving Mickey in a room with Gale, the crew, and guards.
Mickey seizes the opportunity. Overpowering the guards, he kills nearly everyone except Gale, who he keeps hostage. Gale, once a voyeur of violence, now becomes its subject. Concurrently, Scagnetti tries to assault Mallory, who retaliates violently. Subdued with tear gas, she waits for rescue. Mickey arrives, executing guards and confronting Scagnetti in a tense standoff. Mallory ends it with a bullet.
Freedom and Aftermath
Amid the escalating riot, Gale’s crew perishes, and Gale himself adopts the chaos, firing at guards. Mickey, Mallory, and Gale hijack a van and flee into the woods. In a final interview, Gale pleads for his life. The couple listens, amused. Mickey tells him that unlike their usual pattern of sparing one witness, this time the camera will serve as the sole survivor.
Gale is executed, the moment transmitted unknowingly through his earpiece to a horrified news anchor. The public watches in disbelief as the chaos Gale once celebrated consumes him.
Years later, Mickey and Mallory live off the grid in an RV. Mallory, now a mother, watches over their children as they continue their journey—still fugitives, still haunted, but free.