Tom Hunter (Peter Fonda) and his young son Dylan (Gino Franco) move to the horse ranch in Arkansas where Tom grew up. Tom learns that his father Jeff (John Doucette) and other locals are under heavy pressure from developer Pierce Crabtree (Philip Carey), who wants to strip mine the land and build a power plant. Crabtree's goons are happy to resort to assault and even murder, with victims including Tom's brother Charlie (Scott Glenn) and his wife Carolee (Kathleen Miller). Tom exacts revenge on the developers, armed with a bow and arrow.
Fighting Mad contains examples of:
- Bitch Slap: Tom's girlfriend Lorene Maddox (Lynn Lowry) slaps him in the face because he won't back down from his revenge plan.
- Death Is a Sad Thing: Before Charlie and Carolee's funeral, Tom explains to Dylan that when people die, they go to the same place they were before they were born. Dylan asks, "Where's that?" Tom doesn't have an answer.
- Every Car Is a Pinto: Surprisingly averted. The goons kill Charlie and Carolee by tying them up in their car, covering the car with gasoline, and pushing it off a cliff into a quarry. It fails to explode, and Carolee even survives the fall. The goons have to climb down into the quarry and set the car on fire themselves.
- Fruit Cart: Crabtree's men intimidate the locals by driving a bus through a pumpkin stand outside the church.
- Groin Attack: While playing tennis, Crabtree serves the ball right into his opponent's crotch.
- Imperiled in Pregnancy: Carolee was pregnant at the time of her murder.
- Interrupted Intimacy: Charlie and Carolee are in the middle of sex when the goons break into their house, beat them up, then kidnap and kill them.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: The goons force Charlie and Carolee to drink wine before they push them over the quarry so that the autopsy will find alcohol in their system, making their deaths look like a drunk driving accident. Tom isn't fooled, because Carolee was allergic to alcohol.
- Missing Mom: Tom is separated from his wife, who has lived for the last year with a man who doesn't get along with Dylan.
- Tantrum Throwing: Tom throws a wine glass against the wall with rage over Crabtree's crimes.
- This Is What the Building Will Look Like: Crabtree brings a model of the power plant to the Hunter ranch and tells Jeff, "There's your valley in five years, Mr. Hunter." Tom throws the model to the ground and smashes it up with a scythe.
- Zipping Up the Bodybag: After Jeff Hunter is killed by an explosion, Tom pulls a burlap bag over his face.
