At a college campus, two young girls are killed while strolling through a nearby forest. Suspicion falls on a chemistry professor and an intense and brooding music professor named Edwin Volck. Harold, a psychology professor, convinces his fiancee Daphne to act as bait to help trap the killer. The trap succeeds and Volck is revealed as the killer. Harold, however, becomes worried. He believes that the killers bloodlust may have inspired other less obvious psychos on campus. Daphne realizes that Harold has been speculating about himself when he suddenly attacks her. She is rescued by the chemistry professor. The chemistry professor had been watching Harold's behavior since the beginning believing that he was a possible psychopath.

Karl Jorla is a European horror movie star that is contracted by a Hollywood studio to appear in his first American film. The producers of the film watch a demo film of Jorla as the leader of a satanic cult and feel that he will be perfect for their new film. After he comes to America, Jorla becomes worried that real satanists are after him. He thinks they may want to kill him for allowing his demo film to be shown. Jorla is given around the clock protection by the studio, but he is almost killed anyway. Jorla manages to convince the studio to allow him to stay at a secret location unknown to anyone but him. The studio agrees, but later become worried when he doesn't show up for the first day of filming. The director begins to film scenes around him, until Jorla suddenly appears on the set. He moans an address in Topanga Canyon and disappears. The police are called and everyone goes to the address where the find Jorla beaten to death.