Strange how...
...it starts as occult-oriented horror akin to "Midnight Offerings," which also starred Mary Beth McDonough, but then takes a different path, morphing into a horror-thriller mystery à la “The Night Strangler” with slasher elements in a mortuary/cemetery setting. The last act throws in something reminiscent of “Don’t Go in the House." "One Dark Night" also comes to mind for the milieu and era.
Speaking of “Midnight Offerings” and “The Night Strangler,” it has a made-for-TV vibe except for the explicit embalming sequences, gore and sex scene (using body doubles, of course). The haunting score is notable in an early 80s way and unrecognizable young Bill Paxton is a highlight with his over-the-top performance. But the weird cult bits at the beginning are curiously discarded and the lights going off-and-on at the Malibu mansion is annoying padding.
Still, there’s enough good here to entertain those who appreciate some of the aforementioned flicks.