Def by Temptation

There's nothing great about Troma's "blaxploitation" horror outing about a seductive vamp preying on men in New York. Ernest Dickerson's ("Jungle Fever," "Do the Right Thing") cinematography and Samuel L. Jackson's supporting performance as a priest are just some of the assets going for this trash, but nothing more. Personally, I prefer Pam Grier's 70s films over this loser. My evaluation: * out of ****.

Though I'm not sure if that's a badge of honor or not. Lloyd Kaufman (Mr. Troma himself) says in an intro video to the movie, that this is the best movie Troma has done ... ever. That might be saying more about the other movies than this one I guess ... But seriously though, I remember this from the first time I watched it and when I did re-watch it recently it did not age that badly. Especially if you consider the fact that it has no budget and many things that were "in" in the 80s, but look ridiculous now!

Don't be fooled by Samuel L. Jacksons face on the cover. Yes he is in the movie, but of course not really that much. The star of the movie is someone else. The dialogue seems crazy at times, but one particular dialogue is almost enough to rate this a "10" (no I haven't but the scene is really hilarious!) -> Reply being "we've got to do all that ...". You'll know it, when you hear it! I'm looking forward to listen to the audio commentary.

This movie had more of a religious theme than a horror theme. I enjoyed it and recommend it. It is low-budget but a good first effort for James Bond, III. There are a lot of know people from the 80's and 90's in the movie who, I am sure, were just there for the publicity; however, some of the actors actually did a pretty good job, including James Bond, III, who also played in Spike Lee's SchoolDaze along with Samuel L. Jackson. There are movies with bigger budgets that are nowhere near as good as this movie. The storyline and creative aspect of the movie are much better than the set and location. If this movie would have had at least a couple more million dollars in the budget, It would have been a hit and everyone would know about it.

In New York City, there is a beautiful temptress (Cynthia Bond) who seduces men at bars then takes them to her place only to murder them and drain their blood as she's actually a vampire. Joel (James Bond III) is a student from out-of-town who just came to the city to seek the advice of his actor friend named K ( Kadeem Hardisan), he also shows Joel a good time around the big apple especially at bars then has the help of Joel and a detective to find out what's behind these bizarre murders.

Very interesting and underrated vampire blaxplotation thriller from writer-director-producer-star James Bond III. What works in this movie is a good storyline with some sex and violence around, the movie was released by the popular independent studio known as "Troma" in theaters and has gained a small cult following. The acting is very good especially the writing on the dialog, there's also some great cinematography that captures the mood and feel of this flick.

If your into vampire flicks or supernatural horror movies then i suggest you watch this one!

Also recommended: "Vamp", "Dracula" (1931), "The Hunger", "Vampire Hunter D", "Basic Instinct", "Bram Stoker's Dracula", "Near Dark", "Buffy The Vampire Slayer"( Movie and Show), "The Forsaken", "Innocent Blood", "Blackula", "Tales from The Hood", "Fright Night 1 & 2", "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust", "Blood The Last Vampire", "Blade Trilogy", "American Werewolf in London", "The Lost Boys", "Daughters of Darkness", "John Carpenter's Vampires", "From Dusk Till Dawn", "Salem's Lot" ( 1979 and 2004), "Once Bitten", "Lifeforce", "Demons", "Suspiria", "Interview with the vampire", "Queen of the Damned", "The Night Flier", "Evil Dead II", "Lair of the White Worm", and "Martin".

I think most of the bad reviews for this movie are from people who aren't familiar with the Troma franchise. Troma is an independent film company that showcases unique, unusual and often very twisted projects from up-and-coming filmmakers who can't get a break from other (more hypocritical) film companies. "Def by Temptation" is certainly the work of an amateur, but I can tell that James Bond III put his passion into the movie and he did make a moderately good effort. I can't lie and say that the movie doesn't look low-budget, but its cheapness adds to its charm. And there's never a dull moment. The acting is often good, since quite a few of the actors are alumni from Spike Lee's films. Bill Nunn, who many might remember as Radio Raheem in "Do the Right Thing," gives the strongest performance and to this day I feel like he's one of the many underrated actors who never gets proper recognition for his talent. As you can expect, though Samuel L. Jackson is on the cover of the DVD and video, he's only in the movie for about 15 minutes. Once again, cashing in on the popularity of a big-name actor, who wasn't such a big name at the time. Kadeem Hardison, who many remember as Dwayne Wayne on "A Different World," does a fine job in the lead role, as does the female lead who plays the Temptress. About the only bad apple in the bunch is the director himself, who plays second lead. Bond's performance just seems way too subdued and his emotions seem forced.

I understand he's supposed to play a laid-back, repressed, Bible-toting individual, but he plays the role a little too low-key. The concept of an all-black horror movie has been done before in films like "Blacula," but it's not a concept that has been repeated very frequently. Even in our supposedly politically correct times, the black characters still tend to die off significantly quicker than the white characters in scary movies. Some of the dialogue is a little too cheesy, but there's also a lot of funny dialogue. The movie takes itself more seriously than you'd expect, but it never gets too serious. Nowadays, we see tons of campy horror flicks that seem 90 percent comedy and 10 percent horror, so it's cool that Bond didn't want to go that route. From a technical standpoint, the film's best aspect is its lighting, especially during the bar scenes. The DP is Ernest Dickerson, who's worked on Spike Lee's films. The camera-work is sometimes shoddy, with some bad eyeline matching during the dialogue scenes, but the lighting is great. It was also fun to listen to the movie's hip soundtrack, mostly composed of R & B from the early 90's. It helps date the film, but not in a bad way. "Def by Temptation" is far from a masterpiece, but it's entertaining and unique. Just don't expect to see Sammy L. in a big role and you won't be disappointed.