Vinegar Syndrome has unleashed another previous Troma title, Def by Temptation (1990), on Blu-ray; the title was procured by the studio in the late ‘80s and once again was changed up to fit the Troma aesthetic. The singular directorial effort by former child actor James Bond III is the story of a succubus preying on lecherous African American men in New York City and the only man who can stop her. This man just happens to be future pastor Joel (James Bond III), who is in town to visit his actor brother “K” (Kadeem Hardison, of A Different World fame) to take a break from his pastoral studies in North Carolina. We also get the idea this creature was behind the death of Joel’s father, played by a very young Samuel L. Jackson.
Def by Temptation lives somewhere in the canon of African American horror between Ganja & Hess and Blackula, in that it’s an extremely effective horror film that has some great subtext and is visually very striking; but it falters from time to time from the trappings of B-movie horror. These instances were probably a result of the Troma acquisition, but they don’t detract too much from the overall film. I recall seeing this on the shelf at my local video store and passed it over countless times due to the gimmicky title and the cover box that put Sam Jackson, who has no more than 10 minutes of screen time, front and center, which again was thanks to Troma. Watching the film now, I really feel like it’s a tragedy this film fell by the wayside and the duo of James Bond III and cinematographer Ernest R. Dickerson never made another film together.
The film succeeds based not just on the horror elements and the well-executed practical effects, but also on the surprisingly charming relationship between the two brothers Joel and K. There are some genuinely convincing moments between the two that disarm you as a viewer since you honestly don’t really expect this level of character development coming into this. It’s something that really surprised me and pulled me in once the succubus begins to splinter the relationship between the brothers, turning them on one another when she drops K in favor of Joel. The film also manages to throw in some interesting moral subtext about promiscuity and STDs, which felt oddly sincere.
As with previous releases from Vinegar, the film looks and sounds great with a new 2K transfer, which highlights the excellent cinematography by Ernest R. Dickerson. Dickerson lensed most of Spike Lee’s early filmography before breaking out as a genre director in his own right, directing most recently episodes of The Walking Dead and The Purge television series. The only thing that really dates the film, and would be my only negative, is the film’s jarring ‘90s hip hop soundtrack, which only makes sense when you discover from the special features that the film was funded in part by Hush Records. The songs used in the film aren’t particularly very good and oftentimes seem to come out of nowhere, not fitting with what’s happening on screen. While the soundtrack tie-in was an easy way to sell albums at time, good soundtrack curation is never easy.
The release carries over most of the extras from the Troma DVD release, including the conversation with Lloyd Kauffman and cinematographer Ernest R. Dickerson, who is painfully candid when discussing his work on the film. Right off the bat Dickerson lays down that directing duties were actually more of a collaborative effort on the film. Dickerson handled the look and feel of the film’s striking visual style, while Bond (who is credited as producing, writing, and directing) concentrated on directing the actors, since that was his background. This makes sense given Dickerson’s impressive filmography after Def. Dickerson is extremely sincere with anecdotes and great insight into the production that showed how much of an effort it was in the African American film community to bring this film to screen. My favorite was that the beginning was shot in Laurence Fishburne’s pre-renovated home. On the almost complete flip side of that conversation, there is a new commentary/interview with James Bond III for the film that is painfully self-serving to the point I barely got through 10 minutes.
Def by Temptation is definitely a hidden gem for fans of early ‘90s horror. The film, which fell through the cracks, deserves a reappraisal now that is it’s more readily available in the best quality possible thanks to Vinegar Syndrome. Watching the film is definitely a bittersweet experience given this is the only film by the duo, and there probably will never be another. It’s a film that genuinely surprised me with its cast, depth, and craft, even with the Troma trademarks shoehorned in there. Here you not only get the film, but thanks to the extras, like most of these films rescued by Vinegar, you get a much needed context you won’t find even on Wikipedia. Def by Temptation is a sold slice of horror that thanks to a great cast and visual effects that will definitely surprise any genre fan who missed this film the first time around.