Def by Temptation

Toronto International Film Festival Program Book
1990

Def by Temptation James Bond III USA, 1989 95 minutes
Colour/35mm
Production Company: Orpheus Pictures/Troma Inc.
Executive Producer: Charles Huggins, Kevin Harewood, Nelson George
Producer: James Bond III, Kervin Simms, Hajna O. Moss
Screenplay: James Bond III
Cinematography: Ernest Dickerson
Editor: Li-Shin Yu
Art Director: Marc Henry Johnson
Sound: Charles R. Hunt
Music: Freddie Jackson, Ashford & Simpson, Melba Moore, Najee, Slick Love
Principal Cast: Kadeem Hardison, James Bond III, Bill Nunn, Samuel L. Jackson, Minnie Gentry, Melba Moore

In a genre so dominated by representations of people of colour as cardboard victims or stereotyped henchmen, it is refreshing to see African Americans directing, shooting and starring in one of the most strikingly creative horror films of recent times. The film is in turn uproariously funny and ominously threatening, all beautifully rendered through the camera of Ernest Dickerson (Do the Right Thing). The script is constructed around stretches of rat-a-tat conversation (some of it clearly improvised) and crash-bang action, resulting in several spectacular performances. Of special note is Bill Nunn (Radio Raheem in Do the Right Thing) as a loser lounge lizard, who sets the frenetic pace with his pick-up chatter. The story concerns Joel (James Bond III) a divinity student questioning his faith. To think things through, he decides to visit his best friend K in New York. This plan faces stiff opposition from his grandmother, who fears that the same demon who caused his parents’ death may be lurking for him in the big city. He should have listened. Almost upon arrival, Joel is pursued by an ancient demon seductress reborn to cruise singles bars. She flirts unremittingly to drum up new business for a seemingly endless fire-and-brimstone clearance sale. But the real target of our villainess is purity and chastity; conveniently enough, the man who embodies these virtues is Joel. Despite the warnings of K and other club swingers, Joel is enraptured by the beast. Only when the clock strikes 11:59 does Joel realize he is faced with an evil far greater than anything taught in seminary school. —Noah Cowan