Def by Temptation

source: Def by Temptation

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.

RUBBISH ! I note that IMDb member "babygraceblue" rated this film 10/10, titling his/her review "Def By Temptation: High Caliber Horror". Hmmm... yet another very suspicious rating, and when I checked the member's record, I find he/she has reviewed only TWO movies in 17 years! So is the person a cast or crew member, or a friend or relative? That sort of review is plain ridiculous and does a disservice to the IMDb, frankly. This "movie" is not worthy of being called a movie ~ and do the people playing the characters actually consider themselves actors? Really? They come across as hideous caricatures. Another bad joke. The sex scenes are asinine and embarrassing, disgusting, in awful taste. This picture is a painful, amateurish attempt at movie-making, pitiful and despicable. The cinematography stinks; I honestly cannot think of one good point about this dreadful flick. Was it supposed to be a horror film? Well, it sure was horrible! AVOID it at all costs. I've rated and reviewed thousands of movies over decades (horror is one of my favourite genres), and recommend running away from this horrible thing. 1/10.

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 ****.

I saw this on DVD and if you`ve seen the DVD case I`m talking about you`ll know that both the name and face of Samuel L Jackson is the most prominent thing on the DVD cover but don`t be fooled because when you play the DVD you`ll notice Jackson is credited fourth in the opening credits . So let`s see Jackson`s face and name are plastered all over the front cover and he`s credited as being fourth in the opening credits behind three other actors I`ve never heard of ! You really do feel this might not be a star vehicle for Hollywood`s funkiest black dude . Well guess what - It`s not , and DEF BY TEMPTATION isn`t the only DVD cover to con a potential audience into thinking they`re going to be watching a star name in a recent movie . Have you ever noticed DVD covers never mention what year the film was made ? They only mention when the DVD was issued . That aside I wasn`t all that taken with the movie itself . It probably did have potential but all the potential is suffocated by a non exsistent budget , the camera work is very static while there doesn`t seem to be more than three or four sets . Strangely though despite it having a grade Z budget the cast give performances far in excess than the film probably deserves , but the story is just basically " Female vampire goes on the prowl for victims " which isn`t exactly riviting Please note that Samuel L Jackson only appears in three short scenes

Atmospheric, erotic, sleek, poignant, original? Def By Temptation is none of these. Painfully slow, painfully boring. Terrible cinematography, lighting and editing. Terrible acting. Terrible music. Nothing worth seeing. Samuel L. Jackson is prominently featured on the front and back of the DVD box, and the DVD menu, and his name appears first on the front and back of the box's credits. He's barely in it! The DVD box states there is "Commentary by Fangoria Managing Editor Michael Gingold" and "Commentary by VideoHound author Mike Mayo." Think that means there's feature- length audio commentary by them? Think again! They are seen talking about the movie for less than two minutes each in videos in the special features section. There is only one audio track for the movie, and no commentary track by anyone. Cynthia Bond, playing the "Temptress" is not pictured or even credited on the box. Little wonder! She's a very homely looking middle-aged woman. Still, she's one of the main stars of the movie, and that's hardly fair to her to not credit her on the box. Not sure what this what was shot on. DVD has full-frame presentation only.

The only reason I'm even putting any comments in for this film is because I just finished reading an interview of Samuel L Jackson and someone asked him if he was still in contact with Troma. Jackson quickly said, "Hell No!!" And I can understand why. Def by Temptation is an all black cast vampire movie starring the writer/director James Bond III, Kadeem Hardinson and Mr. Samuel L Jackson himself. It centers around a black vampire Tempest who is seducing black men and then killing them through sucking their blood. The special effects are gory and the story is pretty predictable. The acting is pretty bad, but in a funny kind of way. As a whole the movie is definitely a bit below average. It's about as good as Eddie Murphy's Vampire In Brooklyn, but funnier and scarier at times. Is it worth seeing? Sure, it's worth at least one rental if there is absolutely nothing else at Blockbuster that you want to see. Otherwise, drive a stake into this movie, cause it's dead.

What? And why? Thinking of seeing this? Ha ha ha. My dear friend, greater pleasure can be derived from a root canal or a slow limb amputation, minus the anesthesia. Watch this only if you're into laughably bad make-up effects or "Diff'rent World" actors destroying their careers. I like a lot of celluloid garbage but this merits a 10 on the no effing way scale. A stake through the heart! If it had one.

This cheap and cheesy all-black horror film is about a female demon in human form who goes around killing sexually promiscuous men. It's as simple as that, and a plot that's not necessarily bad given the right treatment. A pity, then, that the execution is all wrong in this often laughable amateurish effort, which was unsurprisingly distributed by the team at Troma. Everything about this film is bad, from the dated attempts at stylish direction to the rubbish acting (the possessed woman goes way over the top) and the even-more awful gooey effects. I used to see this film around on VHS and DVD back in the day although I never got around to purchasing it, and now I can see why. Really, the only reason anyone would go out of their way to watch this film these days is to see a few famous actors in early roles. Bill Nunn (SPIDER-MAN) is here as an erstwhile hero while Samuel L. Jackson plays a preacher. Kadeem Hardison (DRIVE) is also present. The blame for this film's failure can be laid at the door of writer/director/star James Bond III, who definitely bit off more than he could chew. As a blaxploitation horror film, it's a dog.

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".