MOVIE REVIEW : A ‘Def’ Reworking of Vampire Genre

With the smart and stylish “Def by Temptation” (selected theaters), actor--and now writer-director-producer--James Bond III turns the old vampire/succubus horror picture inside out, discovering all sorts of unexpected possibilities for humor and meaning.

“Def by Temptation” is vital and funny, but is also reflective in ways not typical of genre fare. At 23, Bond, who has been performing since the age of 2, has already accumulated a notable body of work as an actor; he now emerges as a first-rate filmmaker.

The boyish-looking, soft-spoken Bond, memorable as the young James Baldwin in “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” has cast himself as as Joel, a small-town Southern youth raised by his formidable grandmother (Minnie Gentry) to follow in his late father’s footsteps as a minister. A divinity student, Joel feels he needs a break from both his studies and his grandmother--and he heads for Manhattan to visit his lifelong friend K (Kadeem Hardison).

At this point, we’ve already seen in action a mysterious, gorgeous woman (newcomer Cynthia Bond, deliciously bemused) who picks up men in an uptown bar. They can’t believe their good fortune when this absolute stunner with the long, gold fingernails comes on to them and wants to whisk them away right now to her handsome but oddly derelict Victorian row house, where ecstasy turns into bloody terror very quickly.

You can imagine the challenge Joel, as pure and innocent a young man as could be, represents to this temptress when they cross paths.

Golly, does Bond have a good time with all these encounters, playing up the temptress’s awesome slink and satirizing her victims’ lust and various frailties, among them macho pretensions. But he wisely focuses on the firm friendship between K and Joel.

An actor, K has become an urban sharpie, yet he respects Joel’s values and goals. He insists on putting Joel into a snappier wardrobe but doesn’t otherwise try to change him. These are two intelligent, immensely likable young men capable of respecting each other’s differences.

Underneath the humor and gore, however, we’re able to perceive, indeed, feel, a genuine struggle between good and evil in the context of supernatural fantasy. At this point, Joel’s grandmother, who had been pretty much dismissed with affectionate resignation as a figure of dominating, fuss-budgeting piety re-emerges as a force of good.

It’s as if Bond wanted to pay tribute to all the stern but loving, God-fearing black matriarchs who have struggled so hard to hold their families together and steer their offspring onto the path of righteousness. In any event, it’s hardly a sentiment typical of a horror picture.

Hardison, who is Dwayne Wayne in TV’s “A Different World,” and Bond are a delight. So are Melba Moore as a thunderingly dramatic psychic and Bill Nunn--he was the ill-fated Radio Raheem in “Do the Right Thing”--as an undercover cop who is the one man who senses something wrong with the dazzling temptress. Great looking (with photography by longtime Spike Lee associate Ernest Dickerson) and great sounding--the album is already out--”Def by Temptation” (rated R for the usual--but not overdone--horror-picture gore, some sex, some strong language) is a winner all the way.

‘DEF BY TEMPTATION’

A Troma Team release of an Orpheus Pictures production. Executive producers Charles Huggins, Kevin Harewood, Nelson George. Co-producers Kervin Simms, Hajna Moss. Writer-producer-director James Bond III. Camera Ernest Dickerson. Music Paul Laurence. Production designer David Carrington. Temptress’ costumes Elden Glover. Film editor Li-Shin Yu. Post-production services and supervision by the Troma Team. With James Bond III, Kadeem Hardison, Bill Nunn, Cynthia Bond, Samuel L. Jackson, Minnie Gentry, Rony Clanton, John Canada Terrell, Freddie Jackson, Melba Moore.

Running time: 1 hour, 34 minutes.

MPAA-rated: R (for standard horror-movie violence, some sex, language)