DAY 4. Blaxploitation!

Forget the logo that starts this. Sure, Troma distributed this, but it’s alien to their usual dreck, and it has an actual Screen Actors Guild cast, a gorgeous, smoky, neo-noir aesthetic, a contemporary R&B soundtrack and a mostly Black cast and crew.

Directed, written, produced and starring James Bond III, Def by Temptation is the story of Joel (Bond) and his best friend K (Kadeem Hardison), who will face the temptations — right there in the title! — of the flesh. Joel is a wholesome, clean-cut minister-in-training from North Carolina who is having a crisis of faith. Seeking clarity, he heads to the big, bad streets of New York City to visit his childhood best friend, K, who has become an actor.

K’s favorite place to chill is a local bar where a mysterious, stunningly beautiful woman known only as the Temptress (Cynthia Bond) hangs out. The problem? She’s a literal, soul-sucking succubus. She picks up womanizers, unfaithful husbands and anyone succumbing to the sins of the flesh, takes them home and violently obliterates them. When Joel arrives in town, his pure, virginal, holy aura becomes the ultimate prize for her. What follows is a wild, supernatural clash featuring possessed fortune tellers, holy water cocktails, killer television sets and Bill Nunn as a cop who specializes in supernatural cases. Oh, and Samuel L. Jackson shows up in flashbacks as Joel’s minister father, plus R&B royalty Melba Moore shows up as the doomed Madam Sonya, along with cameos from jazz saxophonist Najee and singer Freddie Jackson.

Def by Temptation operates on its own wavelength. It’s a horror movie, but it’s deeply rooted in the traditions of Black religious melodrama. It treats the power of faith and the threat of damnation with absolute seriousness, even when the special effects get wonderfully absurd. So you get stuff like K being violently sucked into his own television set, followed by an explosion of blood and guts from the screen; demon bartenders driving limousines and a climactic bedroom showdown involving a crucifix and some delightfully gooey practical effects.

Cynthia Bond is absolutely hypnotic as the Temptress. She balances an elegant, icy allure with moments of pure, feral malice. The chemistry between James Bond III and Kadeem Hardison feels incredibly genuine, giving the movie an emotional anchor before the supernatural craziness takes over. And the house it was shot in? It was owned by producer Hanna Moss and her husband, Laurence Fishburne.

Made for just $5 million over four weeks, Def by Temptation is a time capsule of a very specific era of independent filmmaking. It’s got style, a killer soundtrack, a great cast before they hit the stratosphere, and enough weird horror imagery to keep me happy. Why did I take so long to watch it?

You can watch this on Tubi.