Def by Temptation 1990

Joel James Bond III, a minister like his late father, was raised by his religious grandmother after both parents were killed in a car accident. His childhood best friend, K Kadeem Hardison, abandons his religious upbringing to chase an acting career in New York City.

Yearning for purpose, Joel heads to New York to reconnect with K. In a crowded bar, the infamous Temptress Cynthia Bond draws K’s attention, a woman known among the bar’s regulars for bringing many men home and then killing them after their encounters. The Temptress’ first victim is a womanizing bartender—John Canada Terrell—a man who drinks deeply from his charm and disrespect toward women. The second victim is Norman, a married man whose infidelity becomes a fatal price. The third victim is Jonathan Stephen Van Cleef, a gay man who falls under her spell.

Dougy, a police officer who handles supernatural cases, notices the disappearances as men vanish after leaving with the Temptress. He and K decide to investigate further, tracing the pattern of men who never return. The duo seeks answers from Madam Sonya, a fortune teller who Melba Moore reveals the shocking truth: the Temptress is a succubus who murders men who give in to temptation. The Temptress later possesses Sonya, turning the fortune teller into a vessel for her deadly power and threatening both K and Dougy.

K eventually confides in Joel about his earlier encounter with the Temptress and urges him to stay safe. Joel remains skeptical, so K reaches out to Joel’s grandmother for help, asking her to come to New York. Meanwhile, Dougy and K approach the bar and devise a plan: they ask the bartender to lace the Temptress’ drink with blessed holy water and to get away fast. The Temptress reacts violently to the blessed liquid, and Dougy and K scatter, with Dougy pursued and eventually attacked by demons in a car.

Back at K’s place, a chilling moment unfolds as K is violently sucked into his television, blood and viscera bursting from the screen as he screams, trapped inside the ominous portal. Joel, visiting the Temptress’ house, is drugged and dreams of his deceased father entering the room to find the Temptress in his mother’s bed. Waking, he confronts the danger with a cross and, with his grandmother by his side, defeats the succubus, saving both of them from the night’s horrors.

The story threads together as Dougy arrives at the bar in a limousine driven by K. In a twist that echoes the Temptress’ insinuations, it’s revealed that both K and Dougy have transformed into incubuses. The film closes on a haunting recurring dream of Joel running through the smoky streets of New York, leaving viewers with a sense of unsettled fear and unresolved danger in a city that never sleeps.