Black History Month Series #6
*"You fools! You can run, but you cannot hide... you will now fight the beast."
*
A seductive entity ravages on unsuspecting men in the New York area. Madness ensues, but that's the selling point for this B-movie directed, written by and starring James Bond III (no relation to the spy). The entity - portrayed by Cynthia Bond (no relation to the director, either) in what appears to be her first and only role - is quite a thrill to follow throughout. You never know what move she'll pull next, but it's sure to be something you wouldn't expect. I probably would've folded too, honestly. Charming, exuberant and a heart of gold... and ice? Woof! Reverting back to my earlier sentence, why didn't Miss Bond get cast in more material after this? She has all the ingredients of a horror queen! Ah well. Beyond her performance, there's familiar faces that appear: Kadeem Hardison, Bill Nunn, Samuel L. Jackson and singers Freddie Jackson & Melba Moore. Admittedly, digging through Jackson's filmography in the past is the reason I even know this existed in the first place. Unfortunately, his screentime as a minister - who is key to stopping the succubus woman's reign of terror - is very minimal but he manages to leave a strong impression relatively early in his acting career.
The film starts off on a strong note (and keeping its momentum going), with supernatural and religious themes omnipresent. With the vampire theme in mind, it kind of feels like - in an alternate universe - it could have ties to Sinners, albeit less music and more freaked-out energy... or perhaps, considering the (often uneven) balance, some shades of Vampire in Brooklyn could also be felt. On the other hand, the second half of the flick feels a bit stilted with some scenes building solid narrative work and other scenes running overlong into "filler" territory. Miraculously, the final act does wrap up with Hardison and Nunn teaming up to "exorcise" this spirit once and for all. Of course, not everyone comes out of it unscathed (out-of-context, evil shill Ronald Reagan has something to do with a character's demise so fuck him doubly) but at the end of the day - or night, rather - the power of Christ compels the deity of the night. All in all, it's a decent horror B-movie that could've benefited from padding various scenes but it's a fun femme fatale romp. Shoutout to Laurence Fishburne for allowing some moments to be shot at his home, a real stand-up guy and talent that also would've killed it here.
Black History Month Series #6
*"You fools! You can run, but you cannot hide... you will now fight the beast."
*
A seductive entity ravages on unsuspecting men in the New York area. Madness ensues, but that's the selling point for this B-movie directed, written by and starring James Bond III (no relation to the spy). The entity - portrayed by Cynthia Bond (no relation to the director, either) in what appears to be her first and only role - is quite a thrill to follow throughout. You never know what move she'll pull next, but it's sure to be something you wouldn't expect. I probably would've folded too, honestly. Charming, exuberant and a heart of gold... and ice? Woof! Reverting back to my earlier sentence, why didn't Miss Bond get cast in more material after this? She has all the ingredients of a horror queen! Ah well. Beyond her performance, there's familiar faces that appear: Kadeem Hardison, Bill Nunn, Samuel L. Jackson and singers Freddie Jackson & Melba Moore. Admittedly, digging through Jackson's filmography in the past is the reason I even know this existed in the first place. Unfortunately, his screentime as a minister - who is key to stopping the succubus woman's reign of terror - is very minimal but he manages to leave a strong impression relatively early in his acting career.
The film starts off on a strong note (and keeping its momentum going), with supernatural and religious themes omnipresent. With the vampire theme in mind, it kind of feels like - in an alternate universe - it could have ties to Sinners, albeit less music and more freaked-out energy... or perhaps, considering the (often uneven) balance, some shades of Vampire in Brooklyn could also be felt. On the other hand, the second half of the flick feels a bit stilted with some scenes building solid narrative work and other scenes running overlong into "filler" territory. Miraculously, the final act does wrap up with Hardison and Nunn teaming up to "exorcise" this spirit once and for all. Of course, not everyone comes out of it unscathed (out-of-context, evil shill Ronald Reagan has something to do with a character's demise so fuck him doubly) but at the end of the day - or night, rather - the power of Christ compels the deity of the night. All in all, it's a decent horror B-movie that could've benefited from padding various scenes but it's a fun femme fatale romp. Shoutout to Laurence Fishburne for allowing some moments to be shot at his home, a real stand-up guy and talent that also would've killed it here.
