Decoys

Lilly (Stefanie von Pfetten) and Constance (Kim Poirier) are sexy cousins that are more than a couple of hot college girls. Luke (Corey Sevier) snuck into their room and sees something alien. Alex (Meghan Ory) is his best friend who just doesn't believe him.

The girls are aliens. It's not a spoiler because they show it in the first 10 minutes. There is absolutely no horror in this horror movie. The writing is all camp. Some intentional like punching a girl. But there is a lot of unintentional camp.

The odd thing is that Stefanie von Pfetten and Kim Poirier are probably the best actors in this movie. They have this frienermy competitiveness going on. All the guys are useless, both as characters and as actors. Meghan Ory is too distant.

This is a super cheesy TV movie. There is sometimes good fun to watch a little bit of camp. But the guys aren't good enough or funny enough or compelling enough. It's almost a funny watch, but it tries to be a serious horror.

Students at a Canadian college campus are beginning to disappear, only to be found dead, their bodies frozen stiff from the inside. Luke & Roger, two students at the campus, come across two new female students. But Luke discovers that they are in fact aliens who have arrived in order to breed so that they can save their race from extinction.

You can imagine what the executives at the Sci-Fi channel were thinking when the pitch for this film was given. "Hey, let's make a teenage version of SPECIES, set it in a college & throw in some American PIE." And sure enough, they delivered it.

"Decoys" is exactly what you would think it is; a cross between SPECIES & American PIE, only it takes the main plot points of both films; alien chicks & horny students; & throws them in a blender. The film's intentions are clear from the outset – the way the camera lingers on female college students as it passes them, shows that the film is purely for adolescent males who want to see sex, booze & cheap CGI effects.

That said, the film does have a number of glaring problems. The acting is not too bad, with Richard Burgi & Nicole Eggert playing their part as the two cops better than the actors playing the co-eds. The plot has some massive plot holes – why did the aliens pick that particular college to mate with? Also there's the fact that the director / screenwriter does not know who the real villains are (the aliens are shown as evil at first, but later come across as being sympathetic). The makeup effects used to portray the frozen victims are quite good but the CGI aliens are very cheesy.

"Decoys" is one more of those new low budget horror movies that are coming straight to video these days. However, "Decoys" shines among the rest of b-grade films because of the simple fact that it is quite funny and entertaining despite its clichéd storyline. This is no "Ginger Snaps" (the Canadian horror cult-film) of course, but it is very close to be great.

The plot follows the adventure of Luke (Corey Sevier), a young man in his first year in college, who just discovered that the two beautiful students he just met are actually murderous aliens who kill every guy they have sex with. Of course nobody believes him, and the movie follows his lonely attempt to prove he is not insane. To make things worse, his best friend Roger (Elias Toufexis) is currently dating one of the aliens and is very interested in losing his virginity this year.

With a storyline like that one would expect a cheap and dumb teen movie, but "Decoys" manages to keep the interest and the laughs at a good level without becoming stupid or boring. In fact, it slowly develops the characters and one can't avoid to feel for them. Something quite rare nowadays. This is director Matthew Hastings' first feature and boy he did it notably well for a debut.

The acting is very good for the most part, although Corey Sevier is a bit weak for a lead role. On the other hand, Toufexis shows a lot of potential in a remarkable performance as Luke's friend that goes beyond being a simple comic relief to become a likable and interesting character. The same could be said of Kim Poirier, who in her role of the alien Constance shows that she is more than a pretty face and sexy body.

Of course, like the plot implies, the movie displays its fair share of nudity; not only of Poirier, but also of the beautiful Stefanie Von Pfetten. Fans of these actresses will be pleased.

The film has the obvious flaws of a b-movie film, although some of the CG effects are very good. the script its a bit flawed and has some plot-holes, but nothing minor or too distracting. Of course it could had been better, but it is OK for the movie. Also, the film drags a bit by the middle but it recovers its power for a very good and clever ending.

"Decoys" may not be a horror classic, but it is a very funny mix of horror, comedy and sci-fi. Hastings, Toufaxis and Poirier show a lot of talent and probably they'll have a bright future ahead if they continue this way. This was really a surprisingly entertaining film. 7/10

Normally I would never watch a movie like Decoys. I am not a fan of this type of cinema and the description sounded like a big ripoff of the 80's cult flick Revenge of the Teenage Vixens From Outer Space. Since Decoys was given to me as a gift just recently I figured I would force myself to watch it...

Basically, the storyline is similar to that of Revenge of the Teenage Vixens From Outer Space, just the vixens aren't "teenagers" and they don't turn their victims into vegetables. Anyway, the movie takes place on a college campus. Luke is the star of the movie and he witnesses these two beautiful girls turning into aliens before his very eyes. The only problem is getting everyone else to believe his story. Meanwhile, the "vixens" are screwing guys to death, literally, by freezing them from the inside out. What will Luke do to stop this invasion?

Well, as much as this movie looked dreadful, it really isn't that bad. The acting was actually pretty decent and the special effects (for lame CGI) weren't as bad as I would have expected. My two main complaints were the cliché horny college kids and the absolutely awful music played throughout the movie. But, I guess this movie was aimed to more of an early 20's age group. I guess the makers figure that is what people listen to or how they act. Whatever...

Anyway, I got a few laughs out of this movie and it kept my interest throughout. So, I guess it did what it was aiming for. Check it out on a rainy day. 6/10

To say this movie is average is saying a bit much. However it did have certain aspects that some viewers might appreciate. You've heard enough about the bad in other reviews I'm sure, so I'll be as unbiased as I can and sum up the good, the bad, and the ugly and point out who would and wouldn't appreciate it.

First off this film is for Guys (mainly), and it is for viewers who want to see some nice eye candy as it's filled with beautiful woman including one topless / ass scene and many other sexual scenes. It plays as a horror / action thriller with some suspense. The action scenes are okay, with some decent special effects. It wasn't that suspenseful as it's not that scary (I didn't think) though not a movie for young kids either as the whole movie is of a sexual nature also involving some non graphic killings. Obviously target audience is viewers in their teens / early twenties and though I'm a few years older I thought it was okay. I rented it cause I have a blockbuster pass and had nothing else to rent (if you can imagine that). I wouldn't watch it again, and if I did, it would only be to fast forward to certain parts encompassing about 5-10 minutes worth. Overall it's for guys who want some eye candy and a cheap horror story to string you along. Probably a decent party / date movie for those who want to lighten up the sexual tension (Combo of Species, Scream, and Porkey's). It's not as suspenseful or thrilling as scream, but it's not a spoof like Scary Movie and it more or less tries to take itself seriously.

The story itself sounds like something from a porno movie. A race of alien woman are dying off as they no longer can reproduce, so they come to earth and 'Decoy' themselves as beautiful woman in attempt to impregnate hosts or men in an effort to revitalize their species. Very similar to Species. Problem is they keep killing the men in the process… So the movie is filled with sexual scenes throughout. The two main guys in the movie are new freshmen at some university in a cold state. Keep in mind I did fast forward through some of it and wasn't paying close attention to minor details. Anyway the guys get involved with your friendly neighborhood Alien beauties. The main character pretty much goes on the vigilante rampage trying to prove the aliens existence. He apparently had a sexual past with the woman detective (which wasn't really explained). I must say too that the guy detective was probably the worst actor / character, and the film certainly could have survived with out him. What was up with the Puppy stuff??? The other Main guy falls in love with the Alien, and she as well. The movie comes to a head when the main guy hunts the alien women. The acting ranged from decent to terrible, the sexual and eye candy scenes were pretty good, the action was just okay, the special effects were decent. So overall, a B horror flick. You could do worse and if you miss it, no big deal… You won't hear much about it 6 months from now.