Decoys

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.

Genre-blending is a timeless art where regaining the interest of a jaded or exhausted audience is concerned. Unfortunately, it is also a tricky act to pull off thanks in no small part to the delicate balance between the two disparate elements. So while the blending of the sex comedy genre that has been bludgeoned to death in Hollywood with the monster mash genre that seems to have overridden science fiction looks good on paper, it requires a few things at the execution stage in order to work. The first, and definitely most important element to put in place is a clever script that blends the best of the prospective genres whilst shedding most of the worst. A good example would be Aliens, in which science fiction, horror, and action conjoin into a gripping story of human beings fighting their own worst natures. Once a good script is in place, good direction and good actors are really needed to follow. In fact, some attempts to blend genres that lack a good script can even be saved by a good director or a good cast.

The problem with Decoys, in a nutshell, is that it has absolutely none of these things. The director seems content to set his camera in front of his subjects and leave it running whilst they run through their lines. The actors, in turn, seem to be merely reciting lines and going through the motions. This, not unnaturally, leaves the audience standing on the outside of the film's reality rather than entering it. Of course, one could recover from this by making a film that is bad or oddball enough to be funny. This is not even attempted in Decoys. The concept of aliens landing on Earth with the mission of mating with the locals in order to facilitate some sort of continuation of their species is one rife for comedy. Granted, making a credible horror out of this concept is a difficult task, as Species proved in 1995, but the problem in Decoys is that nobody even seems to be trying. The film gives us little in the way of clues as to how to respond.

Furthering the problem is the cast. Meghan Ory steals the show as a potential girlfriend for Corey Sevier's protagonist, but when she is not in the frame, the weakness of the rest of the cast shines through like a desk lamp before the face. Nicole Eggert and Richard Burgi cannot act their way out of wet paper bags, and the latter's attempts to portray a hard-nosed detective who is convinced he is pursuing a new Ted Bundy shatter the reality of every scene he is in. Canada certainly has a better pool of talent available than this rot would have you believe. Every time one watches Bryan Singer's adaptations of the X-Men, one can see that much. The problem is that for every major talent in any sector of the industry, there has to be a dozen or so dregs. The cast of Decoys would appear to be a collection of every dreg that Canada has on offer. Sevier barely possesses the skill to appear in a menswear commercial, and aside from Ory, he is the best element of the cast. Thankfully, this problem was addressed somewhat in the sequel.

Another strike against Decoys would be the terrible writing. At one point, we are given a scene in which one of the aliens tells the human male she is about to attempt to mate with exactly why she and her fellow aliens are there. In the hands of a great director like Bryan Singer or Kenneth Johnson, this could have turned into a plot subthread that would hook the audience as the alien in question struggles with her own nature. Instead, we are simply given more scenes in which sex and death are equated, while a level of misogyny rarely seen outside of America is on display. Granted, a motive for the actions of the characters is provided, but a good motive is like a good engine. If you do not maintain it adequately throughout the time in which you are using it, it will begin to fall apart. Characters begin to follow the protagonist's plan of action without needing to be adequately convinced, motivations change at the drop of a hat, and twists commit the ultimate sin. They are telegraphed in advance whilst making no real sense in light of the rest of the film at all.

As I have hinted earlier, some of the problems with Decoys were corrected in Decoys 2. Aside from the addition of better cast members, better humour, and a more developed story, Decoys 2 also delivers a bit of mild suspense. Another problem in the original Decoys is that any suspense or interest is destroyed for storytelling convenience. The susceptibility of the alien race to heat above room temperature is probably the biggest problem that these characters suffer. While it is not as idiotic as making the aliens in Signs fatally vulnerable to water, it does beg a few questions. Granted, I am not familiar with Canada in any sense, but surely they must have days when one does not require an ice pick to breathe out. Even Norway has those from time to time. But by now, you might have noticed I am picking all sorts of myriad details apart regarding Decoys. And that is the biggest point I wish to make here. A good film has plot holes, but manages to distract the viewer from them. A bad film displays its plot holes and even exaggerates them by force of numbers. Decoys is therefore a very bad film.

I gave Decoys a four out of ten. Two of those points are for a touching scene in which Kim Poirier demonstrates a third dimension to her character, and Meghan Ory. The rest of the film is a damp squib.

Now, that being said, my expectations of this film were very low. It was a movie I had never heard of, that turned up in a box of movies I bought at a yard sale for a buck. But curiosity got the best of me and I watched it, and wasn't disappointed. There are quite a few scares and even a twist that make this 90 minute flick watchable. And for a horror flick, this has very minimal violence. But it doesn't need it. This film does well just with the suspense, and the acting isn't bad either. The special effects, though few and far in between, are quite convincing, considering how low-budget this film was. Worth picking up if you have a little time to kill. Not a waste of time, not Oscar material either. 5/10

"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

I'll be the first to admit that this is by no means a great movie. I didn't like the special effects with the creatures themselves, but I did like the way they did the corpses. The plot could have used a little more work as well, seems like there wasn't much there.

With that being said, Decoys wasn't as bad as you are led to believe. I'd say this movie was pretty much in the middle of the road, with as much good as bad.

I didn't like the performances by Corey Sevier, Stefanie von Pfetten or Elias Toufexis (they came off as annoying, especially Elias) but thought that Meghan Ory and Kim Poirier did an excellent job. Meghan in particular stood out in this movie. I thought she looked much better than the girls who were supposed to be the best looking, and she probably had the strongest performance of the movie. While I'm at it, I have to say, Nicole Eggert is not aging well. Am I the only one who noticed this? Probably not.

The one thing I can say about this movie without hesitation, is that I didn't see the ending coming. Maybe others did, but it did surprise me, and I'm used to expecting the unexpected in movies like this. As far as that goes, the film makers here did an excellent job. Too bad the rest of the movie doesn't hold up.

Like I said, middle of the road. Maybe worth a rental or waiting for it to come on TV. I'd say around 6.5 out of 10.