MonsterPerfect
Good idea lost in the noise
Konterr
Brilliant and touching
WillSushyMedia
This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.
trashgang
This flick is really one for teens looking for some science fiction and a bit of horror. And if those teens are into blonds than they surely have found what they are looking for. And as an extra, they show their tits. Wow, as a teen I really would liked it, it's all about teens and remembered me of flicks like The Faculty. But for me it was just a cheap rip off of Species. Here we have sexy blonds looking out for teen boys to freeze them to death. Once they are making love their chest, in fact their missing belly button spawns some tentacles. But from there on things go wrong, it's all CGI. And the use of CGI and no blood tears this flick down. It is said that it is also a comedy, well, warn me when I have to laugh. Not for me this one but for teens, well, they will love those decoys.
MistAh_Justus
Upon first viewing of this movie, you may automatically think Species rip-off. Even with the clearly lower budget it offers so much more and actually trys to be different from the average made for TV Sci-Fi weekly movie by combining a mixture of comedy, horror, and of course science fiction. The movie takes place on a college campus in Canada! Where we follow a group of students who have an American Pie type of vibe to them, by busting out jokes and repeatedly have discussions about losing their virginity and performing other sexual acts. And that's where the hot blonde sorority babes come in...and that's where the Species comparisons may come in.Yes, just like the Species series, in order for this hot blonde undercover "ALIEN" race to survive they must reproduce with the male human virgin freshmen. We do get some actual time to meet the characters and their stereotypes, and you do get a feel for them. It's clear to see who the lead players are and even though you know who's gonna go, you still root for them like they have a chance, something you don't see too often.The hot blondes in their natural form do resemble the Species creatures quite a bit, but I guess they go by the standard alien description, hairless body, big eyes, human but almost bug like. The awesome Kim Poirier actually plays one of them "Constance". She gets quite a bit of screen time while not actually being the lead, you might also recognize her from the Dawn of the Dead remake, she's got quite a memorable scene in that one! When we do see these reptilian aliens, sometimes it is real effects that do look fairly good. But for most of the action sequences the creatures are CGI but even though it's easy to tell, it still looks good since they move so fast.This movie also mixes in a bit of cop drama with the good cop bad cop showdown, although unnecessary it still seems to work in the entire B-Movie atmosphere of the rest of the movie. So we follow our lead college male "Luke" played by Corey Sevier as he must prove to the others that Aliens do exist and they're taking over the campus before it's too late and his friends give in to sexual peer pressure.The movie builds up quite nice to an inevitable showdown between the lead male and entire Alien species. We get some nice action sequences and with all the time spent actually getting to know the characters you don't know whether or not to root or boo for these aliens creatures.In the end, you get the expected victory with an unexpected twist. The first time I watched this movie it somehow slipped past me, but it actually seems to work quite well. I'm not gonna spoil it for you just in case you haven't seen this but keep an eye out for it when you do! This is definitely a movie you can have fun with if you don't take it too seriously, think of The Faculty + Species and a Lil' bit of American Pie and you got a surprisingly enjoyable movie. Of course it finishes off with room for a sequel and of course a sequel was made, how could they not? If you get a chance give this one a watch, even though you may have seen this type of story before, it's more fun then you may think.7.5/10
brianskeet
Well, this sort of sneaked up on me.There I was expecting a terrible little b-movie, but what I got was something cooler, odder.I am a great fan of "The Faculty" and my husband, Terry and I have been David Decoteau movies off late, so maybe it was a relief not to have to wipe my brow over another homo erotic escapade.The story is a familiar one, but it is told with some panache. The dead bodies are very coo and the dream sequences are great.Terry and I really enjoyed it and I am excited that there is a sequel. Bring it on!Brian
mentalcritic
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.
