Customer Reviews

Decoys [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

... and that's what DECOYS is.

If you look at it as a classic horror film, you'll be disappointed. DECOYS is definitely a tongue-in-cheek marriage of comedy and horror, unashamedly borrowing elements from films in both genres.

The real value of the DVD lies in the deleted scenes and bloopers, both of which fill in frustrating gaps in the plot and give a real sense of what the film was intended to be; funny, sometimes over the top, undeniably goofy -- sort of a horror version of Airplane!

It's a pity some of the deleted scenes included in the DVD didn't make it into the film, as they fill in some gaps in the story that otherwise leave you scratching your head. Richard (Det. Kirk) Burgi's scenes with Corey (Luke) Sevier and Lilly (Stephanie Von Pfetten) are delightfully goofy and fun and explain a whole lot about Kirk's behavior throughout the film.

The bloopers... here's where you see why the cast say they all had a blast making this film. Burgi and Sevier have to fight to maintain straight faces around each other, often just giving up and collapsing into gales of laughter. :-)

DECOYS is definitely one of the "your mileage may vary" DVDs, but if you enjoy Richard Burgi's work, grab it!

It's hard to keep up with all the movies being filmed in Canada nowadays. Back when I was a kid that was a major event for us film fans north of the border but these days low-budget sci-fi and action filmed in Canada is the norm. But would these American production companies ever dare to set the story in Canada? Rarely if ever. They'll pretend Toronto is NYC or Vancouver the American Northwest. Finally with "Decoys" we get a horror film from Canada, set in Canada and for Canada! While Decoys is not the most original horror film in existence and is not likely to make me forget the films of David Cronenberg anytime soon, it is still definitely a great way to spend an hour and a half. This one has chuckles and laughs aplenty!

The setting is St. John's college in Ottawa, a higher education institution where books are the day's calling and frat parties rule the night. Luke and Roger are a couple of freshmen with one-track minds whose missions are to score as many babes as possible. One night Luke meets a couple of blonde bombshells who live a few doors down from him. Luke is enamoured but also mystified since school has been in session for months yet he's never seen the two until now. While managing to sneak into the closet of their room and watching the two undress, he is horrified to see tentacles protruding from their back. It is clear to Luke that these two girls are anything but normal. And is it mere coincidence that their arrival on campus coincides with recent campus deaths where several male students were found frostbiten to death, their mouths wide open in a silent scream? Luke seems to be the only kid on campus who doesn't think so, strangely enough.

The director himself has referred to his film as "American Pie meets Species", a very apt description. It's a bit of an awkward film to categorize since it has the look and feel of after-school PG-13 horror yet is quite graphic in both the violence and nudity departments. Is it original? While the physical make-up of the "Decoys" is unique, in the end all we have is yet another campus horror film that reinforces stereotypes of modern teenagers to the Nth degree. The guys are either extreme versions of jocks or nerds, except of course main character Luke who falls somewhere in between. The girls on campus are all pop tarts except for Luke's goth friend Alex. Yet when the ball is dropped these students somehow manage to outsmart the local police force AND the coroner. And why can't modern thrillers ever serve up a happy ending anymore? Enough with the "we're so clever" cornball twist endings. But while "Decoys" came across as somewhat flawed and formulaic at least it delivered skin in spades and holy mother of moose did it ever make me laugh! Definitely worth a rental.

Ever pick up a movie at your favorite local rental place, and just *KNOW* you are picking up low budget shlock? Ever decide, what the heck, I *WANT* to see this shlock? Other reviewers have likened it to "porkys", "species", "alien", etc... and there is a touch of all of that in this flick. This is canadian film, which considering its low-budgety look and feel wasn't THAT awful. The plot is VERY close to "species"... horny alien females invading earth to reproduce like made crazy. There were some good scenes, there were some awful scenes. There were story lines that went nowhere. (love interest between the protaganist and the female detective?) There wasn't any real plot twists and the special effects were "okay". But I'm getting annoyed by completely digitized creatures attacking Earth. I call it "attack of the pixels". (There's something to be said about the giant ugly snot infested rubber Jabba the Hutt over the crisp digital version that Lucas later dubbed in.. ya know?) If you've never seen any of the "species" movies, then this might be more entertaining for you than it was for me.

The only way this movie would rock is if people actually THREW ROCKS AT IT! I am always blown away buy people who say a movie is great if you don't judge it against other movies.... What do YOU judge it against?? Avacados??? Well in comparison, to that I suppose this has more action than an avacado, but it tastes worst and the party level is lower. The idea isn't even original. The FEMALE ALIENS COME TO EARTH TO GET SEX has been around since the 1970's (check out BREEDERS & LIFEFORCE for better examples). Don't try to sell this movie a "campy", its just bad, unfunny & so preditable you can almost talk along with the characters from the first viewing. PASS, PASS, PASS!!!!

"Decoys" is a little flick from our neighbors to the north. It features a cast built up primarily of newcomers(at least to the U.S. audience)and some reasonably good special effects considering the budget.

The story centers around St. John's College(filmed at University of Ottawa) where a good chunk of the male population has started to come up missing or frozen from the inside out. No one knows what's happening to these guys until one curious male student stumbles upon a pair of sorority sister cousins with some interesting appendages. They lack belly buttons but have another surprise waiting for the boys in their unusual birthmarks. The story unfolds from there as the student, Luke Callahan, attempts to uncover the girls for what they really are and to find out why they are freezing any and every amorous boy that they can get their hands on. Of course, our hero becomes a suspect in the case, lead by an eager Canadian cop played by the recognizable Richard Burgi and his sidekick, the lovely but never quite a star, Nicole Eggert.

As stated before, the majority of this cast is comprised of newcomers excepting Burgi and Eggert. Also, look out for the guy who plays "Jay" on "Degrassi: The Next Generation." Another little surprise was the coroner, played with tongue-firmly-in-cheek by veteran soap star Don Hastings.

The FX are pretty good. The creatures look good in close-ups, but you can tell when a CGI model is used pretty easily.

The story isn't too terrible, but allow for the below-average acting and the sometimes hokey direction. It's obvious that the director was trying to keep things reasonably light, as attested to in the "Making Of" documentary included on the DVD. In other words, it seems like the cast and crew knew that this flick wasn't going to be a contender in the awards department, so they had fun making it.

There is some nudity and a lot of sensuality, usually followed by some swift violence. The language isn't too horrible. As a matter of fact, if you cut out the few scenes with nudity, this film probably would have registered a PG-13 rating in the U.S.

Recommended to fans of B-grade horror who know what they are getting into.

They can seduce anyone, the tag line reads. But it doesn't seem to apply to virgin nerds as they keep resisting. A college campus is current home to beautiful aliens out to seduce young men. A difference in body temperatures usually results in the guys being left frozen stiff.

Enter our virgin nerd and his ability to resist the naked charms of the aliens (even when he thinks they are normal). The real question is not why the aliens are here, but are they good or bad. Are they intentionally killing guys or is it an unwanted side effect? That question helps drive the second half of the film.

When all is said and done, this really just seems like a college sex comedy. Sure it has aliens and death but there is no real tension to make it really qualify as a horror film. No real comedy either (but that is common with a lot of sex comedies). There is a sequel in the works that is either just trying to make a quick buck or might actually explain some of what happens in this movie. Good for eating popcorn to as it requires little thought or attention.

This movie was a bit frustrating. Not for the reasons you might thing, though. The plot was simple enough, but this was one movie that didn't know which way it wanted to go: horror comedy, or horror thriller (though the acting was actually pretty good, especially for a low-budget Canadian film). Had it tried to be the former, and left out the serious stuff, it would have actually been pretty funny. But, in the end, it tried to be the latter, and that is where is failed... so, I'd have to say, I wouldn't recommend this one for anything more that a one time, just for fun rental.

In Decoys, a group of attractive blond women from another planet have come to earth to mate with the young men of a small college in Canada. They chose Canada because they need things cold. When they mate they lay their eggs inside of the man and if the incubation temperature isn't right, the man freezes to death from the inside. The incubation temperature must be very tricky because every guy they do it with dies. One guy, while hiding out in the girl's closet, discovers they are not normal and sets out to prove what they really are.

Decoys is reasonably well acted and played out considering the low budget. The effects are even not bad for this type of movie. Its biggest problem is not knowing what kind of movie it wants to be. Its not scary enough to be horror, the science is too basic to be science fiction, and it has a weird sense of humor, but its not funny enough to be a comedy. Decoys ends up being a decent, but strange and flawed movie.

Nicole Eggert is the only name actor in the film, but she is given virtually nothing to do. She only has 4 or 5 scenes and a few lines of dialog.

This is a fun little movie and could have been fairly great except that it changes pace in the middle and goes from Alien-Human Romance into Alien BBQ & then Alien Shoot'em Up.

You begin to feel for the plight of at least one of the "Blonde Snow Queens From Space" (assuming you're open to that) and then the movie changes gears and it's sort of downhill from there.

I enjoyed the ending somewhat, it's a horror movie ending, but I want a sequel and I want survivors. They could reanimate the dead roomates and clone an alien or two. Throw in an alien baby & voila!

Matt Hastings, the director, seems like a great guy. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders. I consider this a great popcorn movie for when you don't want something really scary like "The Ring". But I'd rent it first if you're unsure though.

When I read the back of this DVD, I thought the plot line sounded a lot like "Species". Being a girl, I'm not usually too enthralled with the idea of watching hot naked monster girls seduce college frat boys, but I checked it out anyway. I didn't have high expectations, especially after reading the other user comments on Amazon.

But you know what? This flick is actually pretty darn entertaining.

Decoys definitely has its moments, mostly because it doesn't take itself too seriously. This isn't in the same class as "Shaun of the Dead" or "An American Werewolf in London", but it does serve up an enjoyable blend of humor and horror. Maybe the humor was too dry for some people and went over their heads? Or maybe I'm just odd, but I liked it.