Plot: What’s it about?
Luke (Corey Sevier) is a typical college male, a dude that loves to drink, go to parties, and get down with the hotties. But Luke isn’t lucky in the ways of romance, so he is forced to deal with being alone most of the time, even as countless folks around him engage in the deed. When he meets the gorgeous Lily (Stefanie von Pfetten), he thinks his bad luck will continue, especially when he then meets her cousin, the equally hot Constance (Kim Poirier). The two hotties shock him by asking him back to their room, even if it isn’t for outright sexual hijinks. The visit does turn kinky however, but when the girls are revealed as aliens, Luke finds himself facing potential doom. He manages to escape, but he is worried about the aliens and their plans, so he turns to anyone who will listen for their advice. He tells his horny friend Roger (Elias Toufexis) about the alien babes, but he only wants to hook up with them, lethal tentacles or not. At the same time, bodies have started to turn up as a result of the killer sex, which means the police are on full alert. Thanks to his encounter with the aliens, Luke is even named as a suspect in one murder. So he must clear his name and expose the invaders, before more lives are taken. But can one horny college student save the world, while also trying to get laid?
A couple of gorgeous aliens land on Earth to breed with humans, only to discover their goodies are so good, their partners die in the throes of passion. I was sold on Decoys based on that premise alone, with hopes of graphic violence, lethal sex scenes, and some serious naked women on full showcase. Well, as much as I wanted those elements, all three are in rather short shrift here and the film relies more on humor and general atmosphere. If you’ve seen The Faculty, you’ll see some similar traits here, but with more emphasis on comical tones. A few cool death scenes can be seen, as well as some nude hotties, but don’t expect all out exploitation from Decoys. The potential is there, to be sure, but the filmmakers went in a hipper, though less effective direction. Even so, the flick has some cool moments, including a few choice lines of dialogue. A sequel is already in the works, so who knows, maybe Decoys 2 will patch up some of the holes. In the meantime, Decoys stands as a decent flick, but one that could have been so much more. So the movie might have its flaws, but it is a fun movie overall and well worth a rental, even a purchase in some cases. But even if you would want to purchase Decoys, skip Columbia’s disc and pick up the Canadian import, as it sports more supplements.
Video: How does it look?
Decoys is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. This is a very well done visual presentation, even if some small flaws do surface at times. As this is a dark movie in terms of visuals, contrast is vital to the visual scheme and for the most part, black levels are on the mark here. But in a few scenes, I saw some grain present and while not a serious problem, it is worth mentioning in this review. No issues with colors though, as the hues look bold and dead on, especially those wonderful reds, which we see a lot of in this flick. In the end, the small errors don’t impact the transfer much and as such, I am giving this one a rather high score.
Audio: How does it sound?
The included Dolby Digital 5.1 track is a great one, with only a couple flawed instances keeping the score down a shade. All of the speakers get a workout with this track, thanks to a hard rock soundtrack and a lot of impact sound effects, all of which are presented to near perfection in this terrific mix. The surrounds are used almost all the time once the tension kicks in, but the material is still natural in tone, so no gimmicky sound to be heard here. I did notice a couple spots where dialogue is a little hard to understand, but on the whole, the vocals are flawless in terms of clarity and volume. This disc also includes optional English subtitles.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The lone supplement here is a behind the scenes featurette, which runs just under half an hour in duration. This is mostly promotional in nature, but some nice interviews and special effects footage can also be found. The Canadian edition has some added features, but sadly, Columbia hasn’t included there here.
