A quirky, unpolished blend of sci-fi and horror is probably the best way to describe Decoys (2004), which later spawned a cheeky little sequel. An easy watch that doesn’t try too hard to be anything special, just a relaxing, slightly offbeat story about alien invaders taking over a college campus one steamy seduction at a time.
We’re thrown onto a classic party-happy college campus, where textbooks are mere props and the real curriculum consists of parties fueled by cheap booze and terrible decisions. It's here that we meet best friends Luke (Corey Sevier) and Roger (Elias Toufexis), two freshmen with hearts set on romance, not research papers.
Fate tosses them a curveball in the grimy, coin-devouring campus laundromat, where detergent, desperation, and destiny collide. There, they meet Constance (Kim Poirier) and Lily (Stefanie von Pfetten), two flirtatious blondes, their smiles hinting at secrets darker than the spin cycle. After a coy exchange, the girls slip Luke their room number and saunter off, leaving a vibe that feels less like a score and more like a velvet-gloved trap ready to snap shut.
Decoys screams campy chaos as post-laundromat Luke, riding a wave of hormonal courage, sneaks into the coeds’ dorm to return their forgotten quarters, only to find himself cowering in a closet when his smooth Casanova plan implodes. He gets a reality-shattering eyeful: these coeds are aliens from another galaxy, sending Luke on a mission to play galactic hero, desperate to warn everyone, especially his friend Roger, who has already become infatuated with one of the seductive temptresses.
It’s a batshit premise that demands a sense of humor. Alien vixens who crank the AC in the dead of winter to keep their extraterrestrial thermostats in check and are hell-bent on saving their species by seducing frat boys, ensnaring them with tentacles and flash-freezing them into human ice cubes. It embraces its over-the-top weirdness with just enough restraint to keep the crazy train on the tracks.
Luke grapples with a campus full of skeptics, whether it’s a pair of hard-nosed detectives who’ve seen it all or his blissfully clueless friend Roger, who’s more interested in chasing tail and downing tequila shots. No one’s buying his wild-eyed alien invasion story, despite the not-so-subtle trail of frozen bodies turning up on campus.
Meanwhile, Alex (Meghan Ory), the loyal wallflower with a not-so-secret crush on Luke, pining from the sidelines while he’s too busy dodging tentacles to notice. This ragtag ensemble of horndog freshmen, lovesick sidekicks, grizzled cops and cosmics stirs up just enough chemistry to keep the movie afloat.
There are cracks in Decoys’ B-movie armor, but its breakneck pacing helps sweep them under a blizzard. It knows its lane and stays there, dodging bloated subplots to deliver scorched alien carcasses and victims shattering like ice sculptures. It’s lively, lean, and never overstays its welcome, keeping everything just shy of overkill. Just lower your expectations, while it’s not vying for an Oscar, for fans of campy sci-fi horror, it’s a little treat that hits some guilty-pleasure notes.