When I sat down to watch "Decay", I must admit that I had hoped for a bit more weight on the horror aspect of the movie, since it is labeled as a drama / horror / thriller here on IMDb. So while the lack of horror to the movie was a bit disappointing, I will say that this was more of a thriller than it was a horror movie.
With that being said, don't get me wrong here, as I am not saying that "Decay" is not a good or enjoyable movie. Quite the contrary. It is actually a rather interesting and offbeat movie, one that differentiates itself from so many other movies in the horror genre. And that was a nice change of pace. So the lack of horror elements faded in lieu of the storyline and the drama of the story.
It is a combination of the morbid storyline and the characters in the movie that make "Decay" interesting. In particular the Jonathan character, because he was so odd and unique.
"Decay" is a movie that is driven by a strong and detailed storyline. This storyline has lots of backstory to it and many subtle details which really helps to build the characters and the events in the movie.
While the cast ensemble is relatively sparse in "Decay", there is an additional pressure on the performers in order to carry the movie. And I will say that the actors and actresses they had gotten together for this movie carried the movie quite well. Especially Rob Zabrecky in the role of Jonathan was really outstanding in his performance of this quirky and odd character. And with the traumatic upbringing and troubled childhood that you see glimpses and flashbacks to Jonathans childhood with his abusive mother, no wonder that Jonathan turned into such a troubled man.
The music score of the movie is somewhat offbeat, but it really matches the movie and it compliments the movie quite well. There is some upbeat and almost comical music set against the somber backdrop of the movie, which just heightened the sense of bizarre and absurdity of the story. There is also some very subtle and sort of disturbing music that creeps and settles in the back of your head as you watch the movie.
The effects in "Decay" were actually quite good, taking the premise of the movie into consideration. And the gradual decay of the corpse friend of Jonathan was rather impressive and looked quite realistic. These kinds of attention to detail is always a boost for a movie.
Director Joseph Wartnerchaney makes use of an abundance of visual impressions throughout the movie, by means of glimpses and imagery. Some of these visuals don't always make much sense, so some of what the director was trying to instill with these images was lost in translation.
Now, it should be said that "Decay" might be somewhat slow paced and uneventful for some viewers, depending on what you are expecting from the movie and your preference of movies within the horror genre. I was genuinely entertained by the pacing of the movie as per set up by director and writer Joseph Wartnerchaney.
"Decay" proved to be a different and somewhat interesting movie, although it veered quite far from what I had initially hoped for. But it is still an enjoyable movie and a watchable movie. However, I doubt that this is the type of movie that you will actually watch more than a single time.
