By While I personally think that 2024 has been an underwhelming year for movies as a whole, it’s been an excellent year for horror movies. Plenty of new releases have quickly rocketed their way into the hearts and minds of plenty of horror movie buffs like myself, including films such as Longlegs, I Saw The TV Glow, Late Night With The Devil, Smile 2, and Terrifier 3 to name a few. I went into Y2K thinking, or rather hoping, that this could be another horror film that I’d rave about. I wanted to discover a new horror movie, one by A24 no less, then praise it and be satisfied watching it rocket up people’s opinions.
Yeah, that didn’t happen.
Review: Y2K
Director: Kyle Mooney
Release Date: December 6, 2024 (Theatrical)
Rating: R
Set, naturally, on New Year’s Eve, 1999, Y2K has us follow the meek and introverted Eli (Jaeden Martell), who wants nothing more than to hook up with his crush, Laura (Rachel Zegler), at a New Year’s Eve party. This doesn’t really go his way and even his best friend, Danny (Julian Dennison), can’t help him out. When the bell strikes midnight and the cat is ushered into the year 2000, the robot apocalypse begins as they all learn that Y2K is real and that technology has become sentient and is attempting to enslave humanity. So now Eli and the few survivors from the New Year’s Eve party are trying to stay alive while also finding a way to stop the robot apocalypse.
Y2K should feel more substantial than it is, but every time it tries to take a risk or push its characters into uncharted territory, it pulls back. None of the cast feels particularly developed because of this. Eli starts off shy and slowly becomes more proactive and vocal as the movie progresses, but it never feels natural. It always felt like he needed to act that way because the script and the story required him to be. The same can be said for the rest of the supporting cast, who all come across as one-note, and the few attempts to flesh them out fall flat on their face.
It’s weird because it’s not like Y2K isn’t trying to make them feel more dynamic than they are, but they’re just presented to us so plainly. There’s the popular girl, the punk girl, the stoner in Eli’s group and all of the tropes they represent have been seen before. That’s nothing uncommon and the film does try to flesh them out ever so slightly, but Y2K takes all of the moments that could lead to character development and does nothing with them.
Copyright: A24
Towards the middle of the film, Laura gets into an argument with two other people who used to be members of a local gang. They tell her that she’s out of touch with everyone else because she’s constantly put on a pedestal and doesn’t have to deal with real-world problems, only minor first-world problems like being popular and who to date. It’s a good moment, but after Laura is put in her place (and even calling it that is a stretch), nothing comes of it. A later scene has Lachlan Watson’s punk rapper, Ash, come to terms with how she was constantly sexually harassed by a person and subsequently deluded herself into thinking that they were close, but nothing changes. These beats should have meaning, but Y2K simply doesn’t know how to expand on its cast in a meaningful way.
I wouldn’t say that the film has wasted potential, but rather untapped potential. The moments are there, but whether it’s because of the relatively younger cast members or first-time director Kyle Mooney, the film is presented so matter-of-factly. I think it’s supposed to homage comedies of the late 90s and early 2000s, but I don’t buy that because even if those movies were simple, they still were effective at creating a memorable cast of characters and notable moments. I remember comedies like Scary Movie and Jay & Silent Bok Strike Back not because they’re great pieces of cinema, but because they’re good at being what they need to be – harmless comedies that make you feel good. You remember those movies because of their simplicity. Their simplicity provides comfort. Y2K doesn’t.
Every joke that Y2K throws out barely elicits a chuckle. Sometimes it’s just because a character cursed, or maybe there was a cool kill, but most of the time the jokes fall flat. Hearing about how Eli drank pee once probably would have been funny if it had a better build-up and delivery, but here it just seems like a weak attempt to make Eli seem even more pathetic than he already is. The only times the jokes were funny were towards the very end of the movie, and even then it solely came from everyone hating Fred Durst.
Copyright: A24
Oh yeah, did I mention Fred Durst is in this movie? He plays himself and he’s in all of two scenes to… save the day? I think? He does ultimately help distract the robots for Eli and Laura to upload a virus to kill the robots, but I personally found so much joy in hearing the people that he was meant to save say that he sucks. I’m a simple man, and as someone who hates Limp Bizkit, I can’t deny having a huge smile on my face when I hear someone call Fred Durst a horrible musician, which is only further proved when he begins to sing his cover of George Michael’s “Faith”. Also, can I just say how weird it is that two horror movies were released this year that were set in the 90s and heavily capitalized off of 90s nostalgia that featured Fred Durst in a major supporting role? I know it may not seem like a lot, but it’s weird.
If there was one thing I’m genuinely pleased with within Y2K, it’s how they handle the time period. From the second Eli and Danny whip out an N64 after talking to each other on AIM, I knew this was the 90s. It felt so authentic and so lived in that I was transported back to my childhood. Sometimes, a really good setting can help make up for some of a film’s deficiencies, and even little scenes like Eli and Danny going to a video rental store to check out Juniors just felt so real. Granted, I know this won’t be a universally shared opinion and I am biased in that regard, but even then, this feels like a place that existed, even if we don’t get to spend too much time breathing in the setting before the robot apocalypse truly starts.
Y2K could have been a great little horror-comedy, but at the end of the day, it just doesn’t know how to sell itself. The horror is weak and is only present in two scenes, the comedy mostly falls flat, and every opportunity the film has to flesh out its generic cast isn’t followed up on and is left unpursued. The film tries to be too many things at once, and because of that, it can’t satisfy anyone. It won’t excite horror fans who want to see some sci-fi carnage, nor will it entertain people who are looking for a mindless comedy, and those expecting interesting character studies that one would find in most A24 productions will be left sorely disappointed. The only people who will find something to like about Y2K are the people who are whistful for a bygone era where dial-up internet was the norm and Limp Bizkit was cool. But let’s be real here – who ever thought Limp Bizkit was cool?
