Y2K (2024) Movie Review - Lacklustre 90's Nostalgia Horror
Welcome to Knockout Horror. Man, December 2024 sure did see a lot of horror movie releases. Very few of them were Christmas themed. Meaning we completely missed them as we were covering Festive Frights for the majority of the month. With that being said, we are in the middle of some 2024 clean up. One such title is Kyle Mooney’s, A24, science fiction horror comedy Y2K.
As you can probably guess, this movie takes place in the waning hours of 1999. Remember the whole Y2K crisis? The panic about planes dropping out of the sky and toasters coming to life to murder people? Well Y2K, basically, presents the comedy horror side of that scenario. As friends Eli (Jaeden Martell) and Danny (Julian Dennison) decide to crash the popular kid’s party in the hope of Eli getting lucky with hot chick Laura (Rachel Zegler). Only for the Y2K prophecies to come true and threaten to ruin the night completely.
A Bad Month For Horror
In all honesty, 2024 was a fantastic year for horror. I mean, just check out our list of The Top 10 Horror Movies from 2024 and our list of 10 Surprising Horror Movies of 2024 for proof. The last month of the year, however, was not so great. In fact, it was pretty terrible. Playing host to the horrendous Bloody Axe Wound, the ultra disappointing Night Bitch, a whole host of movies I haven’t reviewed yet and today’s film Y2K.
Whereas Y2K isn’t anywhere near as awful as the aforementioned Bloody Axe Wound, it is still pretty terrible. If it isn’t bad enough that the movie engages in more of that obnoxious faux 90’s nostalgia crap that’s so popular at the moment. It’s also a tonally confused mess that really doesn’t know what it wants to be or who it wants to appeal to.
Y2K is a weird mix of stoner, teen, comedy ala American Pie or Road Trip, dodgy Science fiction horror and soppy romance. Writer, director, Kyle Mooney takes a bunch of ill fitting ingredients and mixes them in a pot together only to serve the poorly blended mess on a plate with no seasoning and a flagrant disregard for how well the disparate parts go together.
Overly Familiar
Y2K opens as your typical teen comedy with a distinctly 90’s vibe. Nerdy dudes head to a party, one of them wants to bump uglies with the popular girl, things are a bit awkward and our main protagonist doesn’t really seem comfortable. The early scenes are punctuated by tropey generational stuff like CD players, Tae Bo, Sony handy cams, and Tamagotchis. All while we are serenaded by a bunch of songs I wish we could have left in the 90s. Tubthumping, Praise You, 9pm (Till I come), Break Stuff et al. It’s all very familiar and not particularly entertaining. The comedy doesn’t land all that well and the concept feels very old and painfully recycled.
Things take a turn for the worse when midnight hits and the techno-horror stuff starts. The movie then transforms into something of a traditional horror with regards to the tried and tested formula of a group of survivors looking for sanctuary and surviving against the odds. Some fairly interesting science fiction ideas offer a bit of hope but they never really lead to any scares or any moments of genuine excitement. The movie quickly devolves into a plodding, tropey, survival horror with little to offer and a bizarre lack of cohesion.
Y2K’s early feel good vibes are massively at odds with some of its later scenes. As Mooney attempts to mesh comedy horror with soppy romance stuff and sad moments of loss. It made me think of Anna and The Apocalypse with regards to the confusing tonal mix. There is a distinct sense that Y2K is spread too thinly. Trying to be something to everyone while never actually managing to find a comfortable middle ground. It’s not all that funny, it’s not at all scary, the concept isn’t very interesting and the romance is kinda pathetic.
Feels Very Confused
This whole film is very confused; who is it aimed at? The group that will appreciate the teen comedy were too young to have even experienced the 90s to get the references. The references aren’t relevant or interesting enough to hold up on their own. The group old enough to have experienced the 90s won’t appreciate the teen romance crap. The horror is pretty poor by all standards and I don’t know who all the Limp Bizkit references are for? Most people accept that the band was fairly trash but they seem like okay guys.
This is a movie remake of the Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror segment “Life’s a Glitch, Then You Die”, complete with D-list celebrities like Alicia Silverstone and Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst. Only without the entertaining family at the centre of the story, the hilarious comedy, and the fantastic writing. It doesn’t help that most of the acting performances are pretty sub-standard. This movie made it very clear to me that, barring some massive progression, Jaeden Martell is a very one note actor. He is capable of playing these “nice guy” roles but I am yet to see him progress beyond that.
Kyle Mooney’s stint as stoner video store owner Garret is pretty cringe-worthy. Naturally, being the director, he gives himself a lot of screentime. Focusing the shot on his own face for extended periods as he gurns relentlessly . Pulling off what I can only describe as a, somehow, worse version of the character Pauly Shore always played. Rachel Zegler emotes like she learned how to copy human expressions from emoticons and Fred Durst is… well.. Fred Durst.
On The Plus Side
There are a few chuckle worthy moments here and there. Don’t get me wrong, I felt a little bit ashamed of myself laughing at them. But the cast constantly referring to the Limp Bizkit guys by their full names repeatedly made me snicker. Fred Durst doesn’t take himself at all seriously, here, and I really enjoyed that as a lapsed fan of the band. The visual of a much older Durst playing a much younger Durst was quite amusing, as well. I could have lived without the extended rendition of George Michael’s Faith, though. Again, I am not sure who that was for.
Julian Dennison has a promising future as an affable sidekick ala Jacob Batalon in Spiderman. He is both likable and charismatic. Some of the tech-laden monster designs were pretty neat and fairly well done. Zegler finds her feet later in the movie, settling in a bit and feeling more natural. The 90’s references are over the top and far too frequent, especially where the soundtrack is concerned. But if you like that kind of thing you will enjoy it, here. You, at least, get the vibe that this movie was made by someone born in the 80s who experienced the 90s first hand which is nice.
Should You Watch Y2K?
Unless you are a big fan of 90’s nostalgia and enjoy comedy horror, there isn’t a great deal to recommend, here. The laughs are infrequent, the scares too few, the tone completely confused and the tension non-existent. Y2K might serve as a sleepover horror but this movie is so poorly focused and delivers on so little that it makes it a tough recommend to horror fans.
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Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.
A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.
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