Movie Review: Y2K

 

There's no denying that the presence of sketchy small town video stores, AIM and nu metal icon Fred Durst adds to the nostalgic aesthetic of Kyle Mooney's absurdist disaster horror comedy Y2K-which envisions an alternate world where the fears over the "Y2K bug" actually materialized and all of the computers in the world banded together to exterminate the human race at midnight on January 1, 2000. But what really sells the authenticity of its throwback to the late 90's/early 00's is how it mixes broad comedy with absurdly over-the-top genre elements. Specifically, Y2K hits a lot of the same messily charming notes of the 1999 cult hit Idle Hands as it primarily focuses on a group of teens (Jaeden Martell, Rachel Zegler, Julian Dennison, Lachlan Watson, Daniel Zolghadri) from different cliques fighting to survive after escaping a New Year's Eve party that ended with many of their peers getting slaughtered by the technology that was in the house.

The frequent shifts from lighthearted buddy movie to goofy stoner comedy to teen romance to full-blown splatterfest will likely alienate the shit out of most audiences who aren't familiar with the pop culture of the period. Those that have read and embraced the sacred texts of this era where teen B-movies had inconsistent tones and high body counts will probably find at least something to like here. Mooney dives headfirst into the rough absurdity of this venture by creating many punchlines that are delightfully idiotic and relevant to the time period while also manufacturing moments of earnest emotion practically out of thin air. There's a real risk of something that's so rooted in a specific moment of time becoming an exhausting joke that overstays its welcome, but Mooney avoids that by keeping the runtime tight (91 minutes!) and concocting a killer final act that is anchored by a hilarious, scene-stealing turn from Durst himself. 

At a time of year where cinema is dominated by serious awards fare, it was cool to watch something so shaggy and silly on the big screen. While I'm not confident it will go onto develop a true cult following, there's no doubt in my mind that some high school kids in the future will watch this shit at 2 AM (quite possibly under the influence of reefer) and think it's the funniest movie they've ever seen. In my eyes, this means Mooney and the gen-Z leaders of his cast -who all do an admirable job of pretending they understand the unique pain of waiting for the dial-up internet to boot up-accomplished what they set out to do with Y2K.                                  

Grade: B