The endless barrage of horror films in 2024 isn’t ending in December. Debut director Kyle Mooney, most known for his work on SNL and Brigsby Bear, was finally handed the reigns to direct. Y2K is set at a New Year’s eve party during the titular event where the film posits that the Y2K phenomena (which was half myth and half truth) results in machines coming to life and starting to brutally murder people. The endless barrage of cultural references only compound the mediocre writing and editing, making for a derivative and dull film.
Mooney is intent on letting the viewer know the film takes place in 1999. Between the soundtrack, cultural references, and stunt castings, Y2K can’t say it didn’t deliver on its promise of period comedy. Well, perhaps it doesn’t deliver on the comedy, as it substitutes period motifs for jokes more than a few times. In fact, an early scene features Mooney cutting between several social groups at a party, showcasing every stereotypical social group from the late 90s just so the viewer has no misunderstanding about the era in which the film takes place. Characters throughout the film will randomly sing “Tubthumbing” or rap at each other horribly. Small doses of this might work, but the nearly continuous assault of it grates quickly.
It also doesn’t help that Y2K is a terribly edited film. It barely makes an effort to set up a story, with Jaeden Martell and Julian Dennison starring as the stereotypical social wallflowers desperate to have a New Year’s Eve kiss before disaster strikes. The remaining hour of the film is a series of random scenes stacked on each other with little sense of plot progression or meaning. The film’s inability to set up stakes or spacial continuity, and its awkwardly-timed comedy scenes result in a clunker of a film with little to enjoy or root for.
There are some admittedly amusing moments here and there. The cameo casting of Alicia Silverstone and Tim Heidecker is amusing for their two scenes. And the effects work by Weta Workshop in crafting together practical robot monsters should be given some credit. There is a throwback quality to this aspect of the film that is admittedly welcome.
But Mooney’s lack of experience at directing is apparent. His script is a meandering mess with shallow character arcs and a horribly uneven tone. The attempts at both horror or drama feel undercut by the film’s constant sense of irony. For a film about the Y2K event, you’d also have no idea what Y2K was unless you are already familiar, as the movie never bothers to explain it or provide much explanation for the villainous force or its origins. Not that a horror film needs to explain things in excruciating detail, but here it is such an afterthought that you feel adrift watching the film.
There were nuggets of good ideas here. But Mooney needed a surer hand to aid in him in the direction and editing to craft together a coherent film. Y2K is unfortunately a deeply dull viewing despite all its audacious occurrences. Sadly, the real horror for those born after 1990 is the realization that period films are now being made about the decade in which they grew up.
Tell us your thoughts on Y2K below and rank it now on Flickchart!
