Set during New Year’s Eve, 1999, the plot follows Eli (Jaeden Martell), a typical, awkward high-schooler pining for Laura (Rachel Ziegler) who, on the contrary, is the quintessential popular girl. Encouraged by his best friend Danny (Julian Dennison), Eli decides at the last minute to crash a New Year’s Eve party in hopes of winning her over. However, the night takes a turn for the worse once the clock strikes midnight and they officially enter the 21st century, as robots start taking over humanity (yes, you’ve read that correctly). Dramatically playing off the infamous Y2K bug, the plot turns into a disaster film, with its characters forced into an absurdistic apocalypse adventure. Blenders and computer cables turn into deadly weapons, and our heroes must find a way to save human-kind from technological enslavement.
While the sudden shift from a coming-of-age portrait to absurdist horror may seem abrupt, the constant humour throughout the film manages to shape some sort of continuity. Y2K embraces its outlandish premise, blending cliches from both genres to create a satirical mash-up. The result is a chaotic yet entertaining cinematic experience.
While its nostalgic charm certainly delighted many millennials and it fully embraces its ridiculous elements, the film falls short in terms of character depth and narrative innovation.
Mooney’s vision is steeped into late-90s aesthetics, and the film excels visually at creating an immersive time-capsule. It offers a meticulous production design and inventive depictions of technology gone rogue. The cast delivers solid performances, with Dennison providing standout comedic relief. However, the plot sometimes struggled to maintain cohesion and develop its characters, which is unsurprising given its ambitious genres-blending.
Now, had you told me I would be watching twerking robots before going in the cinema, I probably wouldn’t have believed you — although had I read some of its scathing critiques, I might have been more prepared. The film’s reception has been far from unanimous among both critics and the general public, as seen from its early release in the United States. While the mash-up of genres is ambitious and amusing, it also showed to be divisive. But then again, Y2K seems to be aiming for a light-hearted, parodistic take on genre conventions rather than Oscar glory.
Ultimately, Y2K is an interesting but uneven debut for Mooney. While its nostalgic charm certainly delighted many millennials and it fully embraces its ridiculous elements, the film falls short in terms of character depth and narrative innovation.
Love it or hate it, Y2K certainly lives up to A24’s reputation for delivering unexpected cinematic experiences.