Two high-school nobodies make the decision to crash a Y2K party. The night becomes even crazier than they could have ever dreamed when the clock strikes midnight.Two high-school nobodies make the decision to crash a Y2K party. The night becomes even crazier than they could have ever dreamed when the clock strikes midnight.Two high-school nobodies make the decision to crash a Y2K party. The night becomes even crazier than they could have ever dreamed when the clock strikes midnight.
- Awards
- 1 nomination total
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Summary
Reviewers say 'Y2K' offers a nostalgic blend of late 90s teen comedy and sci-fi horror, with mixed opinions on its execution. Praised for its satirical take on Y2K fears and strong performances by Jaeden Martell and Julian Dennison, it also faces criticism for inconsistent tone, weak character development, and a predictable plot. The film's reliance on 90s references is seen as both appealing and limiting, with technical aspects receiving varied feedback. Overall, 'Y2K' is an entertaining yet flawed film that captures the era's spirit but struggles with coherence and execution.
Featured reviews
It's hard to tell exactly where this movie goes wrong. Maybe it's that the beginning doesn't get you firmly enough on the leads side. Could have used better humor to do that, or maybe some more relatable and less cliched characterization.
Whatever it is, when this movie started leaning into its emotional moments, and you can tell it's trying because of the music and style, it ended up alienating me because I didn't feel what it was trying to make me feel. And that continued right up thru the end of the movie.
I'd say about half the humor landed for me, but that's not always the filmmakers fault.
Most of the characters felt very stereotypical, and felt like they were trying to be brought to life for us, by just a couple extra zany details, instead anything that felt authentic.
What it felt like, Kyle Mooney and Evan Winter forgive me if this wrong, is that money got behind this movie too early, or too quickly, and the script didn't make it past a first draft. Maybe, too, all the comedy was written in, and not improvised in the way that great comedy movies rely on for the real snappy humor that pops. And, I think in Editting they were giving the humor too much of a pause; too much space for what should have been audience laughter, in a way that also alienated me and probably others. And most of the humor was pretty toothless as well, especially when you compare it to the movies it's drawing influence from.
So unfortunately this movie just feels mediocre; lazily trying to be heartfelt; I wish I had felt toward it what the filmmakers clearly thought I'd feel.
Whatever it is, when this movie started leaning into its emotional moments, and you can tell it's trying because of the music and style, it ended up alienating me because I didn't feel what it was trying to make me feel. And that continued right up thru the end of the movie.
I'd say about half the humor landed for me, but that's not always the filmmakers fault.
Most of the characters felt very stereotypical, and felt like they were trying to be brought to life for us, by just a couple extra zany details, instead anything that felt authentic.
What it felt like, Kyle Mooney and Evan Winter forgive me if this wrong, is that money got behind this movie too early, or too quickly, and the script didn't make it past a first draft. Maybe, too, all the comedy was written in, and not improvised in the way that great comedy movies rely on for the real snappy humor that pops. And, I think in Editting they were giving the humor too much of a pause; too much space for what should have been audience laughter, in a way that also alienated me and probably others. And most of the humor was pretty toothless as well, especially when you compare it to the movies it's drawing influence from.
So unfortunately this movie just feels mediocre; lazily trying to be heartfelt; I wish I had felt toward it what the filmmakers clearly thought I'd feel.
This starts strong with its Y2K apocalypse party montage, but once that initial chaos settles, it's like watching a video freeze halfway through loading. By the end, i wondered, "am I supposed to be laughing, scared, or deeply invested in these cardboard cutouts?" I'm still not sure what tone they were going for...
The direction feels like they filmed half the scenes on a Tuesday and the other half months later, then tried to glue it all together with bad ADR. The high school drama is so shallow it makes Degrassi look like Breaking Bad. And the horror? Yeah.... It's a no for me. CGI blood everywhere, practical effects nowhere, and the little makeup they did bother with was giving Spirit Halloween clearance rack.
The comedy doesn't help much either. Most jokes are either so niche I felt like I needed a late-90s pop culture PhD or just plain bad. I laughed a few times, but not usually with the movie-definitely at it. And every time it tried to get serious it flopped. It's like the movie said, "Let's give them whiplash" and went full Don't Look Up tonal chaos, minus the preachy metaphors.
To be fair, there are worse sc-fi horror movies out this year (AfrAId, anyone? Just me?), and worse comedies, too. But Y2K is just there. It's not a full meltdown like reviews may have you believe-it's more like a frozen screen and the mouse is stuck spinning. Fun to think about, frustrating to sit through.
The direction feels like they filmed half the scenes on a Tuesday and the other half months later, then tried to glue it all together with bad ADR. The high school drama is so shallow it makes Degrassi look like Breaking Bad. And the horror? Yeah.... It's a no for me. CGI blood everywhere, practical effects nowhere, and the little makeup they did bother with was giving Spirit Halloween clearance rack.
The comedy doesn't help much either. Most jokes are either so niche I felt like I needed a late-90s pop culture PhD or just plain bad. I laughed a few times, but not usually with the movie-definitely at it. And every time it tried to get serious it flopped. It's like the movie said, "Let's give them whiplash" and went full Don't Look Up tonal chaos, minus the preachy metaphors.
To be fair, there are worse sc-fi horror movies out this year (AfrAId, anyone? Just me?), and worse comedies, too. But Y2K is just there. It's not a full meltdown like reviews may have you believe-it's more like a frozen screen and the mouse is stuck spinning. Fun to think about, frustrating to sit through.
Y2K tries to take the formula of popular teen comedies like 'Superbad' and wrap it around tech horror but it ultimately fails to give us anything but a mess. It relies hard on your knowledge and memories of Y2K, 1999/2000 trends in music, and low-budget horror films to carry the humor but its story falls apart halfway through. The 3rd act is a mess only saved by one of the most ridiculous cameos with jokes at their own expense.
In the end, Y2K can be funny with some laugh-out-loud moments, but most of those moments are at how ridiculous what just happened was. If you were a teen to 20 something in 1999/2000 you can find something to enjoy with the film but ultimately doesn't give enough to warrant another visit.
Brad: 5 Josh: 4.5-5 Final: 5.
In the end, Y2K can be funny with some laugh-out-loud moments, but most of those moments are at how ridiculous what just happened was. If you were a teen to 20 something in 1999/2000 you can find something to enjoy with the film but ultimately doesn't give enough to warrant another visit.
Brad: 5 Josh: 4.5-5 Final: 5.
Trailer looked awesome, but trailer makers know what they are doing! They sold it!
The filmmakers, failed. On every level.
This is such a bad film, I had to review. I've only come on here 4 or 5 times to review a film over 20+ years and review when a film is so bad, it deserves no recognition or success. It's just horrific.
No redeeming features at all. Terrible acting, terrible set pieces, poor direction and writing, and a woful silly story that could have been ace, had it been executed correctly. Kills were quick and also pointless, deaths not scary or gory, and so so painfully unfunny.
Also, Fred Durst. It's a no from me. Unsure who this is aimed at, but it's not anyone from 1970-2010.
Trash.
The filmmakers, failed. On every level.
This is such a bad film, I had to review. I've only come on here 4 or 5 times to review a film over 20+ years and review when a film is so bad, it deserves no recognition or success. It's just horrific.
No redeeming features at all. Terrible acting, terrible set pieces, poor direction and writing, and a woful silly story that could have been ace, had it been executed correctly. Kills were quick and also pointless, deaths not scary or gory, and so so painfully unfunny.
Also, Fred Durst. It's a no from me. Unsure who this is aimed at, but it's not anyone from 1970-2010.
Trash.
Imagine an SNL Sketch blended with apocalypse vibes, nostalgia, technology, and 90s insanity blended together, mixed up with a bunch of acids that makes things chaotic and all over the place. That's what Y2K is, but the opposite of good.
Kyle Mooney puts all his efforts with the direction, writing and atmosphere approach on the setting and narrative and he does offer some fun vibes of a disaster comedy. Including good production designs and a good setting. The performances from Jaeden Martell, Julian Dennison, and Rachel Zegler are pretty solid but nothing really stood out.
Unfortunately, the movie does feel like a satire that doesn't take itself seriously, but the issue was it's repetitive atmosphere, direction, and characters that are poorly handled drags the movie down a lot. Almost having most of the charm of the 90s and non-serious fun to feel blown away into nothing.
It feels like Mooney is creating a new Superbad and a satire of the trashy 90s comedy, but kind of misses the point of what made them good and makes it repetitive.
It's not great. I like Brigsby Bear, I'm happy to see Mooney still being able to make works of dumb fun but this wasn't it.
Kyle Mooney puts all his efforts with the direction, writing and atmosphere approach on the setting and narrative and he does offer some fun vibes of a disaster comedy. Including good production designs and a good setting. The performances from Jaeden Martell, Julian Dennison, and Rachel Zegler are pretty solid but nothing really stood out.
Unfortunately, the movie does feel like a satire that doesn't take itself seriously, but the issue was it's repetitive atmosphere, direction, and characters that are poorly handled drags the movie down a lot. Almost having most of the charm of the 90s and non-serious fun to feel blown away into nothing.
It feels like Mooney is creating a new Superbad and a satire of the trashy 90s comedy, but kind of misses the point of what made them good and makes it repetitive.
It's not great. I like Brigsby Bear, I'm happy to see Mooney still being able to make works of dumb fun but this wasn't it.
Theatrical Releases You Can Stream or Rent
Theatrical Releases You Can Stream or Rent
These big screen releases can now be watched from the comfort of your couch.
Did you know
- TriviaJenna Ortega was originally cast as Laura but due to scheduling conflicts couldn't do the film and was replaced with Rachel Zegler.
- GoofsOn December 31, 1999, Video MD contains VHS copies of L'élue (2000), Family Man (2000), Big Mamma (2000), and Danse ta vie (2000) which were released in 2000, Moulin Rouge (2001), Le Seigneur des anneaux : La Communauté de l'anneau (2001), K-PAX - L'homme qui vient de loin (2001), and Docteur Dolittle 2 (2001) which were released in 2001, Scooby-Doo (2002), Mariage à la grecque (2002), Les aventures de Mister Deeds (2002) and Chicago (2002) which were released in 2002, and Self Control (2003), Lady Chance (2003), Le secret des frères McCann (2003) and École paternelle (2003) which were released in 2003.
- Quotes
AOL Voice: You've got mail!
- Crazy creditsClips are showing in the 90's movies tribute (1990-1999) the songs played during the end credits At the Beginning Journey to the Past and Tubthumping
- Alternate versionsIn the European version of the movie, Zuckerman's Famous Pig (End Title Song) is played instead of the Christina Aguilera version of "Reflection" in the credits.
- SoundtracksPraise You
Written by Camille Yarbrough (as Camille D. Yarbrough), Fatboy Slim (as Norman Cook)
Performed by Fatboy Slim
Courtesy of Skint Records/Capitol Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises
- How long is Y2K?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Миллениум
- Filming locations
- Ringwood, New Jersey, USA(Fieldstone Plaza, Skyline Drive)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $15,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $4,446,596
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,113,923
- Dec 8, 2024
- Gross worldwide
- $4,481,473
- Runtime1 hour 31 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content