Y2K – Remember 1999?
By Harrison J. Bahe
Two high school nobodies make the decision to crash the last major celebration before the new millennium on New Year’s Eve 1999. The night becomes even crazier than they could have ever dreamed when the clock strikes midnight.
Do you remember the Y2K craze? I certainly do. The whole world sat in anticipation of some worldwide cataclysm that would befall the human race as clocks struck midnight on the eve of a new millennium. I remember the advertisements from Best Buy and Circuit City suggesting to turn your computer off before midnight just in case. The world sat and held their collective breath in preparation for whatever horrors were in store for us. Then— nothing happened. So, what would happen if Y2K actually happened? Director/Co-Writer Kyle Mooney’s Y2K is the hilarious answer.
Y2K, I feel, was made for a very specific audience. It’s an audience that knows the film they’re watching is a tongue-in-cheek jab at a very specific subgenre of horror films. If you’re in on the joke that Y2K is telling, then you’re going to have one hell of a time with this movie. If you’re not in on the joke, then this is going to be a very trying film to get through. The humor is oddly specific and the horror is hilariously overdone. While oftentimes not overtly hilarious, Y2K is more of a snide comedy with jokes and gags that would have you exert a small whiff of air from your nostrils. Similarly, the horror is not overtly scary. In fact, the only horror that comes into play is the theme of a takeover of artificial intelligence through its integration of household appliances; which is more hilarious than it is scary. Nobody wants to be murdered by a Tamagotchi wielding a drill on a skateboard. Again, this film is made for a very specific audience with a specific sense of humor and if you’re not in on the joke, then you’re going to have a very bad time. If a self degrading cameo appearance by Fred Durst doesn’t make you chuckle now, then perhaps this movie isn’t for you.
Y2K is a love letter to a subgenre of horror films from the era as well as all the raunchy teen sex comedies from the 90s. However, the film pays so much homage to the 90s that it loses itself in all the references. Fortunately for me, the film played to my heart which reigned from the 90s. Things like using a tape to connect your CD player to your car, the classic Dial Up Modem sounds, the clothes, and the soundtrack made me yearn for the more innocent time. I enjoyed it for what it was: a throwback to B- horror movies and teen comedies from the 90s, which is why I give Y2K—
3 Tamagotchi’s out of 5
Y2K is Rated R for bloody violence, strong sexual content/nudity, pervasive language, and teen drug and alcohol use. It is currently playing in theaters nationwide.