Y2K (2024 film)

Last updated

Y2K
Y2k 2024 movie.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Kyle Mooney
Written by
  • Kyle Mooney
  • Evan Winter
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Bill Pope
Edited byDavid Marks
Music by
  • Danny Bensi
  • Saunder Jurriaans
Production
companies
  • A24
  • Strong Baby Productions
  • American Light & Fixture
Distributed byA24
Release dates
  • March 9, 2024 (2024-03-09)(SXSW)
  • December 6, 2024 (2024-12-06)(United States)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15 million [1]
Box office$4.4 million [2] [3]

Y2K is a 2024 American apocalyptic science fiction comedy horror film [4] [5] directed by Kyle Mooney in his directorial debut, written by Mooney and Evan Winter. It stars Jaeden Martell, Julian Dennison, Rachel Zegler, Daniel Zolghadri, Lachlan Watson, Eduardo Franco, Mason Gooding, Mooney and Fred Durst. It follows a group of high school students who attempt to survive when the year 2000 problem causes all technology worldwide to come to life and turn against humanity.

Contents

The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 9, 2024, and was theatrically released by A24 in the United States on December 6, 2024. The film has received mixed reviews from critics and was a box-office bomb grossing $4.4 million against a budget of $15 million. [6]

Plot

In 1999, best friends Eli, Danny, and Garrett discuss plans for New Year's Eve while their parents are out. Eli has a crush on his classmate Laura, but is too nervous to talk to her despite Danny's encouragment to kiss her at midnight. They watch as Laura and her friends Trevor, Madison, and Raleigh sneak out some alcohol and decide to crash a party held by Soccer Chris, Laura's boyfriend. While partying, Eli watches in dismay as Chris and Laura kiss at midnight until the power suddenly goes out.

As a student is found dead with a piece of a fan lodged in his head, a toy car arrives on its own and burns Trevor's face with a hairspray and a lighter, killing him. The terrified partygoers realize that all technology have become sentient and attempt to leave, but many of them are gruesomely killed. In the ensuing chaos, a VCR smashes Madison's head with a VHS tape, Chris' head is melted by a microwave, and a Tamagotchi drills through Raleigh's head. Eli, Danny, and Laura escape with juvenile delinquents Farkas, CJ, and Ash, but Danny is fatally impaled by a blade and Farkas dies when he hits the ground while attempting to rail a broken pole on his skates.

The group go to an old mill without electricity while the sentient machines kill several residents throughout the town. They also find Garrett and Laura's ex-boyfriend Jonas, and learn the threat is a collective consciousness of all electronic devices worldwide planning to enslave humanity. Laura successfully creates a kill code to shut down the algorithm, now dubbed itself as the "Amalgamation", but a computer attacks her. Eli douses it in water, shutting it down. The group is then cornered by the Amalgamation, who is using electronics to make itself bigger. Garrett tries to fend it off, but is decapitated. The group hide in portable toilets and ride them down a hill. They take refuge in a VHS store and meet musician Fred Durst, whom they encourage to join.

The group arrives at the local high school where, they learn, the machines are due to a new internet connection installed. They sneak inside and discover the townspeople have been reduced to mindless slaves by brain-implanted chips. CJ sacrifices himself to save Fred from a machine while the group learn the Amalgamation has now grown to a monstrous size and is forcing people inside it, converting them to the aforementioned slaves. Fred, Ash, and Jonas distract the machines guarding the townspeople to let Laura make her way into the Amalgamation, but it electrocutes her. Eli arrives in time to save Laura and attempt to insert the kill code himself, but fails to do so as the Amalgamation keeps electrocuting and mocking them. Eli then uses a condom Danny had given him earlier and wraps it around Laura's hand like a protective glove. While Fred, Ash, and Jonas continue distracting the machines, Eli and Laura successfully insert the kill code, shutting down the algorithm worldwide, destroying the Amalgamation. Eli shares a kiss with Laura and they reunite with the surviving townspeople as dawn breaks.

Five years later, in 2005, a now college-aged Eli, Laura, and Ash visit their friends' graves. While they leave the cemetery, Ash's new iPod starts to glitch, revealing that the algorithm has not been fully destroyed.

Cast

Production

It was announced in early March 2023 that Kyle Mooney would direct Y2K for A24. Jaeden Martell, Julian Dennison, Rachel Zegler, Lachlan Watson, Mason Gooding, The Kid Laroi, Eduardo Franco, Miles Robbins, Fred Hechinger, Alicia Silverstone, Tim Heidecker and Daniel Zolghadri joined the cast. Additionally, Weta Workshop worked on the effects for the film. [8] In April 2023, Sebastian Chacon and Lauren Balone joined the cast. [9]

Principal photography began in April 2023 in Ringwood, New Jersey. [10] [11] The following month, filming continued in Ringwood and Chatham Borough and in Clark at the recreation center, before wrapping. [12] [13]

Music

Y2K
Soundtrack album by
various artists
ReleasedJanuary 17, 2025 (2025-01-17)
Label A24 Music

The soundtrack for Y2K comprises a number of songs from the 1990s; the soundtrack album is scheduled to be released on CD on January 17, 2025. [14]

Release

It had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 9, 2024. [15] It was released on December 6, 2024. [16]

Home media

The film was released video on demand on December 24, 2024.

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, Y2K was released alongside Werewolves and Pushpa 2: The Rule , and was projected to gross $3–5 million from 2,108 theaters in its opening weekend. [17] The film made $923,110 on its first day, including $300,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $2.1 million, finishing in eighth. [1] [18]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 44% of 96 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.3/10.The website's consensus reads: "Y2K earns points for ambition and sheer audacity, even if it struggles to keep the laughs coming while maintaining a messy tonal blend." [19] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 49 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. [20] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C–" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it a 65% overall positive score, with 50% saying they would definitely recommend it. [1]

Clint Worthington of RogerEbert.com gave the film 1.5/4 stars, unfavorably comparing it to Brigsby Bear and concluding, "Y2K doesn't want to break stuff; it wants to dig it out of the trash and pine nostalgically for it. That's just not as interesting." [21] Variety's Owen Gleiberman wrote, "Y2K turns out to be an attack-of-the-machines movie. Yet it's still very much a period-piece high-school comedy. So how well do the two go together? In my book, not very well... the last hour of it, the cheeky dystopian alien-tech horror farce, simply isn't very good." [22]

Adrian Horton of The Guardian gave the film 3/5 stars, calling it "a promising if wildly uneven debut that banks heavily, often successfully, on Mooney's penchant for late 90s nostalgia." [23] Bloody Disgusting 's Meagan Navarro gave it a score of 4/5, writing, "While some of its meaner horror impulses get largely forgotten by the end, it's tough to mind at all thanks to the nonstop, playful tone, killer soundtrack, wacky murder bots, and talent in front of and behind the camera that ensure a party worth rewinding the clock for." [24]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 8, 2024). "'Moana 2', 'Wicked' & 'Gladiator II' Driving Record Post-Thanksgiving Frame Near $132M – Sunday AM Update". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 7, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Y2K (2024)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Y2K (2024) - Financial Information". The Numbers . Archived from the original on December 19, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  4. ↑ Donato, Matt (March 10, 2024). "Y2K Review". IGN. Archived from the original on August 19, 2024. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  5. ↑ Horton, Adrian (March 10, 2024). "Y2K review – uneven disaster comedy relies on 90s nostalgia". The Guardian.
  6. ↑ McGloin, Matt (December 7, 2024). "Rachel Zegler's 'Y2K' Bombs At The Box Office Following Snow White Backlash". Cosmic Book News. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Y2K". A24 Publicity . Archived from the original on March 11, 2024. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  8. ↑ Grobar, Matt (March 23, 2023). "A24 Sets Disaster Comedy Y2K, To Be Directed By SNL Alum Kyle Mooney; Jaeden Martell, Rachel Zegler, Julian Dennison & More To Star". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  9. ↑ Grobar, Matt (April 21, 2023). "Thriller 'Wrong Reasons' From EP Kevin Smith Sets Release; A24's 'Y2K,' Liam Hemsworth Actioner 'Gunner' Add To Casts; 'Desperate Souls, Dark City' Gets New Trailer – Film Briefs". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on May 20, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  10. ↑ Kuperinsky, Amy (May 6, 2023). "Y2K movie filming in Jersey stars Rachel Zegler, the N.J. actor born in 2001". NJ.com . Archived from the original on March 12, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  11. ↑ Grobar, Matt (April 5, 2023). "Apple Lands Jonah Hill's Keanu Reeves-Led Dark Comedy Outcome". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  12. ↑ Burns, Vianella (May 10, 2023). "Two Movies Filming Throughout Chatham Borough". Patch.com . Archived from the original on March 12, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Lights, Camera, Action, Done: Crew Wraps Up After Filming at the Clark Recreation Center". TAPinto . May 15, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Y2K Original Soundtrack CD". A24. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Y2K". SXSW 2024 Schedule. February 7, 2024. Archived from the original on March 2, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Films". A24. Archived from the original on February 22, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  17. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 4, 2024). "Early December Weekend Box Office Won't Go Off A Cliff: 'Moana 2' Eyes Record $60M – Preview". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  18. ↑ Rebecca Rubin (December 8, 2024). "Box Office: 'Moana 2' Scores $52 Million in Second Weekend, A24's 'Y2K' Craters With $2 Million Debut". Variety. Archived from the original on December 8, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Y2K". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved January 4, 2025. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  20. ↑ "Y2K". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  21. ↑ Worthington, Clint (December 6, 2024). "Y2K movie review & film summary (2024)". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2024. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  22. ↑ Gleiberman, Owen (March 10, 2024). "'Y2K' Review: A 1999 Youth Nostalgia Comedy That Turns Into… an Attack-of-the-Computers Zombie Movie. But Only the First One Is Fun". Variety. Archived from the original on December 25, 2024. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  23. ↑ Horton, Adrian (March 10, 2024). "Y2K review – uneven disaster comedy relies on 90s nostalgia". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  24. ↑ Navarro, Meagan (March 10, 2024). "'Y2K' SXSW Review – A24's Teen Comedy-Horror Throws a Party Worth Rewinding the Clock For". Bloody Disgusting!. Archived from the original on December 31, 2024. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
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