Famously, nothing major happened in 1999 when the clock changed from 11:59 p.m. on December 31 to 12:00 a.m. on January 1, 2000. But… what if it did? That’s the general idea behind Y2K, a new sci-fi horror comedy from director Kyle Mooney, starring a who’s who of awesome young actors including Rachel Zegler from West Side Story, Jaeden Martell from It, and Julian Dennison from Deadpool 2.
In the film, two teens crash a New Year’s Eve party—and at midnight, they witness the start of a global apocalypse. The Y2K bug turns all technology against everybody and it’s up to the kids to save themselves from killer VHS tapes, Tamagotchis, and all manner of retro tech. Check out the brand-new trailer.
You could set any trailer to Chumbawamba and you’re halfway to perfection, but the Y2K trailer adds to it with all the action, creatures, and 1990s nostalgia. Like, for example, yes, that’s Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst appearing as himself (talk about a big get in 1999). Alicia Silverstone’s appearance is also a pretty big wink back to the era. Tim Heidecker is in there. And then there’s Mooney himself. Though he’s got an impressive list of producers behind him (including Jonah Hill) and plenty of creative experience, from working and writing on Saturday Night Live to the awesome 2017 film Brigsby Bear, Y2K marks his directorial debut.
And while Mooney rules, Dennison is hilarious, and Martell has a wild range, the biggest get in Y2K has to be Zegler. After breaking out in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, she popped up in Shazam 2 before landing her first big franchise: The Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. That film was a beast, grossing over $300 million worldwide and teeing up a sequel. Next, besides Y2K, she’s in the Netflix animated film Spellbound and then, the big one, as Snow White in Disney’s upcoming live-action retelling of the classic fairy tale. There’s plenty of controversy surrounding that film, but since this comes out a few months before, it hits at a perfect time to capitalize on her name recognition.
Y2K debuted at South by Southwest earlier this year where it gained mostly positive reviews (currently it’s at 60% on Rotten Tomatoes), but A24 was confident enough to get behind it and it’s coming out on December 6. Though some reviews praised it through and through, others thought the idea got stretched a little thin and didn’t quite come together. Basically, it sounds like one of those movies you’ll just have to see and decide for yourself. The trailer, at least, makes it look like a winner.
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