Keep in mind the paranoia that unfold all through the late ’90s when individuals believed the world’s whole pc infrastructure would crash as soon as the clock struck midnight on the 12 months 2000? Misinformation across the potential bug prompted many to enter panic mode, buying bulk provides of meals and water, in addition to backup turbines, and even withdrawing giant sums of cash from the financial institution. Fortunately, no such tech failure got here to go, nuclear warheads had been stored of their silos, and the world stored spinning. However, for author/director Kyle Mooney, this potential phenomena has clearly stayed with him, inspiring his directorial debut, “Y2K.”
Set on New 12 months’s Eve 1999, the sci-fi comedy depicts an alt historical past during which the Y2K catastrophe really did come to go, albeit in a extra grandiose style. Moderately than merely shutting down the world’s expertise, Mooney and co-writer Evan Winter think about a world during which that tech is given greater intelligence and find yourself turning in opposition to their human customers. Starring Rachel Zegler, Jaeden Martell, and Julian Dennison as a gaggle of excessive schoolers tasked with defeating or not less than surviving this new menace, “Y2K” additionally options performances from Mooney, Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst, The Child Laroi, Alicia Silverstone, and Tim Heidecker.
Produced by A24, in addition to Jonah Hill’s Sturdy Child Productions and Christopher Storer’s American Mild & Fixture, the movie had its world premiere at SXSW, the place IndieWire chosen it as a Critic’s Decide. In our assessment, Christian Zilko wrote, “Combining the youthful raunchiness of ‘Superbad’ with an in depth nostalgia for the period of video shops and AOL Prompt Messenger, this playful sci-fi spectacle splits the distinction between early ‘Stranger Issues’ and ‘The Terminator,’ with immaculate soundtrack vibes courtesy of Fatboy Slim and Chumbawamba. ‘Y2K’ may be one of the pure crowd pleasers that A24 has ever produced.”
In an interview with Alison Foreman for IndieWire’s 2000s Week, Mooney shared it form of felt like a letdown when issues didn’t go haywire on Y2K.
“When anyone brings it up, the very first thing you say is how disappointing it was and the way a lot of a letdown you thought it was,” mentioned Mooney. “We thought it was going to be this large factor and it wasn’t.”
A24 releases “Y2K” in theaters on December 6. Watch the trailer under.