August 20, 2024
Screenshot/A24/YouTube
Jaeden Martell, who grew up in South Philly before moving to Los Angeles, stars in the upcoming horror comedy 'Y2K.'
In the wacky upcoming horror film "Y2K," a bunch of teenagers fight off the machines on the first day of the new millennium. The new A24 movie plays off the unfounded '90s panic that computers would crash in 2000 due to calendar formatting, transforming nostalgic totems like Tamagotchi into bloodthirsty monsters.
Not that its lead actors would remember those digital pets, or the Y2K craze. "Y2K" stars aughts babies Rachel Zegler, Julian Dennison and Jaeden Martell as high school kids whose 1999 New Year's Eve party goes horribly awry. Zegler is known to audiences for her star turns in the 2021 "West Side Story" remake and "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes," while Dennison made waves in the early Taika Waititi film "Hunt for the Wilderpeople" and "Deadpool 2." Martell also has plenty of credits to his name, but Philadelphians might remember him from his early years in the city.
Martell, who went by Jaeden Lieberher until 2019, was born and raised in Philadelphia until 8. As a kid, he attended summer camps and after school programs at Marian Anderson Recreation Center in Graduate Hospital and Independence Charter School in Center City. But he and his mother eventually relocated to Los Angeles, where Martell's acting career took off.
He made his film debut in 2014 as Oliver, a bullied kid mentored by his curmudgeonly neighbor in "St. Vincent." Roles in "Aloha" and "Midnight Special" followed. Martell then broke out in 2017 with back-to-back parts in "The Book of Henry" (as Henry) and "It" as the terrorized young teen Bill. He also appeared as Michael Shannon's right-wing son in "Knives Out" and the title character in the AppleTV series "Defending Jacob."
In "Y2K," he's shy teen Eli, who follows his crush Laura (Zegler) to a New Year's Eve blowout. At midnight, the lights go out and the machines go rogue. The trailer shows a possessed Barbie Jeep with Lego robot hands wielding a lighter and can of hairspray. A VCR then hurls a tape of "Varsity Blues" at the crowd, and an unholy amalgamation of a power drill and Tamagotchi attacks. All this is set to a slowed-down version of a pop song, only "Y2K" skewers the familiar trailer trope by using '97 hit "Tubthumping."
As the Chumbawamba tune and ludicrous antagonists suggest, "Y2K" is a comedic horror film. It is the directorial debut of "SNL" alum Kyle Mooney, who also co-wrote the screenplay.
Will Eli, his pal Danny (Dennison) and Laura survive the night? Find out Dec. 6, when the horror comedy opens:
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