Set what must be centuries after a disease has wiped out most of humanity and turned them into zombie cavemen, we follow a tribe that is trying to make its way and dares not venture too far out due to the dangers of the zombies and beasts that prowl the overgrown jungles and forests. For some reason they have completely forgotten how to read, can barely speak and at one point, laughably, didn't even know what a boat was. The only one who can read is Caleb, who is seen as the saviour of humanity by Amal, and so sets off a quest to save Caleb's tribe from zombies and even humanity itself.
As I said, the first 20 minutes or so of this film are awful. The script was bad and some of the acting was so poor that the actors were just spouting out their lines without even trying to look convincing. But after a zombie attack leaves most of the tribe either dead or trapped, (and most of the bad actors along with it) we follow three members of the tribe as they search for help from others and a cure from the disease, where the film really picks up and, thankfully, so does the acting. Sean Bean, who plays Amal, and the three main characters, Savan, Caleb and Dorel (Corey Sevier, Sam Claflin and Annabelle Wallis) put in a respectable shift portraying their heroic roles, although Dorel really is the typical damsel in distress who seems to just get in the way! The evil Gagen (Jonathan Pienaar) is your typical cliche tyrant who wants power for power's sake, but is played well by Pienaar who along with Sean Bean steals the scenes he appears in.
Back in the cave with all the bad actors was one woman who could act fairly well, Miru (Eleanor Tomlinson). Despite being the only strong female character in the film, her scenes in the cave are quite pointless and don't really add much to the tension of tribe being stuck since you know things will probably work out well in the end.
The Lost Future keeps the excitement going with its short 90 minute time span so there are few occasions when things really settle and the pace slows. The early zombie attack on the tribe is brutal and despite all the dreadful acting was quite exciting, as is the trip across the river and the entire time the characters spend in the old decaying city. One bizarre and completely unnecessary interlude though was a small sex scene between Savan and Dorel (come on its a B movie, they all have one!), with Caleb watching from afar was quite unnerving and didn't seem to make any sense or have any meaning to the film at all, unless this is what cavemen did in their spare time... watched.
I have to say though, one major downfall of the plot is the concept that Caleb could make more of the disease cure just because he can read. I have had a hard enough time reading Shakespeare let alone read chemistry books and find out how to make a cure to save humanity. Then there's the problem of finding and making this laboratory to create it. But hey, its an entertaining movie so I'll look over this plothole.
The special effects are actually very good for a B movie and I was surprised how good the old decaying city looked and how the characters appeared to interact with the surroundings. The scale of this was really impressive, and whilst not up there the special effects of Terminator Salvation and Inception on the post apocalyptic city front, it was none the less convincing and shot really well.
The Lost Future is a good B Movie, and despite a few incoherent moments, a rushed end and some plotholes, it's an entertaining ride that people will enjoy. As long as you can get past some bad acting and the opening 20 minutes.
Grade: C
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