Movie Review: The Land That Time Forgot (2009)

The Land That Time Forgot a.k.a Edgar Rice Burroughs' The Land That Time Forgot a.k.a. Dinosaur Island

Starring: C. Thomas Howell, Timothy Bottoms, Lindsey McKeon, Darren Dalton, Anya Benton, Christopher Showerman, David H. Stevens, Patrick Gorman, Stephen Blackehart, Christian Stoehr, Scott Subiono, Lew Knopp, Jonathan Sanders

Director: C. Thomas Howell

The Asylum, USA, 2009.

This movie is part of Master of Disaster collection containing nine films from The Asylum (published by Great Movies GMBH).

Although said to be based on a book by Edgar Rice Burroughs the movie really has very little to do with it.

Boat caught in storm goes through some kind of time distortion. The travellers arrive in an island, Karen (Anya Benton) stays in the boat while the others go exploring the island. Stack (Christopher Showerman) gets attacked by flying dinosaur, and the rest run away from tyrannosaur. Lindsey (Lindsey McKeon) and Frost (C. Thomas Howell) stay building a camp while Captain Burroughs(!) (Timothy Bottoms) and Cole (Darren Dalton) try to save Stack.

Captain Burroghs and Stack

Frost and Karen

Lindsey and Cole

Tyrannosaurus Rex lived about 65 million years ago. Frost explains that flying dinosaurs lived in prehistoric time when the level of oxygen was higher. Well that's strange, already from another Asylum movie "100 Million BC", which was actually set in 70 million BC, we learned that in Cretaceous period the level of oxygen was lower (and that didn't stop the dinosaurs from flying!). Didn't someone do his homework? Well it is a trick question anyway, scientists are not certain what the oxygen levels were in Cretaceous period with estimates varying from 10 to 30%.

Let's go to nice island!

Flying beast attacks Stack

We're not in Kansas anymore

But that wasn't the only thing that got me confused. The bigger mystery was captain's beard. The beard length varied from short stubble to short beard ALL THE TIME. It was really weird.

Captain Burroughs' Magic Beard

Next morning the adventurers meet pilot Jude Jackson (David H. Stevens) and Conrad (Patrick Gorman), all from different eras. It is revealed that all of them were traveling inside the Bermuda Triangle. There is also a German WWII submarine whose crew has taken Karen hostage. One of the Germans is Lonzo (Stephen Blackehart who also appeared in "100 Million BC"). However getting out of the island forces the opposing groups to co-operate. And they must also avoid getting eaten by tyrannosaur.

Jude Jackson

Conrad

T. Rex

The beginning is quite boring with the characters just running aimlessly around the island. After slow start the movie gets better and in the end it grows into quite exciting adventure. Positive was also that the German submarine crew were not usual Nazi-stereotypes, but just soldiers trying to get home. Special effects are usual Asylum level, so you should know what to expect. Some editions of this movie may have a voice-over prologue by Frost but at least this version did not have one.

Lonzo

Rating:  Average (as a low budget film) orBad (as a regular movie)