Set in a stylized, dystopian version of Melbourne in the year 2000, Future Schlock depicts a world fractured by the "Middle-Class Revolution of 1990." This event led to a societal schism where a repressive suburban elite, known as "Subbies," seized control of the government and social infrastructure. The urban centers have been abandoned and transformed into walled-in, derelict ghettos populated by non-conformists, punks, and rebels who are kept in a state of perpetual chaos and gang warfare.

The societal dynamics revolve around a brutal enforcement of suburban norms through chemical and physical means. To maintain order and suppress dissent, the water supply is drugged with sedatives, ensuring the population remains docile or too disoriented to organize an effective resistance. Earth—specifically Australia—is portrayed as a land of extreme cultural segregation, where the aesthetic of the 1950s suburban ideal is weaponized against the counter-culture movements of the 1980s, creating a divergence from real-world history during the fictional 1990 revolution.

While the film is a satirical "Ozploitation" piece, its predictions lean toward the sociopolitical rather than the purely technological. It accurately reflects the rising anxieties of the 1980s regarding urban decay and the fortification of middle-class enclaves. The film's concept of a drugged populace bears a thematic resemblance to modern discussions on pharmacological social management, though its specific depiction of a total "Middle-Class Revolution" remains a satirical hyperbole. Fewer than three analysis-quality sources exist that discuss its technical predictions in depth, as most critical attention focuses on its cult status and its parody of the Mad Max aesthetic.