Zack Snyder's new thriller branded "absolutely abysmal" and "downright awful" in first reactions

The first reactions to Zack Snyder's new thriller The Last Photograph have landed, with critics branding the film "absolutely abysmal" and "downright awful".

Directed by Snyder, who co-wrote the film with Kurt Johnstad, The Last Photograph stars Stuart Martin as an ex-DEA agent who travels to a South American jungle seeking revenge.

Fra Fee and Costanza Andrade join Martin in the cast, with music composed by Hans Zimmer, alongside Omer Benyamin and Steven Doar.

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The film debuted at this year's Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in the "special events" section.

A TIFF synopsis for the film reads: "Retired DEA agent Ethan Black (Martin) travels to South America in search of his missing nephew and niece, and to avenge the slaying of his brother, a diplomat, and sister-in-law.

"He is joined by Joe Wallace (Fee), a world-weary, drug-addicted conflict photographer who claims to have witnessed the kidnapping and brutal murder.

"As the pair journey deeper into a hostile, alpine landscape, unresolved events from Ethan’s troubled past burgeon in his psyche — and muddy his motivations for taking on this precarious mission."

Following its debut at the festival, critics took to X to share their opinions on the film, which has not been well received so far.

Elizabeth Mulloy wrote: "Put Zack Snyder in directors' jail permanently. The Last Photograph is dogshit. Its aimless, contrived, misogynistic, convoluted, messy, overtly long, abysmal, repetative, slow, shallow, and downright awful. Only positive- it looked pretty."

"The Last Photograph: about 90 minutes of it is a brutal, unrelenting thriller. Some incredible action and uncompromisingly rough. But there’s another 45 supremely indulgent auteur gunk that is snicker-worthy. There’s a good movie in it - but the cut we saw is a (fascinating) mess," penned JoBlo.com.

Matt Neglia said: "I’m sure Zack Snyder believes he’s made something far more profound and artful than his previous work with The Last Photograph, and in some ways, he has. Unfortunately, it’s still a tedious, frustrating, and gruelling experience. Easily the worst film I’ve seen at TIFF so far."

"The Last Photograph is a real nasty piece of business. Zack Snyder clearly got to make the film he wanted to make, and good for him, but man oh man is it one I wish I hadn’t seen. Boring, bloated, brutally violent, it’s excessive in all the wrong ways," wrote Joey Magidson.

Nate Adams said of the film: "Borderline embarrassing TIFF let in The Last Photograph. Absolutely abysmal."

Not all the reviews were as damning, with Darren Movie Reviews writing: "The Last Photograph is daring departure for Zack Snyder from his typical filmmaking, creating a more intimate story anchored in photography and brought to life by his striking cinematography and Hans Zimmer’s musical score."

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Reporter, Digital Spy

Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy. 

A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre. 

In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.