Of the many filmmakers working in mainland China today, very few have an oeuvre as eclectic and experimental as Zhang Yimou. Over the course of more than 40 years, the 75-year old Shaanxi native has produced everything from small, intimate arthouse dramas to commercial blockbusters.
Originally a cinematographer, Zhang burst onto the scene with Red Sorghum, a 1987 film which stars his muse Gong Li and features many of the major hallmarks of his subsequent productions, including feminism, symbolic colours, a historic Chinese setting and the struggles of ordinary people.
The director would continue his collaboration with Gong throughout the 1990s, with critically-acclaimed films such as Raise the Red Lantern (1991) and To Live (1995).
By the 2000s, the Fifth Generation director – a term used to refer to Chinese filmmakers who graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in the early 1980s – shifted towards larger-scale commercial flicks, including martial arts epics such as Hero (2002) and Curse of the Golden Flower (2006).
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Ever the chameleon, Zhang has continued to showcase his versatility, with his recent films encompassing a range of genres including drama, comedy, crime, war, wuxia and imperial history.
His newest film, Scare Out, continues that trend, holding the distinction of being mainland China’s first blockbuster to deal with contemporary national security. The film is also notable for being largely shot in Shenzhen, featuring characters who carry out espionage and surveillance activities against the Greater Bay Area (GBA) tech hub’s futuristic and light-drenched cityscape.
Read on to find out more about Scare Out and where to catch it.
What’s the story of Scare Out?
At its core, Scare Out is a cat and mouse spy thriller that focuses on a team of Chinese national security agents trying to prevent an unnamed foreign power from getting their hands on leaked Chinese military secrets.
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Key team members tasked with the mission include Huang Kai (Zhu Yilong) and his young pal Yan Di (Yiyang Qianxi). However, matters are complicated when their new commander Zhao Hong (Song Jia) informs them that there is a mole in their team, with Huang and Yan identified as the two prime suspects.
What ensues is a series of convoluted twists and turns that make audiences question the intentions of Huang and Yan, as well as which side they are playing for.
Is the film based on true events?
Scare Out incorporates various elements of real-life spy incidents and practices. As Zhang wrote in an article for the Global Times, “our creative process was guided by state security authorities, who provided substantial support in shaping the plot and the characters.”
For instance, various media outlets and social media users have drawn parallels between the leaking of stealth fighter technology in Scare Out to last year’s J-35A fifth-generation stealth fighter espionage case, which resulted in China executing an ex-assistant defence engineer for sharing the classified technology with foreign spy agencies.
Meanwhile, the film references various real-life espionage practices, including the exchange of encrypted mobile phones, which is carried out by the movie’s characters through concealment in rubbish bins.
When asked by an audience member whether spies ever worried these hidden phones being accidentally cleared out from a bin, Zhang stated that the movie’s National Security advisors never actually discussed the actual spy techniques for exchanging phones, meaning that the the production team had to “come up with their own method of sticking the phones to the sides of the bins with super glue.”
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Another important espionage technique depicted in Scare Out is “honey trapping.” Without going into spoiler territory, one of the film’s characters finds themselves blackmailed after being “honey trapped” or tricked into a sexual affair with a foreign agent.
Far from being fictional, these cases are grounded in reality, as illustrated by a real-life example shared earlier this year by Baomiguan, a social media account affiliated with the National Administration of State Secrets Protection. Baomiguan noted that a Chinese military industry personnel identified by the surname Guo fell for a honey trap plot devised by a foreign power while on a business trip overseas.
Faced with exposure, Guo agreed to share state secrets with a foreign intelligence agency, receiving assistance from two other industry members, a senior engineer identified by the surname Chen and a worker with the surname Li. Eventually, the plot was exposed, resulting in Guo receiving 10 years imprisonment and charges laid against Chen and Li.
Where in Shenzhen was the film shot?
About 90 percent of Scare Out was shot in Shenzhen, with filming locations covering districts such as Futian, Longhua, Guangming and Longgang.
Some of the memorable areas that make an appearance include One Avenue in the Futian CBD, which serves as the backdrop for the initial chase scene. The space where the national security agents carrying their office duties can be found inside Futian’s Shenzhen Media Group Tower.
Towards the latter part of the film, a surveillance scene involving a femme fatale played by Yang Mi and a scientist played by Lei Jiayin takes place in Nanshan District’s K11 ECoast, with the multiple shots highlighting the shopping complex’s multi-floor escalators, which are arranged to resemble fans.
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A chase scene that ensues between Yang Mi and Jackson Yee’s characters takes place inside Gangxia North Station, with one memorable shot featuring Yee looking at the station’s central atrium dubbed “Eye of Shenzhen.”
To make it easier for fans who wish to visit the key film locations, Shenzhen Bus Group began operating a special movie bus route from 20 February. Running between the Shenzhen Customs Office Building and Hongshan Station, the bus stops near major film sites such as Gangxia North Station, One Avenue, the Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning and the new Shenzhen Art Museum.
Buses from the Shenzhen Customs Office Building are scheduled between 9 am and 8 pm, while services from Hongshan Station run from 10 am to 9 pm. A single ticket costs 5 yuan per person, while a day ticket costs 15 yuan per person.
Who are the actors in Scare Out?
In a CCTV interview, Zhang Yimou described Scare Out as a contemporary spy flick characterised by a rapid pace and youthfulness. The latter is demonstrated in spades by the film’s main cast, which features some of China’s brightest and most promising young performers
Lead actors include 37-year old Zhu Yilong, who made his name with the 2018 Chinese web series Guardian and the 2018 series The Story of Minglan. In recent years, Zhu has established himself as one of China’s most bankable actors, appearing in hits such as Lighting Up the Stars (2022), Lost in the Stars (2023) and Only the River Flows (2024).
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Sharing the screen with Zhu is co-lead Jackson Yee, a 25-year old actor who is fast becoming one of China’s most versatile and talented actors, appearing in critically-acclaimed films such as Better Days (2019), A Little Red Flower (2020), Full River Red (2023) and Resurrection (2025).
Other performers to keep an eye out for include Zhang’s new muse, 25-year old Lin Boyang, who plays a member of the national security team in charge of drones, as well as more established actresses such as Yang Mi, who plays a femme fatale, and Song Jia, who takes on the role of the head of the national security team.
Why did Zhang Yimou decide to make Scare Out?
Zhang gave a number of reasons for making Scare Out in a CCTV interview. The filmmaker noted that he felt the story was “meaningful” and that spy thrillers were a genre that everyone enjoyed watching.
“Most of the spy thrillers that we see are period pieces,” Zhang said. “When we have a film of this genre that happens in a big city and around us, I think the subject matter can really captivate people. It has a lot of tech elements and images that give off a contemporary feel.”
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Producing the film also served as a way for the director to challenge himself with new ways of shooting. A behind the scenes video of the production showed Zhang and his production team carrying out filming using a large number of hand-held cameras to create a dynamic feeling that matched the film’s specialised subject-matter.
At the same time, he carried out drone shots during the entire production, admitting in a production meeting that it was his first time shooting in this way.
Is Scare Out worth watching?
That depends. If you enjoy sleekly produced and fast-paced thrillers that have some interesting twists and turns, Scare Out is worth a watch, even if it is overproduced and not particularly inspired.
Commercially, the film has been a success, reaping in a box office of more than 1.1 billion yuan so far. That puts it second in the Chinese Lunar New Year movie box office, behind the winning film Pegasus 3, which has earned 3.9 billion yuan.
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Critically, reviews have been mixed, with Chinese film review aggregator, Douban, currently listing its score as 6.1 out of 10. In a lukewarm review, James Marsh of the South China Morning Post called the film “narratively muddled,” pinpointing Zhang’s failure to “elevate and amplify his homeland’s strengths and successes.”
In a slightly more favourable review, Leslie Felperin of the Guardian gave the movie 3 out of 5 stars, calling it a film with “eye-popping stunts and future tech,” while conceding that it was more “style over substance.”
Where can I watch the film?
Clocking in at 104 minutes, Scare Out was first released in mainland China, the US, Canada, Australia, the UK and other selected countries on the first day of the Lunar New Year on 17 February 2026. The film was subsequently released in Macao and Hong Kong on 28 February.
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As of writing, the film is still screening across major cinemas in mainland China, Macao and Hong Kong. The release dates for countries such as Japan, South Korea, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines have yet to be announced.
Expect Scare Out to also make it to major streaming platforms such as Apple TV, Amazon Prime and Bilibili after its theatrical run.
Are there any other Zhang Yimou spy thrillers I can watch?
Zhang’s first foray into the spy genre was the 2021 film Cliff Walkers. Unlike Scare Out, Cliff Walkers is a 1930s period piece set in the Japanese-controlled Chinese region of Manchuria.
It follows four Chinese Communist agents who are on a secret mission to locate a witness hiding in Harbin who can provide evidence regarding Japanese atrocities, although their task is complicated by a contact who has double-crossed them.
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Cliff Walkers is a very different film from Scare Out. In place of the futuristic cityscape of Shenzhen is the cold and harsh winter of Harbin. Zhang also adopts a different shooting style, opting for more stable and controlled camera angles in the historic drama.
Upon release, Cliff Walkers was well-received, earning a substantial 1.19 billion yuan at the Chinese box office.
