This flick is billed as "the first Chinese psycho movie". Which is not quite accurate. Like me, viewers will wonder if this is a psycho horror movie or simply a movie with a psychological subtext. The film begins with Chinese bourgeois Shen Xiao (Ge You) alerting his friend Yiran to the disappearance of the latter’s wife. What follows is a series of ghostly illusions and endless questions concerning the missing spouse. The plot is as simple as ABC on paper, but director Zhang Bingjian complicates the story to no discernable purpose. Redundant effects, flashbacks and illusions make for an uncomfortable and confusing viewing experience. For Zhang, cheap thrills take precedence over a clear mise-en-scene. As a result, by the end of the movie, the viewer could care less about what happened to Mrs. Yiran. Suffocation offers cheap thrills and is mildly entertaining, in part due to Ge You’s performance, but is far from being an unforgettable experience.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2005 issue