Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley shocked and horrified us back in 2024 with the body-horror film The Substance, and there’s definitely a bit of that combined with Mean Girls coursing through the veins of one new project on the 2026 movie calendar. Slanted stars Shirley Chen as a self-conscious Chinese American teenager who goes to drastic lengths to gain popularity amongst her white peers. Critics have seen the body horror-comedy and are here to help us decide if we want to, too.
Slanted is the feature directorial debut of Amy Wang and sees its protagonist Joan Huang undergo an experimental surgery that effectively erases any traces of her Chinese ethnicity as she assumes a new body (Mckenna Grace). Luna Guthrie of Collider rates it an 8 out of 10, saying its largely Asian American crew gives the movie the authenticity to make some interesting points about the American teen experience through the lens of immigrant families. Guthrie continues:
You get a bit of everything with Slanted. You might think you’re going into a body horror or sci-fi movie from the setup, but it spins out into a Mean Girls-style high school comedy at times, before reining it back in to very emotional drama territory akin to Thirteen. You could say that it has some tonal inconsistencies and doesn’t quite know what it wants to be, but this is played off quite well as reflecting the fast pace and spontaneity of being a teenager. … Through Wang’s astute direction, some moving performances, and well-rounded vision, it is just as provocative as it needs to be, while making for a very entertaining watch.
Grant Hermanns of ScreenRant also gives it 8 out of 10, saying its slow start escalates ito “wonderfully disgusting practical effects,” “squirm-worthy visuals” and a chilling exploration of what the “American Dream” is. Hermanns writes:
Article continues below
Once Slanted gets into the real meat and potatoes of its central concept, it quickly becomes more fascinating to watch. The way in which a post-operation Jo works to climb Olivia’s ranks while keeping her identity a secret (from everyone except her parents) makes for some charmingly awkward and unique twists on the coming-of-age genre. But it’s when Wang really goes for the racial satire that Slanted becomes an absolute riot.
Jen Yamato of the L.A. Times credits Shirley Chen and Mckenna Grace for their portrayal of Joan/Jo as the same conflicted teen, despite her two bodies. However, Yamato says the satire never cuts quite as deeply as it should. Yamato continues:
Informed by Wang’s own life growing up Chinese Australian, Slanted nails the micro-aggressions, body dysmorphia and desire to belong that can make coming of age while being ‘other’ its own perplexing kind of hell, giving a voice to third-culture kids everywhere with gut-churning specificity. But immigrant-tale clichés of stinky lunchboxes and intergenerational disappointment can feel rote and simplistic, and the film doesn’t probe as deeply into Jo’s regrets as it does the reasons she sought a new face to begin with.
Brandon Yu of the New York Times, meanwhile, finds the upcoming horror movie “dismayingly regressive,” writing that Amy Wang puts “every facile idea of diaspora discourse into a blender, then chucks the machine at your head.” More from Yu’s review:
It is no fun for a viewer to scoff at a film that purports to speak to pain that is real for many. But Slanted doesn’t actually have any interest in contending with those experiences seriously, instead using its palely observed traumas as a launchpad for a pastiche of other punchier genre films, from Get Out to Mean Girls to The Substance. Even there, the surgery is botched.
Peyton Robinson of RogerEbert rates the movie 1 star out of 4, calling it meek in its approach to make a statement. It dips its toes into camp, satire, cultural criticism, and body horror, Robinson says, but never fully embraces any of them. She continues:
Joan/Jo’s transformation brings both positive and disastrous consequences, socially and physically, but Wang’s satire is toothless, however relevant its themes may be. Joan’s plight is sympathetic, especially as a woman of color myself who grew up in a very white suburb, but the gummy mess that Wang throws at the wall just doesn’t stick. The film is most interesting when it dissects the role of American identity as it relates to the diaspora, rather than the simple phenotypic changes of whiteness.
There are unquestionably valid topics being explored in Slanted, but the critics don’t all agree on how well Amy Wang executed her vision. It’s getting more positive feedback than negative, though, with 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, so if you think this satirical body horror sounds like your kind of movie, now’s your chance. Slanted is in theaters as of Friday, March 13.