Assimilation is a forced reality for many marginalized groups, and Slanted taps into a long history of people altering themselves to “fit in.” In my own family, my grandmother was raised with the warning, “Don’t tell people you’re Jewish,” a common fear in communities that have faced discrimination. For another part of my family, due to Blood Quantum laws, Indigenous women lost their Native status if they married a white man. Code-switching, anglicized names, and even plastic surgery have all been used as tools to navigate a society that privileges whiteness. Writer-director Amy Wang makes a bold entrance with Slanted, a genre-blending satire that won the grand jury award at SXSW’s narrative competition.
Combining satire, body horror, and a scathing critique of assimilation, the film follows Chinese-American teenager Joan Huang (Shirley Chen) as she navigates high school’s social hierarchy. Wang crafts a provocative thought experiment: what if the path to popularity required literally shedding your identity? The horror of racism and the pain of assimilation take center stage as Joan undergoes a radical transformation, swapping her heritage for a chance at being prom queen.
Prom Queen
Little Joan (Kristen Cui) grows up in a world that constantly reinforces one message: whiteness equals happiness. Everywhere she looks, she sees blonde white girls on billboards, school posters, and in her classroom. A pivotal moment in Joan’s childhood cements her obsession: she witnesses the crowning of a prom queen and becomes entranced by the glamour. Joan quickly internalizes that being American means being white, leading her to distance herself from her culture by rejecting her mother’s homemade lunches and altering her features with filters. To Joan, happiness isn’t just an emotion; it’s a look.
As a high school senior, Joan sees a chance to claim the coveted prom queen title when the reigning queen bee, Olivia (Amelie Zilber), opts out of the race. But Joan isn’t exactly on the fast track to popularity. Her attempts to infiltrate the elite clique have all the awkwardness of Mean Girls’ Cady Heron trying to sit with the Plastics (only with an added layer of racial self-loathing).
True Equality
The comedic beats land well, especially as Joan fumbles through social situations, but there’s a darker undertone to her desperation. Through all of this, she receives cryptic messages from Ethnos. The company promises “true equality” through an unsettlingly literal method: transforming People of Color into basic white people. The procedure doesn’t just bleach skin; it reconstructs facial features, alters voices, and erases any ethnic markers. The price? Your entire identity.
Wang balances serious themes with a sharp satirical edge, though at times, the film’s tonal shifts feel jarring. Some of the most biting commentary is subtly woven into the background. For example, the school mascot, a white-robed “Wizard,” unmistakably resembles a KKK member. The absurdity of this detail isn’t commented on, yet it looms over Joan’s world. It exists as a constant reminder of the ingrained racism she’s up against.
Assimilation
But while the first half of Slanted leans into dark comedy, the second half morphs into full-blown body horror, and the transition isn’t entirely seamless. Post-surgery, Joan, who now goes as Jo Hunt (Mckenna Grace), finds herself at the pinnacle of high school popularity. All at the cost of severing ties with her family. Her parents don’t recognize her (both physically and emotionally). While Wang likely intended this as a commentary on self-identity, I couldn’t help but see it as a reflection of generational divides in immigrant (or even mixed) families. Older generations often struggle with assimilation due to language barriers and cultural differences. Younger generations blend in more easily, leading to an inevitable disconnect.
Joan’s mother (Vivian Wu) represents that painful gap as she embodies the cultural roots Joan desperately tries to escape. In the latter half, Slanted follows the body horror route, though it doesn’t go as far as The Substance. Joan’s prized white skin begins to sag and peel.
The Cost
The metaphor is clear: her new identity is unsustainable. However, the horror elements almost overshadow the film’s deeper themes. The focus shifts from the psychological effects of assimilation to a more surface-level fear: deformity. The message gets muddled here. Joan doesn’t necessarily regret abandoning her identity so much as she fears becoming physically grotesque. The horror, it seems, isn’t about wanting to be white but about the bodily consequences of transformation.
The ending of the film plays it relatively safe as it opts for a familiar resolution rather than fully exploring the psychological damage Joan has endured. I wish Wang had pushed further and delved deeper into the emotional fallout rather than relying on physical horror to carry the climax. Still, Slanted is an ambitious and thought-provoking debut. Wang’s direction is confident and the performances, especially from Chen and Grace, are layered. The film’s satirical eye is sharp, even if it doesn’t always cut as deep as it could. While the body horror elements may distract from the film’s most pressing themes, Slanted remains a compelling, unsettling, and, at times, hilarious examination of the high cost of assimilation. It may not be as scathing as Get Out, but it’s a worthy addition to the growing canon of social horror.
