Slanted

Slanted Review: An unexpected masterpiece that spoke to this white boy's soul

Brighton Nelson

08 Mar 2026 — 8 min read

I was at the theater for a Monday night secret screening and, honestly, I was completely expecting the film to be They Will Kill You or Ready or Not 2. Yet, here comes Slanted, a film I'd heard nothing about. And, by the end, this unassuming secret screening gave me a film that blew me away. This wasn't just a new 5-star movie for me, or just the best film of the year so far. No, this is simply one of my new favorite movies of all time, and one of those movies that struck me right in the deepest parts of my soul. Time to explain why in today's Reel Ranker review!

In my opinion, Joan is by far the prettiest girl in this hallway. And the movie in general, honestly. Sue me.

Slanted already proves itself incredible from the start through its highly intriguing and daring premise, in which a Chinese-American teenager who wants to fit in and be a generic white American girl ends up getting surgery to become her desired race. Both the buildup and the consequences of this action are equally interesting and heartbreaking to unpack. The way her choices affect those around her and her outlook on life are interesting, and watching the whole thing unfold was a blast.

The only minor negatives I hold about this film are 1) the desire to be prom queen has been beaten like a dead horse, and I wish her goal were something more original, and 2) the film could have been a bit more bombastically satirical, horrific, or campy. Or just a little bit more of all three. Yet, while the film could've benefitted from a slightly stronger style and main character motivation, what we got was still fantastic and original. When all I'm able to say is "take the film's really strong elements and up the ante a tad", you know it's a fantastic film.

I love how much Shirley Chen and McKenna Grace are able to play the character in a cohesive manner. Joan remains a fantastic character throughout the movie!

Now, to get into the absolute peak perfection of the rest of the film. The characters in this film were awesome and were fantastic executions of what could have been a cast of stereotypical archetypes. Joan Huang, the main character here, is super interesting to follow, even if her prom motivation isn't unique. Her struggle to fit in is very sad and relatable, even if you struggle for reasons different from hers. It's heartbreaking to see a beautiful girl with a beautiful culture feel like she could conform to the most basic of high school slop. The dual performance of Shirley Chen and McKenna Grace portraying Joan Huang was awesome, and both did an equally great job portraying her character and consistently matched their acting to it. Her character arc is truly moving and depicts racist microaggressions and societal ostracization so well.

The best part of the film has to be the way Joan Huang, her family, and her best friend interact throughout. The first half delves into the subtext and irony of Joan's desires, whereas the second act explores the ramifications of how her choices affect those she cherishes most and how her desires jeopardize what matters most. The performances of Joan's parents and best friend, and how they unpack what's happening, are the most emotional I've felt in the theater this year... I want to go watch every single movie that Fang Du and Vivian Wu are in because I absolutely loved them in this film. For context, my best friend is from Taiwan, and his parents are also two of the most important people in the world to me and are practically my second mom and dad. The heartbreak her parents feel when they realize their daughter wants to throw away her cultural identity made me bawl as somebody who doesn't want a single thing to change about my best friends.

Love these two. Absolutely phenomenal actors.

This film hit so close to home over and over as I thought about my friends. The script, characters, and performances might not be beat for me this year: the emotion this film put down overwhelmed me, keeping tears in my eyes the whole half-hour ride home. A movie that is able to not only make me tear up, but give me a newfound appreciation and love for some of my favorite people in the world, and the tribulations they have gone through immigrating to America, and the way they have felt like outsiders throughout their lives, especially living here in a white-dominated Idaho? Films like this are the reason I go to the cinema: to leave a mark on me. While a red-headed white boy from Idaho probably wasn't Amy Wang's target audience, it's been years since I've watched a film that felt made for me on such a deep yet unexpected level. I really hope she knows that there's at least one person in the world who heralds her movie as a modern masterpiece that felt like it was made just for them. I'm truly excited to see where Amy Wang goes from here: she's one of those rare debut directors that I know I will be watching every one of her films going forward because I know she's probably going to continue cooking up stories that hit me right where it counts.

Yet there's still plenty to love beyond the film's emotional storyline. The teenage drama, angst, and the ridiculousness of teen moves in general are done with excellence here, being equally funny and painful to watch. While most of the horror of the film comes through via the social anxiety and heartbreak, the body horror here certainly doesn't disappoint. While it's pretty minimal throughout most of the film, it gets pretty heart-wrenching and horrific by the end of the film. While there aren't many plot twists in the film, a couple are really shocking and greatly strengthen and recontextualize the narrative. Also, while some of the jokes targeting white people are obviously generalized (such as white people using no spice and having terrible food) and playing into stereotypes, it's done with elegance and is actually funny. While the film does portray most of the white people to be truly vile and racist, said characters are eerily similar to stupid teenagers that we've all encountered before. Also, lots of my fellow white brothers and sisters are at a minimum this god-awfully irritating, so I honestly derived a lot of fun out of seeing them get what's coming to them. Olivia, the main villain here, was fantastically played by Amelie Zilber: she was a truly loathsome, basic white TikTok girl who makes you want to rip your eyes out with everything she does.

Amy Wang, I think you're going to shape up to become my Jordan Peele. I love Jordan Peele, and I love Get Out. But I think you have even more promise for me.

The Reel Ranker Verdict

Reel or Unreel? - Reel
The Reel Ranker Score: 99%
Letter Score: S+
Star Ranking: 5 out of 5

Amy Wang's debut masterpiece, Slanted, is one of the best films I've ever had the pleasure of watching. Excelling in its commentary, horror, and especially its emotional moments, this movie spoke to my soul and is everything I love about cinema. This is a movie I will never forget: one of those rare movies that felt made specifically to be one of my favorites of all time. I'm excited to see the inevitably fantastic places Wang will go next in her career!

Interested in checking out my reviews for some other horror projects? Check them out below!