"If you can't beat them, be them."
The first trailer for a new sci-fi body horror satire, Slanted, is now online, and it gives off major The Substance meets Mean Girls vibes, with an added race angle.
Directed by Amy Wang, the story focuses on an insecure Chinese-American high school student named Joan (Beast Beast actress Shirley Chen) who longs to be accepted, and decides to undergo a radical experimental procedure to make her appear white.
Joan wakes up looking like an entirely different person (played by Scream 7 and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire's Mckenna Grace), and returns to school posing as a new student with her mind set on becoming Prom Queen.
"My first feature film, Slanted, offers a searing and unapologetically satirical view of race and what it is to be White," said Wang. "At the heart of this movie is a Chinese girl who just wants to feel accepted as an American. This is a deeply personal film that digs into your insecurities and exposes the twisted realities of a fractured identity. I have made this movie in the hopes that by exposing my wounds as a Chinese Australian woman, I can help others heal their own self-doubt."
Check out the trailer and poster below, and let us know what you think in the comments.
Joan Huang idolizes the popular girls and dreams of being prom queen, but fears the only way to win is to look exactly like all the past queens whose portraits line her high school halls. Enter Ethnos: a mysterious cosmetic surgery clinic that makes people of color appear white. Joan undergoes the procedure and wakes up a beautiful blonde destined for the crown, but at what cost?
Blending sharp satire, sci-fi, and body horror, and starring Shirley Chen (Dìdi), Mckenna Grace (Regretting You), and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Never Have I Ever), Slanted proves that identity is never only skin-deep.
Slanted is written and directed by Amy Wang, making her feature debut. The movie is produced by Mark Ankner, Cameron Boling, Adel Nur, Trevor Wall, Amy Wang. Slanted is set to release in select US theaters starting March 13th, 2026.