Everyone knows high school can suck. It can really suck when you’re the new kid in town. And it can especially suck when you’re the new kid in town from a different part of the world.
Foreigner, a new film from writer/director Ava Maria Safai is all about just how sucky, and frankly, scary that whole experience can be. After Yasi (Rose Dehgan) moves from Iran to a nondescript Canadian suburb with her father and grandmother, the pressures of adapting to a new high school experience prove too much to bear for her.
Mixing elements of Mean Girls and Carrie, Foreigner offers a fresh, fun take on the abysmally awkward experience of being a high schooler just looking to fit in.
In order to sufficiently assimilate with her classmates, Yasi obsessively consumes North American media in the form of television shows and magazines. She practices her English by repeating lines of dialogue from her favorite show, Friends (but not ~that~ Friends). She also becomes all-consumed by ads convincing her to dye her hair blonde.
Once at school, Yasi is befriended by Rachel (Chloë MacLeod), and her two terrifying lackeys. Their aesthetic is something of a mix between the stuffy aura of the Stepford Wives meets the creepy stare of the Smile monster. They question Yasi about the existence of bible camps, boyfriends, blondes in Iran.
They’re unsettlingly welcoming, yet never fully accepting. Their racism is masked by their friendliness. Any sinister intentions they might have are hidden behind nice exteriors. The horrors of the high school experience perfectly encapsulated.
While battling the scaries at school, Yasi is also tasked with navigating a tricky home situation. Like most immigrant parents, Yasi’s dad can be a bit overbearing in his attempts to protect her from the unforgiving nature of life in a foreign land.
On top of all that, Yasi is struggling with the grief of not having her late mother. As much as high school and being in a strange new place can be, not having the guidance of one’s mother obviously makes things that much more difficult.
Although there are hints of unnerving filmmaking throughout the first half of Foreigner, things really kick into gear after Yasi actually decides to dye her hair. The frights are turned all the way up, and some otherworldly elements are introduced into the proceedings. We even get some brief moments of body horror!
In many ways, a piece of Yasi “dies” when she decides to dye her hair. You’ll have to watch the full movie to find out exactly which part of her that is.
However, it’s Safai’s ability to restrain the movie from fully delving into horror territory that makes Foreigner work. Spooky elements dropped in here and there are more than enough to keep audience members intrigued.
And after the proceedings, we’re blessed with some really fun and clever end credits. Foreigner doesn’t re-write the high school flick, and probably won’t enter the pantheon of all-time great high school movies, but it’s another wonderful entry in one of the most densely rich genres out there.
