The Unsettling Bathtub Incident in Saltburn That Defies Belief
The viral bathtub slurp in Saltburn may have gained attention, but it pales in comparison to the movie's truly shocking scene
The viral bathtub scene of cum-slurping in Saltburn has taken TikTok by storm, but it's nothing compared to the most shocking moment in the movie.
Directed by Emerald Fennell of Promising Young Woman, the film follows Oliver (Barry Keoghan), a clever loner who becomes friends with Felix (Jacob Elordi), Oxford University's most popular and wealthy student. Felix is not only rich but also understanding of Oliver's difficult home life.
As the first semester comes to an end, Felix extends an invitation to his new friend to spend the summer at his parents' grand and ornate estate. Over the following weeks, unsettling and disturbing revelations emerge, and Oliver's obsession with Felix (his physical appearance, his wealth... everything) escalates to an unhealthy level.
This culminates in a stomach-turning scene where Oliver drinks water polluted with Felix's bodily fluids from the drain. Predictably, TikTok has been inundated with reactions to this since the movie's release on streaming platforms - but the situation only becomes more appalling as the film progresses. Spoilers ahead...
Saltburn’s viral bathtub scene isn’t the movie’s most shocking moment
The bathtub scene is definitely shocking, and it's okay to feel that way. However, the movie takes a darker turn towards the end when Oliver, following Felix's death, strips and humps his freshly buried grave in the rain.
"The bathtub scene pales in comparison to the grave scene in Saltburn. That's all I'll say," one user commented. Another user added, "The tub scene in Saltburn is wild, but it's nothing compared to that shocking grave scene."
People are buzzing about the tub scene in #Saltburn, but the real conversation should be about the jaw-dropping grave scene. WHAT. THE. FUCK. pic.twitter.com/T0Mah3V2q2
@pingley on December 23, 2023 tweeted: "The tub scene in #Saltburn has been getting a lot of attention, but the real talk should be about the grave scene... Because WHAT. THE. F**K." Another user tweeted: "After watching #Saltburn, I understand why everyone is discussing the bathtub scene... but is it really the most shocking scene? The fresh grave scene is definitely worse?! I audibly gasped."
When others claim that the bathtub scene in Saltburn was the most disturbing, but I personally found the grave scene to be more unsettling: pic.twitter.com/rCVq9BMYyq
— kayla ⋆⭒˚.⋆ met jaden hossler | LLC️ (@wayhhossler) December 28, 2023
The scene wasn't intended to be so graphic, but on the day of shooting, Keoghan and Fennell decided that Oliver should "unzip."
"She plants seeds, you know what I mean? She knows that they're going to grow, especially when she plants them with me. It is a testament to Emerald and her idea, and my full support of it," he told Entertainment Weekly.
"I wasn't interested in desecrating the grave, it was more about not knowing what to do with this obsession; it's making me feel confused and disconnected in a way. I think it was a complete revelation for him. And it was heartbreaking. It was extremely, extremely heart-wrenching."
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Editor's P/S
As a hard fan of the movie "Saltburn," I must say that the bathtub scene, while shocking and disturbing, is not the most unsettling moment in the film. The true horror lies in the grave scene, where Oliver strips and humps Felix's freshly buried grave in the rain. This scene is so shocking and depraved that it leaves a lasting impact on the viewer, far surpassing the initial shock of the bathtub scene.
The bathtub scene is certainly attention-grabbing and provocative, but it is ultimately a metaphor for Oliver's unhealthy obsession with Felix. The grave scene, on the other hand, is a visceral and disturbing depiction of Oliver's descent into madness and desperation. It is a scene that is both physically and emotionally unsettling, and it forces the viewer to confront the dark and disturbing depths of human nature.
