Emerald Fennell’s sophomore film Saltburn has taken the cinematic world by storm with its dark humor, stunning visuals, and exploration of class, obsession and the consequences of inviting a stranger into a life of wealth and privilege. Starring Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi as Oxford classmates who develop an intense bond, Saltburn delves into unsettling psychological territory while still being wildly entertaining.
If you were captivated by Saltburn’s unique blend of beauty, satire and unease, here are 15 other films that share some of its most compelling qualities. From erotic thrillers to biting social commentaries, these movies will keep you on the edge of your seat.
1. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Directed by Anthony Minghella, The Talented Mr. Ripley is perhaps the most obvious comparison to Saltburn. Both films center on a young man (played by Matt Damon in a career-defining role) who becomes dangerously obsessed with a charming, wealthy acquaintance (Jude Law). Supporting turns from Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett and Philip Seymour Hoffman round out the stellar cast.
While Saltburn ultimately goes in its own bold directions, it’s hard to deny the influence of Ripley’s lush visuals and slowly building sense of dread. If you want to see one of the quintessential “infiltrating high society” thrillers, look no further.
2. Promising Young Woman (2020)
Before Saltburn, Emerald Fennell made her directorial debut with the audacious revenge thriller Promising Young Woman. Carey Mulligan stars as Cassie, a med school dropout haunted by her best friend’s sexual assault and suicide. By night, she goes to bars and pretends to be falling-down drunk, luring “nice guys” into revealing their true predatory colors.
Like Saltburn, Promising Young Woman is unafraid to provoke and push boundaries in service of its scathing social critique. It also shares Saltburn’s penchant for candy-colored aesthetics contrasted with dark subject matter. For another taste of Fennell’s singular style, this is a must-watch.
3. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)
Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos is known for his deadpan, unsettling films, and The Killing of a Sacred Deer is one of his most chilling. Colin Farrell plays a surgeon who takes a fatherless teen (Barry Keoghan in a breakout role) under his wing, only for the boy to reveal sinister intentions toward the doctor’s family.
Fans of Saltburn will appreciate another showcase for Keoghan’s ability to project both vulnerability and menace. The Killing of a Sacred Deer also shares Saltburn’s interest in the destructive potential of unchecked male ego and entitlement.
4. Parasite (2019)
Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite made history as the first non-English language film to win the Oscar for Best Picture, and it’s easy to see why. This darkly comic thriller follows the Kim family, who live in a semi-basement apartment, as they cunningly infiltrate the household of the wealthy Park family.
Like Saltburn, Parasite is a biting commentary on class divide and the measures people will take to gain status and security. It also deploys humor and shocking twists to keep the audience captivated as it builds toward an unforgettable climax.
5. The Lobster (2015)
Another Yorgos Lanthimos joint, The Lobster takes place in a dystopian world where single people are sent to a hotel and given 45 days to find a romantic partner, or else be transformed into an animal of their choice. Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz star as two rebels who attempt to subvert the system.
The Lobster shares Saltburn’s arch tone, pristine cinematography, and fascination with society’s absurd rituals and expectations. It’s a love story unlike any other, and further proof of Lanthimos’s singular cinematic vision.
6. Cruel Intentions (1999)
Emerald Fennell has cited the teen erotic drama Cruel Intentions as a major influence on Saltburn, telling The Face, “It had cruelty and satire built-in. It was funny and it was self-aware.” Cruel Intentions transplants the French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses to the world of wealthy Manhattan prep school teens, with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe playing diabolical step-siblings engaged in a contest of sexual conquest.
While Cruel Intentions is more overtly campy than Saltburn, both films share a delight in the bad behavior of bored rich kids. They also both feature central relationships with an undercurrent of queer desire and power games.
7. Thoroughbreds (2017)
The debut film from writer-director Cory Finley, Thoroughbreds stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Olivia Cooke as teenage girls in an affluent Connecticut suburb whose rekindled friendship takes a dark turn. The film’s icy, meticulous style is a good complement to Saltburn’s own carefully composed aesthetic.
Thoroughbreds is also a great showcase for Cooke, who appeared in a small but pivotal role in Saltburn. Both films explore the ennui and amorality that can fester in a world of wealth and privilege, with violence bubbling beneath the surface of polite society.
8. The Dreamers (2003)
Bernardo Bertolucci’s sensual drama The Dreamers follows an American exchange student (Michael Pitt) who becomes entangled with a pair of cinema-obsessed French siblings (Eva Green and Louis Garrel) against the backdrop of the 1968 Paris student riots. The three hole up in the siblings’ apartment, pushing each other to further sexual and intellectual extremes.
Like Saltburn, The Dreamers is a hothouse flower of a film, luxuriating in an atmosphere of youthful decadence and desire. It’s also unafraid to transgress taboos in its depiction of fluid sexuality and the sometimes unhealthy intensity of young friendships.
9. Stoker (2013)
Acclaimed South Korean director Park Chan-wook made his English-language debut with the Gothic family drama Stoker. Mia Wasikowska stars as India, a teenage girl mourning her father’s death. When her charismatic Uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode) comes to stay with her and her unstable mother (Nicole Kidman), India finds herself drawn into a web of secrets and violence.
Stoker shares Saltburn’s lush, vaguely menacing atmosphere and exploration of the seductive pull of transgression. It also features an unnerving depiction of the way grief and trauma can distort family bonds.
10. Poison Ivy (1992)
The erotic thriller Poison Ivy stars Drew Barrymore as a working-class teen who infiltrates the home of her wealthy classmate (Sara Gilbert) and seduces the girl’s father (Tom Skerritt). It’s a campy, overheated tale of obsession and manipulation with a queer subtext between the two girls.
Like Saltburn, Poison Ivy is interested in the way class resentment can curdle into something more insidious. It also shares Saltburn’s penchant for shocking, lurid plot twists and a general air of “can you believe they went there?!”
11. Beau Travail (1999)
Claire Denis’s mesmerizing film Beau Travail transplants Herman Melville’s Billy Budd to a French Foreign Legion outpost in Djibouti. Denis Lavant plays Galoup, a sergeant major consumed by jealousy over the effortless charisma of new recruit Gilles Sentain (Grégoire Colin).
Beau Travail shares Saltburn’s sun-baked atmosphere of simmering homoerotic tension and its exploration of the sometimes perilously thin line between admiration and obsession. It’s a hypnotic, poetic film that lingers in the mind long after watching.
12. Under the Silver Lake (2018)
David Robert Mitchell’s neo-noir comedy Under the Silver Lake stars Andrew Garfield as Sam, an aimless 33-year-old in L.A. who becomes obsessed with uncovering a conspiracy after his beautiful neighbor (Riley Keough) mysteriously disappears. His quest leads him into a bizarre underworld of cults, codes and pop culture ephemera.
Like Saltburn, Under the Silver Lake is a stylish, puzzle box of a film that delights in leading the viewer down rabbit holes and subverting expectations. It’s also a sly commentary on the ways male entitlement and wish fulfillment can curdle into something more disturbing.
13. Theorem (1968)
Pier Paolo Pasolini’s provocative film Theorem stars Terence Stamp as a mysterious visitor who upends the lives of a wealthy Italian family through his seductive powers. After he sleeps with each family member in turn and then abruptly departs, they find themselves unmoored and seeking new forms of meaning.
Theorem shares Saltburn’s interest in the destabilizing effect an outsider can have on an insular world and the void that can be revealed when the trappings of bourgeois life are stripped away. It’s a challenging, endlessly interpretable film from a master of subversive cinema.
14. Zola (2020)
Inspired by an infamous Twitter thread, Janicza Bravo’s wild road trip comedy Zola follows a Detroit waitress and exotic dancer (Taylour Paige) who gets more than she bargained for when she agrees to travel to Florida with a new acquaintance (Riley Keough) for a weekend of stripping. What starts as a glamorous lark descends into a seedy criminal underworld.
Like Saltburn, Zola has a bold, in-your-face style and a dark sense of humor. It’s also an incisive commentary on race, class, sex work and the stories we tell about ourselves online. Paige and Keough are magnetic as the central duo, by turns hilarious and harrowing.
15. The Riot Club (2014)
Lone Scherfig’s drama The Riot Club follows two first-year Oxford students (Sam Claflin and Max Irons) inducted into the titular dining club, a thinly veiled version of the real-life Bullingdon Club known for its wealthy, hedonistic membership. Behind the club’s veneer of tradition and brotherhood, corruption and cruelty reign.
The Riot Club shares Saltburn’s fascination with the dark underbelly of elite British institutions and the sense of entitlement fostered by immense privilege. It’s a scathing portrait of how power perpetuates itself at the expense of others.
Whether you’re drawn to Saltburn’s vicious wit, transgressive eroticism, class commentary, or all of the above, these 15 films offer further avenues to explore. From the sun-drenched Italian coast to the manicured lawns of the Ivy League, they’ll transport you into worlds where desire and destruction are always in close quarters. Just be careful who you let in.
