14 Creepy Movies to Watch If You Loved ‘Saltburn’ (2023)
These films have sex, violence, social climbing imposters or all of the above.
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Saltburn (2023) was Emerald Fennell’s surprisingly great black comedy psychological thriller that premiered at the end of 2023. The film follows poor university student Oliver Quick (Barry Koeghan) as he is befriended by the wealthy and popular Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) and the two spend a summer together at Felix’s palatial family estate, Saltburn. With shocking sex scenes, salacious references to upper class life and the suspense of the protagonist being a social climbing imposter, Saltburn is one of the best thrillers of 2023.
If you loved Saltburn, here are some movies that have a similar vibe:
Cruising (1980)
Cruising is all about infiltrating a subculture that you don’t belong to. Al Pacino is a police officer who goes deep undercover to get involved in the NYC gay leather scene in order to investigate a series of murders of gay men. (Spoiler warning): the film’s controversial ending also hints that the ambitious officer may have been the murderer himself as a plot to advance his career prospects.
Poison Ivy (1992)
Drew Barrymore stars in this erotic thriller as Ivy, a street-smart teen who befriends a private school girl, Sylvie (Sara Gilbert), in order to insert herself into the girl’s wealthy family and flirt with her dad, Darryl (Tom Skerritt). Once she is invited in, Ivy spends as much time in Sylvie’s home as possible even befriending her sick mother — all while doing her best to seduce Darryl.
Single White Female (1992)
Another erotic thriller about a New York City software designer, Allie (Bridget Fonda), who is forced to find a roommate and chooses Hedy (Jennifer Jason Leigh). At first, the two are friends but Hedy becomes obsessive and is angry when Allie reunites with her boyfriend and plans to move out. Hedy’s obsession turns to violence as her life spirals out of control.
Primal Fear (1996)
Primal Fear shares a few things in common with Saltburn that are only revealed in the film’s shocking twist-ending. If you don’t want to be spoiled, just watch the movie. But for fans who are familiar with this legal thriller, Edward Norton’s character and Oliver Quick in Saltburn share the same eerie ability to act as a chameleon as fool others for their own gain.
Gattaca (1997)
Gattaca is a science fiction film set in the “not too distant” future where eugenics and genetic discrimination is legal and widely practiced. Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke) is desperate to become an astronaut but is unable to because of his societal position as a genetically inferior “invalid”, so instead he becomes a janitor. One day, Vincent is given the opportunity to pretend to be a “valid” and pursues his dreams by utilizing hair, skin, blood, and urine donated to him by an athlete who was recently paralyzed. He has to constantly evade suspicion and ensure his real identity is not discovered in order to realize his dream of going to space.
Wild Things (1998)
This erotic thriller may be just as spicy as Saltburn (at least, it was at the time it was released). The film is about a plot to con $8.5 million out of a socialite’s trust fund in a wealthy Miami suburb. It shows a struggle between the upper, middle and lower class characters with one character outsmarting all the others in the end.
Cruel Intentions (1999)
A seriously sexy drama following wealthy and bored Manhattan step-siblings Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe). The siblings do psychological warfare against each other using other human beings as pawns and ammo, like making a bet as to whether Sebastian can seduce a famously chaste woman (Reese Witherspoon). Sebastian and Kathryn both seduce another character (Selma Blair) for selfish reasons and their friend Blaine (Joshua Jackson) enjoys entrapping a lover (Eric Mabius) in order to procure blackmail material. It’s easy to imagine Kathryn and Sebastian growing up and having a kid like Felix — or meeting their match in Oliver — in Saltburn.
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Another social climbing psychopath, this time played by Matt Damon, attempts to infiltrate the lives of the upper class. Of all the films on this list, Ripley may be the closest to Saltburn, though it is a darker and creepier version of a similar plot. Ripley also lacks the explicit sex scenes from Saltburn, but there are some unsettling erotic moments between Matt Damon and his love interests.
Mulholland Drive (2001)
David Lynch’s beloved surrealist mystery film has themes of friendship turning to obsession, imposters and upward mobility. Betty (Naomi Watts) is an aspiring actress who has just arrived in Los Angeles when she meets “Rita”, a woman who is experiencing amnesia after an accident on the winding road above the Hollywood Hills, Mulholland Drive. Betty and Rita try to solve the mystery of Rita’s accident and subsequent amnesia while Betty also auditions for a big role and the two begin to fall for each other.
Funny Games (2007)
Funny Games is much more violent and straightforward than Saltburn. There is no comedic relief, but it is a great horror movie about upper class life. In fact, the entire reason the main characters become victims at all is their assumption that two strangers dressed as wealthy men are automatically safe and trustworthy to be in their home. In another universe, Oliver Quick could definitely be one of these polite but sadistic killers. It’s not far off from the role Barry Koeghan played in The Killing of a Sacred Deer (see below).
Gone Girl (2014)
If you want another film where you root for the deranged, murderous protagonist, Amy Dunne is your girl. She also happens to be portrayed by Saltburn actress Rosamund Pike. In Gone Girl, Amy (Pike) slowly enacts calculated revenge on her cheating husband by faking her own murder, knowing he will become the prime suspect. (Spoiler alert): however, life as a supposedly dead woman isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and Amy eventually finds her way home, concocting another wild story (and committing murder) in order to get her life back.
The Handmaiden (2016)
A South Korean erotic psychological thriller that feels like a super high-quality heist film. Aiming to acquire her fortune, a conman hires Sook-hee (Kim Tae-ri) to work as a maid for Japanese heiress Lady Hideko (Kim Min-hee) and convince the heiress to marry the conman. Instead, Sook-hee falls in love with Lady Hideko. It’s unclear who is playing who as flashbacks and identity switches complicate the plot until everything is unpacked in the third act.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)
This is a wonderful option for a double feature with Saltburn. Barry Koeghan is incredibly creepy as a teen boy, Martin, whose father has recently died. He is befriended by a surgeon, Steven (Colin Farrell), who invites him to meet his wife (Nicole Kidman) and family. At first the family enjoys Martin, but he becomes obsessive and clingy. At the same time, a mysterious illness paralyzes both of Steven’s children. Martin reveals the cause of the illness and offers Steven a gruesome deal in exchange for a cure.
Parasite (2019)
A South Korean black comedy thriller about the poor Kim family who attempt to infiltrate the wealthy Park family and live off of their resources (the titular parasite). By posing as a university tutor, an art therapist, a chauffeur and a housekeeper the Kim family slowly all begin working for the Parks. However, the Kims discover that they are not the only “parasites” in the Park home.
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