Guillermo del Toro Calls this Shocking Prime Video Thriller an “Obsessive grotesquerie”
It’s quite surprising to me how far our society has come in the past few years. We’ve seen studios and the MPAA show filmmakers much more latitude than ever before. Case in point: Saltburn. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve seen much edgier exchanges than anything that transpires in Saltburn in indie pictures. However, I think Academy award-winning filmmaker Emerald Fennell moved the needle on what a filmmaker can get away with in mainstream cinema with Saltburn. I won’t go too in-depth on what makes the flick controversial to some. I’ll let you experience it for yourself as it’s probably better that way. However, before you take in the flick, you’ll want to check out auteur filmmaker Guillermo del Toro’s endorsement.
The Blade 2 director is a big fan of Saltburn. He previously tweeted his thoughts on the picture, saying: “Saltburn (’23) Was a really exciting and excited filmmaking piece. I didn’t demand of it a moral fable- it was a skillful, audacious and obsessive grotesquerie- a Steadman, a Hogarth- a state of being, remembered by an unreliable narrator- heightened by his memory & desire.”
In case you’re unfamiliar, here’s the plot crunch:
Troubled by his classmate’s unfortunate living situation, wealthy Oxford student Felix invites Oliver to stay at his estate, but a series of horrifying events soon engulf his eccentric family.
Aside from helming the picture, Fennell also takes the sole screenwriting credit for this subversive effort. Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, and Archie Madekwe make up the core cast. Each of the key players delivers a strong showing. However, Rosamund Pike is the standout for me. Her detached matriarch has some of the best lines in the film and she delivers them with stone-cold sincerity.
If you’re on the fence, allow me to offer some additional context. Fennell names both A Clockwork Orange and Cruel Intentions as inspirations. Having experienced the film, I think those are perfectly apt comparisons. There are elements of both of those boundary-pushing efforts contained within Saltburn.
Where is this subversive flick favored by Guillermo del Toro streaming?
If you’re keen to check the film out, you can find Saltburn on Prime Video now. Or don’t. You are in charge of your own destiny, dear reader.
That’s all that I have for you at present. Stay tuned to the site for more exciting recommendations from your favorite cinematic luminaries as we unearth them. If you’d like to keep up with my nonsense on social media, you can find me on Threads as @FunWithHorror.
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