There's a much more controversial Saltburn scene than the bathtub one.

Saltburn is a film that will either thrill or horrify you. There's no in-between.

The Emerald Fennell-creation is proving to be the most divisive movie of 2023. Starring Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, and Rosamund Pike, the movie tells the twisted story of Oliver (Keoghan), a new student at Oxford who develops a fixation on a fellow student, the aristocratic rizz master Felix (Elordi).

If you know anything about Saltburn, you're probably aware of a scene involving a bathtub. In the scene, Oliver is living with Felix in his family estate Saltburn where the two men share a bathroom.

From here, things really escalate. Read the full breakdown here.

But we're not here today to talk about the bathtub scene because there's a far more shocking scene in the movie that's seemingly slipped through the cracks of the film's discourse.

Warning: this article contains a major spoiler on how Saltburn ends so best to avoid reading further if that's not what you're looking for.

Watch the trailer for Saltburn. Post continues after video.

What happens in the grave scene in Saltburn?

The film culminates in a Midsummer Night's Dream party at Saltburn for Oliver's birthday. The following morning, Elord's character Felix is found facedown and dead in the middle of the estate's maze.

Considering Oliver spent the entirety of the film obsessing over Felix, he doesn't handle the death well.

After Felix's funeral, Oliver visits his friend's just-filled grave and sob uncontrollably.

He then, ummm... makes some real choices.

Oliver lies with his body faced towards the dirty grave and starts to hug and caress the burial, as he continues to sob and wail. Then Oliver undresses, and he proceeds to penetrate the grave and have sex with Felix's burial.

Oliver before he does the deed. Image: LuckyChap Entertainment.

What has been the reaction to the grave scene in Saltburn?

Between the necrophiliac undertones and the desecration of a grave, this scene was A LOT. 

And it goes on for an uncomfortably long time. Sitting in the audience, this moment was one where the crowd was the most collectively shocked – to a much greater extent than the bathtub scene. 

Viewers sat with their jaws ajar, as some expressed disgust while others couldn't help but laugh (me included).  

I've been a film critic for the past 10 years and it was one of the most shocking things I've ever seen. 

Former Love Island contestant Cassidy McGill shared her shock over the scene on TikTok. "Thinking about what was most talked about online... why no one thought to mention the grave scene was f**king weird," she told her followers.  

"Any kind of heads-up to what my eyeballs were about to witness would have been greatly appreciated." 

@cattcity

This movies living rent free in my brain for the foreseeable future

♬ original sound - cattcity

The commenters agreed with Cassidy's shock over the lack of online chatter around the grave scene. 

"The grave scene was hands down the most uncomfortable I’ve ever been watching a movie whyyyyyy is no one talking about it," one user wrote. 

"The bathtub scene was nothing compared to the grave scene," another added.

And we haven't even gotten to the period scene yet – what a film.

Saltburn is still screening in cinemas but will be released on Prime Video Australia on December 22, 2023. 

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Feature image: LuckyChap Entertainment.