Saltburn crew shares what Barry Keoghan was actually slurping in bathtub scene

23 January 2024 , 14:46

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The film's secret ingredient has been revealed (Image: MGM Studios)

The black comedy Saltburn has had a huge splash, not least for its many outrageous scenes which made many people feel a little sick at times. Other viewers were left thoroughly shocked, especially with one scene where one of the stars slurps up something not so tasty from a bathtub full of water.

The film's synopsis says: "When Oxford student Oliver Quick is invited to his friend Felix's family's wealthy estate, Saltburn, for a summer vacation, he is drawn into the world of eccentric characters and increasingly chaotic events as his obsession with Felix comes to a head."

On its release by Amazon Prime Video on December 22, it became one of that site's most-streamed films and has been nominated for two Golden Globes and five Baftas. But there is an 'icky' scene around half way through the movie, directed by Emerald Fennell, where viewers see Oliver Quick, played by Barry Keoghan, enter a bathtub after Felix Catton, played by Jacob Elordi, has just gotten out of it.

Oliver Quick, played by Barry Keoghan drinks the bathwater (MGM Studios)

Oliver proceeds to drink the bath water as it gurgles down the plug hole, in the process drinking some of Felix’s s***n after he had masturbated in it. The scene left viewers taken aback and according to LadBible, one had to apologise to her family after putting it on for them to watch on Christmas Eve.

And the film's production designer, Suzie Davies, has now recounted exactly what Barry Keoghan was lapping up in a behind-the-scenes interview with Business Insider. To create the gooey liquid with the correct consistency viewers eventually saw, Davies said the crew used "yogurt and a bit of milk and some water". She added that Keoghan took four takes of the shot, saying: "He did it four times and really went for it. Every one he did was a different kind of slurp."

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The shocking scene has caused a stir online and even prompted one bar to create a special cocktail in its honour. Unsurprisingly, masses of people took to social media to share their reactions to the infamous scene. Writing on X (formerly Twitter ), one person said: "What on earth is this bathtub scene? Why is he? Ew?" Another added: "The bathtub scene in saltburn is um … yeah quite something," while another said: "The Saltburn bathtub scene was sm worse than i imagined…" And another said: "Me watching Saltburn thinking it would be a cute romance movie and ending up traumatised."

Davies also said that the room they filmed in was actually a bedroom, due to them not being able to find the sort of bathroom she wanted and that they had to make a couple of claw-foot bathtubs to get the right shot because of Elordi's six foot five inches frame, and that: "With one, we chopped a hole in the side for the close-up shot of Barry slurping up the water."

Paul Donald