So often, the radical cheek of TikTokers makes mainstream media look pretty dull, and so it has proved once again, with the explosion of uproarious Saltburn TikToks. These are reportedly causing deep pain to Mr Charles Stopford Sackville, owner of the 700-year-old Drayton House in Northamptonshire, which plays the stately home in question, through which Barry Keoghan finally does his groovy nude dance to Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Murder on the Dancefloor.
Stopford Sackville got a generous fee for letting them film there and knows the parents of director Emerald Fennell, but is still now miffed at TikTokers killing his groove by straying off the public footpath close to his estate, insolently filming and telling other commoners how to get there and gawp. These TikToks are now part of the three great Saltburn TikTok genres: Tourist Hoi Polloi, Self-Own Upper-Middle-Class Dance Cosplay and Horrified Reaction, in which elderly relatives are filmed recoiling in horror at the bathwater scene. So here are some of the more notable efforts:
Tourist Hoi Polloi
How to Visit the Saltburn Estate
(dir. Be Better Known)
(★★★★☆)
A very handy and detailed guide to getting there, with Sophie Ellis-Bextor on the soundtrack, speeded up a bit like most Saltburn videos, to avoid copyright issues. You arrive at The Snooty Fox pub in Lowick – comments suggest that if you’re parking there you should at least buy a drink or lunch – and then walk down Drayton Road, past some nice little horses and then over the bridge, through the gate and on to that public footpath.
See Saltburn With a Dog
(dir. Woofs & Wellness)
(★★★☆☆)
A sweet video saying how great the Saltburn visit is for dog owners. There is no suggestion that the dog is a pretext for straying on to Mr Stopford Sackville’s private land, but an extendable dog lead might stretch that point a bit.
Self-Own Upper-Middle-Class Cosplay
Dancing Round My Fiance’s House
(dir. Meg Coombs)
(★★☆☆☆)
The debate rages on: are upper-middle-class TikTokers dancing smugly round their posh homes to MotDF not understanding the film’s satire? Or are they, on the contrary, correctly intuiting Saltburn’s uncritical Tatler-mag adoration for social superiors? Here is a classic example: Meg wafts around her fiance’s house in her PJs. TikTok does not allow nudity of course, but I haven’t found any TikTokers with the courage to cheat this using implied-naked shots from the neck up or thighs down.
The Reveal
(dir. Maszrakalol)
(★★★★☆)
Very good work here from this TikToker, who cheerfully satirises Barry Keoghan’s Big Manhood Energy by dancing around her ordinary home fully clothed to MotDF and then gives us an outrageous comedy reveal at 0:10. Check it out.
Murder on the Dancefloor
(dir. Greg Williams)
(★★★☆☆)
Relatable stuff from Mr Williams who simply does an ordinary bloke dad dance around his perfectly nice ordinary house, not trying to be satirical or smug, just cheerful.
Horrified Reaction Video
Granny’s Reaction Watching Saltburn
(dir. Wanderlust)
(★★★★★)
This is glorious. It makes conventional criticism look futile. Every single review of Saltburn pales into nothingness compared to this thrillingly authentic and honest response. This TikToker films their granny’s reaction to the bathwater slurp … and she lets rip in a robust Londoner’s voice: “Do you have to put this ****in’ filth on? Oh gawd. What a load of ****in’ filth. Do you watch this? DO YOU WATCH THIS?” Respect.
You Made Your Grandma Watch Saltburn
(dir. Jordyn Sherry)
(★★★☆☆)
There is a low-key poignancy to this, like a Golden Age silent movie – a montage of Jordyn’s grandma sitting in front of the TV with Saltburn on, her head in her hands saying nothing.
