Saltburn Obsession: Cult Films, Ironic Taste, and Why We Can't Look Away

When people talk about the Saltburn obsession, a cultural phenomenon centered around the 2023 film Saltburn that sparked intense online discussion, fan theories, and meme culture. It’s not just about the plot—it’s about how the film taps into something deeper: our love for stories that refuse to be ignored, even when they’re messy, weird, or morally confusing. This isn’t your typical movie buzz. It’s the kind of thing that makes strangers on Twitter argue for hours over whether the main character is a villain or a victim, or why that one scene at the dinner table still gives people chills months later.

The cult film, a movie that gains a dedicated, passionate following despite lacking mainstream success or critical approval is the natural home for Saltburn. Think The Rocky Horror Picture Show or Donnie Darko—films that didn’t blow up on opening weekend but became rituals for people who saw something others missed. Saltburn didn’t need a blockbuster budget to become a phenomenon. It needed the right audience—one that doesn’t just watch movies, but lives inside them. And that’s where camp cinema, an aesthetic that celebrates exaggeration, artifice, and deliberate over-the-top style as a form of emotional truth comes in. The film’s glittering parties, slow-motion walks, and grotesque beauty aren’t accidents. They’re choices. They’re invitations to feel something real through something unreal.

What makes Saltburn different from other cult hits is how it weaponizes ironic taste, the act of enjoying something precisely because it’s considered bad, excessive, or inappropriate by mainstream standards. People don’t just like it—they quote it, rewatch it, analyze every frame. They post screenshots with captions like "this is my life" or "I didn’t choose Saltburn, Saltburn chose me." It’s not just fandom. It’s identity. It’s the thrill of finding your weirdness reflected in a film that was never meant to be loved. And that’s why it’s still everywhere. You can’t unsee it. You can’t unfeel it.

Below, you’ll find posts that dig into the same kinds of movies that thrive on obsession—not because they’re perfect, but because they’re unforgettable. From the rituals of cult cinema to how streaming platforms quietly shape what we obsess over, these stories aren’t just about films. They’re about the people who refuse to let them go.