‘Saltburn’ Ending Explained: Did Oliver Kill Everyone?

The stylish psychological drama Saltburn hit Amazon Prime Video on December 22, 2023 after a limited theatrical release. The movie is filled with jaw-dropping moments, including the infamous bathtub drain scene, grave humping, and a naked dance sequence to the disco-pop glory of “Murder on the Dance Floor” by Sophie Ellis-Bextor. But, how did we get there? Continue reading for a breakdown of the movie’s twisty ending.

Set in England, Saltburn follows university student Oliver (Barry Keoghan) and his obsession with his wealthy peer Felix (Jacob Elordi).

When Oliver fabricates a story about his troubled home, Felix invites him to spend the summer at his family’s estate. There, he meet’s Felix’s parents, Sir James (Richard E. Grant) and Lady Elspeth (Rosamund Pike), his sister Venetia (Alison Oliver), and his cousin Farleigh (Archie Madekwe).

Felix eventually uncovers that Oliver has been lying to him, and asks him to leave the estate after the party that’s already been planned for the occasion. Saddened by the lack of reciprocated feelings from his crush, Oliver embarks on a deadly spree.

Wondering what happens next? Here’s what goes down at the end of the movie.

Saltburn Ending Explained

On the night of Oliver’s birthday party, he tracks down Felix and tries to mend their relationship. However, Felix refuses his advances and expresses that he’s still upset over Oliver’s behavior. The next morning, Felix is found dead in the center of the hedge maze.

While eating lunch with the others, Farleigh points out Oliver’s shady behavior. In defense, Oliver mentions the drugs that Farleigh keeps in his room. “I would feel guilty too, if I was the one racking up lines the night someone died,” Oliver says in front of the family. The revelation causes James to question Farleigh in anger and get kicked out of the house.

Felix’s funeral passes in a brief montage, and Oliver is left alone at the gravesite. Oliver breaks down crying at Felix’s grave, and as the minutes pass, he slowly removes his clothes and thrusts against the burial before joining the family at the reception.

Later, Oliver finds Venetia taking a bath in Felix’s bathroom. She’s disturbed by Oliver wearing Felix’s aftershave and points out that he only knew Felix for six months. “You are a stranger,” she tells him. Oliver bids “goodnight” to Felix’s sister who patronizingly calls him a “desperate” moth. The next morning, Venetia is found dead with slit wrists in the bathroom.

Following Venetia’s death, James asks Oliver to leave Saltburn despite his wife’s interest. Oliver refuses to do so, until James offers to bride him. After a time jump, Oliver reads in a newspaper that James has died and plants himself at a cafe that Elspeth frequents. The two meet and Elspeth still adores him. She expresses sympathy for the way James treated him after Felix’s death.

Elspeth invites Oliver back to Saltburn, and they spend several months together before Elspeth falls ill. On her deathbed, Oliver reveals that he caused the “terrible accidents” at Saltburn. “Is there really such thing as an accident?” he says to Elspeth’s unresponsive body. Oliver reveals that he poisoned Felix after he was rejected, and that he supplied Venetia with razor blades despite her mental health struggles.

Oliver also planned his run-in with Elspeth, and convinced her to sign over Saltburn and other financial assets to him. In the end, Oliver kills Elspeth by removing her ventilator and watching her gasp for air until the scene cuts to her funeral.

In the final moments, Oliver dances naked in the large estate.

So, did Oliver kill everyone? It seems so. Other than James, of course.

Saltburn is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.