Emerald Fennell thinks Saltburn and Promising Young Woman are actually very similar

On paper, Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman and Saltburn seem worlds apart. The first starred Carey Mulligan in a feminist revenge thriller, while the latter sees Barry Keoghan play an Oxford University student thrown into a life of privilege. But for Fennell, her two feature films actually share a lot of commonality.

"Gosh, it's so interesting," Fennell tells GamesRadar+ about the similarities between the two on the BFI London Film Festival red carpet. "I think actually they’re in many ways quite good bedfellows in the sense that they’re both taking a sub-genre – Promising Young Woman, it was the female revenge thriller, and with this, it’s the British gothic country house movie – and they’re squeezing really hard. So it feels like in many ways they are similar. To me at least, they feel personal in different ways."

Fennell will certainly be hoping that Saltburn reaches the same critical success as her debut film, which won Best Original Screenplay at the 93rd Academy Awards, as well as attracting several other nominations.

Early reviews for Saltburn have been pretty positive too, with a lot of praise for Keoghan’s performance. He plays Oliver Quick in the upcoming film, which opened the BFI London Film Festival, who becomes infatuated with his charming and aristocratic classmate Felix Catton (played by Jacob Elordi). Oliver is invited to come and spend the summer at Felix’s family estate, where he’ll encounter hedonism and eccentric relatives in a summer he’ll never forget.

Saltburn is released in the UK and US on November 17. For more on the film, as well as a tease for the Ocean's 11 prequel, check out our interview with producer Josey McNamara.

For more upcoming movies, here are our guides to all the 2023 movie release dates on the way.