The ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ Resurgence: ‘Saltburn’ Sends 20-Year-Old Songs Back Onto the Charts
Thania Garcia SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot points, including the ending for “Saltburn.” Set in the United Kingdom in 2006, Emerald Fennell’s “Saltburn,” starring Jacob Elordi and Barry Keoghan, boasts a mishmash of indie sleaze and timeless radio hits in its nostalgia-inducing soundtrack, which includes Sophie Ellis-Bextor‘s “Murder on the Dancefloor,” MGMT’s “Time to Pretend” and even Flo Rida’s “Low.” In the past week (the film got its streaming release by Amazon Prime Video on Dec. 22), “Murder” and many of the now 20-year-old singles from the soundtrack have enjoyed major streaming, listening and viewership boosts — reminiscent of the “Stranger Things” and TikTok-driven success of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill.” Elordi plays the suave and aristocratic Felix, an Oxford University student who becomes the center of attention for Keoghan’s character Oliver. When Felix invites Oliver to spend the summer at his family’s estate, Saltburn, things slowly take a dark turn and Oliver becomes obsessed with overtaking the family’s fortune.