{"id":2226,"date":"2026-02-16T12:26:48","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T12:26:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/?p=582154"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"yikes-this-outrageous-wuthering-heights-scene-was-actually-meant-to-be-so-much-more-nsfw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/02\/16\/yikes-this-outrageous-wuthering-heights-scene-was-actually-meant-to-be-so-much-more-nsfw\/","title":{"rendered":"Yikes, this outrageous Wuthering Heights scene was actually meant to be SO much more NSFW"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wuthering Heights<\/span><\/span> <\/a>has finally hit cinemas, and, predictably for Emerald Fennell<\/span><\/span>\u2019s gothic take on the novel, people are coming out shaken, tearful and very divided, right from the outrageous opening scene.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Warner Bros<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even die-hard Bront\u00eb readers couldn\u2019t have anticipated the shock awaiting them as the lights dim. After the opening credits fade up on darkness, the silence fills with guttural moans and the sound of heavy thuds. You might expect something overtly erotic, especially after the trailer\u2019s BDSM-tinged imagery and a pulsing soundtrack by Charli XCX<\/span><\/span> stirred online backlash from purists.<\/p>\n

Instead, the source of the sounds is revealed to be far grimmer: A man hanging from a gallows, legs kicking as he dies, his thin robe doing little to hide the unmistakable outline of an erection. Technically a \u2018death erection\u2019 is a normal thing, as they are occasionally found in the corpses of men who have died by hanging. It occurs after excessive pressure is placed on the cerebellum, a subsection of the brain, by the noose.<\/p>\n

The moment is both grotesque and darkly comic. People crowd around the execution, among them young Heathcliff, Cathy and Nelly. Cathy, notably, squeals and laughs along with the mob. A stern-faced nun stands nearby, seemingly scandalised, until a flicker of pleasure crosses her face.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Warner Bros<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some people have argued the film isn\u2019t nearly as explicit as early reactions feared. But, according to reports from The Telegraph<\/a> on early test screenings, the opening was originally far more extreme.<\/p>\n

The nun\u2019s reaction, now confined to a suggestive smile, allegedly went much further: People claimed she openly pleasured herself while watching the hanged man, even touching his exposed arousal. The scene apparently caused walkouts, outrage, and ultimately a much more toned-down final cut.<\/p>\n

For director Emerald Fennell, the provocation was deliberate. Speaking to USA Today<\/span><\/span><\/a>, she explained that the opening needed to declare the film\u2019s intentions instantly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the first moments of a film, you need to set the tone and say what it is,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is a deeply felt romance. But I also wanted people to understand that it would be surprising and darkly funny and perhaps stranger than they would expect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Warner Bros<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She added that the scene\u2019s collision of arousal and danger was key to both Cathy\u2019s character and Bront\u00eb\u2019s world. \u201cIt was important to acknowledge early that arousal and danger are kind of the same thing,\u201d Fennell said. \u201cThe first thing we see is Cathy, this young girl, seemingly frightened but then actually delighted. It tells us so much about who she is, but so much about Bront\u00eb, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

The director also pushed back against the pastel-washed idea of period drama. \u201cWe have this idea that the world of period dramas was fragrant and beautiful and lovely. It wasn\u2019t at all. It was a dangerous place to live in, so it was crucial for me to show that right at the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more like this, <\/i>like The Tab on Facebook<\/a><\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Featured image credit: Warner Bros<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No wonder they changed it <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2075,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[4,39,130],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-2226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-film","tag-viral","tag-wuthering-heights"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWuthering Heights' opening scene was way more NSFW<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The outrageous Wuthering Heights opening scene was actually meant to be SO much more NSFW than it already is.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/02\/16\/yikes-this-outrageous-wuthering-heights-scene-was-actually-meant-to-be-so-much-more-nsfw\/\" 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