What started as a joint venture into streaming by the corporations that own the largest broadcast television networks in the U.S., Hulu’s list of content has never been lacking. From reality TV shows to indie cinema, Hulu has it all despite the increasing fragmentation of the streaming market. All three of the major companies — News Corp, NBC Universal, and Disney — who helped start Hulu have now launched streaming services of their own (Peacock, FXNow, Disney+), but there is still a commitment to keeping Hulu’s offerings top shelf. Opening any category on the service will release a deluge of titles of varied fame and quality. Titles are often tenuously filed under as many genres as possible to increase their chance of being viewed. While this is helpful in keeping specific sections beefed up, it can obfuscate the true gems in each genre.
When it comes to genres, no two film genres are harder to tell apart than horror and thriller. Their shared reliance on tension to tantalize and titillate punctuated by moments of violence or terror make them more difficult to delineate. Thrillers often play around within three categories: man on the run, man on the hunt, or mystery. They’re exciting and stimulating without being too extreme or too reliant on fright as a tool for emotional manipulation. There are several subgenres that are encompassed under the “thriller” umbrella, and it often has a lot of crossovers with action, horror, and science-fiction. Despite a specific definition, thrillers are often quite nebulous in their appearance and exceptionally numerous in their categorization. Collider combed through Hulu’s current selection to curate a collection of the best thrillers on Hulu right now.
Editor’s note: This article was updated November 2022 to include Salt.
Deep Water (2022)
Run Time: 1 hr 55 min | Director: Adrian Lyne
Cast: Ben Affleck, Ana de Armas, Tracy Letts
One of the most talked-about films to come out this year, Deep Waterreunites former real-life couple Ben Affleck and Ana de Armasto play the fictional couple Vic and Melindain an erotic thriller that proves to be quite a wild ride. Helping this along is that the film is helmed by one of the best directors of the genre, Adrian Lyne, who makes a return in a way only he could after a nearly two-decade hiatus. The story is that Vic has been growing a bit upset that his wife Melinda is sleeping with other men. Their tumultuous relationship is something that seems like it may be an agreed-upon open relationship though soon becomes something more sinister. This is because there is a growing suspicion from those closest to the couple that Vic may be seeking revenge on all these men. Defined by a particularly terrifying turn by Affleck, there is still much eccentricity and dark absurdity to be found in Deep Water though that makes it all the more fun the longer it goes on. It reaches some unexpected heights of drama and suspense, pushing the limits of logic in an unhinged journey that defies all preconceived notions you may have of it. – Chase Hutchinson
Salt (2010)
Run Time: 1 hr 40 min | Director: Phillip Noyce
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Salt is an underrated action spy thriller starring Angelina Jolie(The Eternals). Directed by Phillip Noyce, Salt sees Jolie as a CIA agent who must go underground when a defector suggests she’s a sleeper agent for Russia. As Salt unfolds, the movie is filled with exciting heart-pumping stunts, fantastic performances from Jolie and co-star Liev Schreiber(Ray Donavan), and some enjoyable, albeit expected, twists. Although Noyce’s directing experience leans more towards dramas than action, his choices in Salt reveal his understanding of suspense. Salt is a lively movie with a great cast and even cooler action. – Yael Tygiel
Private Property (2022)
Run Time: 1 hr 27 min | Director: Chadd Harbold
Cast: Ashley Benson, Shiloh Fernandez
Listen: if you’re looking for an Oscar-worthy film, you’re not going to find it in Private Property. But if you want a fun, tense tale with some soapiness and steam, this is the perfect watch. The film stars Ashley Benson, best known for Pretty Little Liars, as Kathryn – an aspiring actress and bored housewife who begins an affair with her gardener Ben (Shiloh Fernandez). However, it quickly becomes evident that not everything is as it seems when it comes to him. Based on the 1960s film of the same name, this 2022 remake updates the tale of danger and deception. – Taylor Gates
Mother/Android (2021)
Run Time: 1 hr 50 min | Director: Mattson Tomlin
Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Algee Smith, Raúl Castillo
From writer/director Mattson Tomlin, Mother/Android broaches discussions of humanity and technology in a fascinating science-fiction adventure starring the incomparable Chloë Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass). Moretz’s phenomenal performance as a pregnant young woman attempting to reach safety after an android uprising has wiped out humanity is surprisingly believable, as Tomlin lays a satisfying foundation full of authenticity. Crossing vast landscapes, Mother/Android elicits suspense with unexpected and unsettling twists, creating a captivating story with heart-pumping action. – Yael Tygiel
Gemini (2017)
Run Time: 1 hr 33 min | Director: Aaron Katz
Cast: Zoë Kravitz, Lola Kirke, John Cho, Ricki Lake, Greta Lee
Written and directed by Aaron Katz, Gemini drew praise at the 2017 SXSW festival as Lola Kirke (Mozart in the Jungle) took center stage in this suspenseful mystery thriller. Starring highly recognizable names and faces, including Zoe Kravitz (Big Little Lies), John Cho (Star Trek), and Rikki Lake, the film is an introspective cerebral thriller that asks its audience to question everything they believe about fame and friendship. Kravitz plays a young but troubled Hollywood starlet whose steadfast and resolute assistant is left reeling after a horrific and mysterious incident causes her to explore her perceptions of the life she lived. – Yael Tygiel
Pig (2021)
Run Time: 1 hr 32 min | Director: Michael Sarnoski
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff, Adam Arkin
A film that is as engrossing and emotional as it is unexpected, Pigis Nicolas Cage at his absolute best. He plays the reclusive Rob, a truffle hunter living in the wilderness outside Portland with his beloved pig. He is still grappling with a profound loss and has isolated himself from ever having to feel pain again as a result. When pain comes to his front door and his pig is abducted, he will have to go into the big city to try to get it back. This sounds like it could be silly, but it is actually a sharply written story that becomes a more somber reflection on grief. The debut film from Michael Sarnoski, it sneaks up on you in all aspects of its construction. Everything from its delicate and enveloping score to its richly shot setting feels so beautiful that it is impossible to shake from your memory once you’ve seen it. – Chase Hutchinson
Death on the Nile (2021)
Run Time: 2 hr 7 min | Director: Kenneth Branagh
Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Letita Wright, Rose Leslie, Annette Bening, Russell Brand
Kenneth Branagh’s second Agatha Christie adaptation is much stronger than Murder on the Orient Express. Branagh expands the character of Hercule Poirot beyond a caricature, as the film explores his backstory of fighting in World War I. If Murder on the Orient Express fantasized about luxury, while Death on the Nilerevels in its depravity. Each of the suspects is morally detestable in their own way. Branagh balances Poirot’s playful energy with the intensity of the situation; even though the film is primarily set on one luxury cruise, there are a plethora of gorgeously rendered locations. Hopefully, it won’t be the last in this Poirot series. –Liam Gaughan
47 Meters Down (2017)
Run Time: 1 hr 29 min | Director: Johannes Roberts
Cast: Mandy Moore, Claire Holt, Matthew Modine, Chris Johnson, Yani Gellman, and Santiago Segura
In the incredibly intense 47 Meters Down, Lisa (Mandy Moore) and Kate (Claire Holt) are vacationing in Mexico when they decide to follow through on a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Unfortunately, their trip under the sea becomes a little too real when their cage falls to the bottom of the ocean, a shark circling them as their oxygen slowly runs out. Stranded, alone, and terrified, the sisters are forced to work together to try and find a way out, but as one can expect, nothing goes as planned. Will they escape before their oxygen runs out? Will the sharks attack them before they can even reach the surface, considering they must wait near it so they don’t get decompression sickness? Both Moore and Holt (but especially the former) shine in this exciting, scary, and haunting underwater adventure. – Jay Snow
Fresh (2022)
Run Time: 1 hr 57 min | Director: Mimi Cave
Cast: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sebastian Stan, Jojo T. Gibbs, Dayo Okeniyi, Charlotte Le Bon
Love never tasted quite like this before. Freshputs a bloody spin on modern dating and follows Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones), a woman who’s tired of going on bad dates and just wants to meet the right guy. While shopping in the grocery store, she meets Steve (Sebastian Stan), a good-looking, single, and charismatic fellow who tries his hand at flirting with Noa. The two hit it off rather quickly and go on a romantic weekend getaway. Things take a dark turn, however, when Noa learns that the man of her dreams isn’t at all what he advertised, and that every second with him is a second closer to death. Crippled by fear and hopelessness, Noa must do all she can to escape her nightmarish situation. –Emily Bernard
Nightmare Alley (2021)
Run Time: 2 hr 30 min | Director: Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Rooney Mara
Step right up, boys and girls! Based on the 1946 novel of the same name by William Lindsay Gresham, Nightmare Alley is a beautifully crafted neo-noir film from visual director Guillermo del Toro that tackles heavy subjects such as fear, insecurity, greed, and identity through the lens of its many misfit characters. Bradley Cooperleads the pack as Stanton Carlisle, a lowly, troubled carnival worker hoping to achieve his dreams of becoming a performative and world-renowned psychic. As he works his way up the carnival hierarchy, he gets to know the other outcasts in the industry, including clairvoyant Madame Zeena (Toni Collette), owner Clem (Willem Dafoe), and performer Molly (Rooney Mara). When a stubborn psychologist Dr. Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett) tries to expose him as a fraud, Stanton is forced to come up with an elaborate plan to keep his skin in the game. — Emily Bernard
Titane (2021)
Run Time: 1 hr 48 min | Director: Julia Ducournau
Cast: Vincent Lindon, Agathe Rousselle, Garance Marillier, Laïs Salameh
It’s not a figure of speech to say that Titaneis like nothing you’ve ever seen, and that it’s impossible to come out indifferent from it. The film follows a young woman who must disguise as a man to evade the police after committing a crime. And while that sounds like a pretty straightforward plot, Titane is all but clichê. With a single movie, French filmmaker Julia Ducournauwas able to discuss the social construction of genre identities, the subculture of car lovers, the possibilities of humans to modify their own body, and the family love that’s not tied by genes. Oh, and there’s also enough homoerotic energy in Titane to make any straight man uncomfortable and aroused at the same time. Plus, the body horror involving a woman getting pregnant by a car will probably scar your mind for life. That’s just how unique Titane really is. — Marco Vito Oddo
Shirley (2020)
Run Time: 1 hr 47 min | Director: Josephine Decker
Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Odessa Young, Michael Stuhlbarg
A film that shatters the limitations of the conventional biopic with a sense of grace and terror, Josephine Decker’s magnificent Shirley is one of the most interesting looks at a historic figure you’ll ever get the chance to see. It stars a formidable and fearsome Elisabeth Mossas the acclaimed author Shirley Jackson as she struggles with writing while taking on a new pair of tenants. Eschewing the typical narrative beats you’d expect from this type of story, the film settles into something both serene and strange with every passing scene. Full of betrayal and infidelity, it brings the troubled historic figure to life in a way no other story has nor ever will. It finds a real sense of emotional depth that is intermixed with more impressionistic sequences that lodge themselves in your mind. It all serves as a wonderful reminder that Decker remains one of the most unique directors working today. – Chase Hutchinson
No Exit (2022)
Run Time: 1 hr 35 min | Director: Damien Power
Cast: Havana Rose Liu, Danny Ramirez, David Rysdahl, Mila Harris, Dennis Haysbert, Dale Dickey
No Exitfollows a group of five strangers as they wait out a blizzard in a rural mountain visitor’s center. Darby (Havana Rose Liu) is a recovering addict who sneaks out of rehab to visit her dying mother. Ed (Dennis Haysbert) and Sandi (Dale Dickey) are a married couple on their way to Reno for a vacation. Lars (David Rsydahl) is a quiet loner who gets jumpy when Darby tries to get to know everyone. Ash (Danny Ramirez) is sleeping when Darby first arrives but later reveals that he’s visiting his parents in Denver. Things escalate when Darby discovers a child in the back of a van in the parking lot while trying to find cell service. Uncertain who the van belongs to, Darby has to work carefully to find out who she can trust and how she can rescue Jay (Mila Harris) before the storm clears in the morning. The tension in No Exit starts building as soon as Darby arrives at the rest stop and doesn’t break until the very end. Despite its small cast of characters and their seemingly clear-cut characteristics, No Exit is able to pull off a whodunnit-style mystery full of twists that will keep you on edge. – Brynna Arens
Run (2020)
Run Time: 1 hr 30 min | Director: Aneesh Chaganty
Cast: Sarah Paulson, Kiera Allen, Sara Sohn
A mother-daughter bond like no other. The mysterious thriller Runfollows the routine-oriented life of homeschooled high school senior Chloe Sherman (Kiera Allen) who is eager to venture off to college and be on her own for the first time. Due to complications at a young age, Chloe uses a wheelchair and suffers from asthma. Her protective mother Diane (Sarah Paulson) has tended to her every need since birth and keeps a tight academic and medicine schedule. The more Chloe starts to think of life beyond the walls of her home, however, the more she suspects that her mother might be doing her more harm than good. Run, don’t walk, to Hulu and watch the eerie events unfold. –Emily Bernard
Looper (2012)
Run Time: 1 hr 59 min | Director: Rian Johnson
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Paul Dano, Emily Blunt
Time travel movies are often pretty confusing, and it’s easy to get lost in the plot mechanics. Thankfully, brilliant writer/director Rian Johnsonhas a knack for bringing the emotion into his subversive, entertaining genre films. Looper is a morality tale about the acceptance of destiny. Set in the distant future, the film pairs the assassin Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) against his future self (Bruce Willis). Not only is it one one of the darker roles of Levitt’s career, but one of the best late stage performances from the legendary Willis. The impressive makeup effects transform Gordon-Levitt into a younger version of Willis; this is who we should have gotten to play John McClane’s son in A Good Day to Die Hard! – Liam Gaughan
False Positive (2021)
Run Time: 1 hr 32 min | Director: John Lee
Cast: Ilana Glazer, Justin Theroux, Pierce Brosnan
Whatever you’ve heard about the film that is False Positive, throw all that out the window because you really haven’t fully experienced it until you’ve seen it for yourself. Even as it is deeply flawed, there is something strange and compelling that is found at its core unlike any other film of recent memory. It centers on Lucy (Ilana Glazer) who is trying to get pregnant but has the sinking feeling that there is something wrong about the whole process with her doctor, Dr. Hindle (Pierce Brosnan). However, her husband Adrian (Justin Theroux) seems to think everything is fine so she goes along with it at first. Everything else that follows is both unsettling and unexpected, taking you for a ride that arrives at a wholly unhinged conclusion. – Chase Hutchinson
Memories of Murder (2009)
Run Time: 2 hr 11 min | Director: Bong Joon Ho
Cast: Kang-ho Song, Kim Sang-Kyung, Roe-ha Kim, Jae-ho Song, Byun Hee-Bong
Crime, comedy, and color are king in this David Fincher-esque Korean serial killer thriller. Based on a string of killings in the Korean countryside in the 1980s, Memories of Murder chronicles two detectives trying to catch the killer. Detective Park (Kang-ho Song) is a local cop who is slow to embrace evolving theories on criminal psychology and ethical law enforcement practice. He’s partnered with a federal detective from Seol, Kim Sang–Kyung—a city detective shocked by the growing number of brutal killings in the small Korean Town. Their desperation to catch the killer drives them in opposing directions when confronted with frequent failure. Bong Joon Ho often integrates a political or social message into his movies, and Memories of Murder is no exception. The criticism of police training, practices, and mindset is at the forefront of every interrogation and every crime scene investigation. The bleak tone is broken up by cracks of comedy also endemic to Bong Joon Ho’s body of work, but even the comedy is at the expense of the police or their victims. A strange visual darkening of the film isn’t enough to mar the stunning and scenic Korean countryside—including one of the most beautiful title cards in all of film history.
Parasite (2019)
Run Time: 2 hr 12 min | Director: Bong Joon Ho
Cast: Kang-ho Song, Sun-kyun Lee, Yeo-jeong Cho, Woo-sik Choi, So-dam Park
The fourth and final Bong Joon Ho thriller included on the list is the 2019 Academy Award best picture winner, Parasite. It’s quirky, it’s sad, it’s a scathing critique of capitalism and classism in the form of a film about two families—one rich, one poor. Desperation and greed tempt the low-income family into unethical, immoral decisions that erode their very being while the rich family subscribes to their services blissfully unaware of the con they’ve been crafted into. Parasite draws its tension from its unpredictability. Decisions, consequences, and threats of secrets exposed are the central conflict for the main cast of characters scrambling to collect enough capital to live life comfortably. It’s witty and nuanced, and it doesn’t celebrate the dark decisions of the Kim family, only explains them. There are no good guys left by the end of this film—the free market forest makes animals of us all.
Possessor (2020)
Run Time: 1 hr 43 min | Director: Brandon Cronenberg
Cast: Andrea Riseborough, Christopher Abbot, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rossif Sutherland
Possessor is one of the most creative and thoroughly developed original science fiction thrillers of the last decade. The old-timey cars, modern vapes, and flip phones give Possessor a setting all its own. The story of the corporate assassin who highjacks people’s bodies to use them as vessels for murder is as original as it is psychedelic. It’s a dissection of identity and control smothered under layers of practical effects. The mental struggle for control over the body of Colin Tate (Christopher Abbot) is eerie and weird. Trippy editing and stellar special effects create wild mind-melding segments meant to demonstrate the process of assimilating with and domineering one’s mind. The trippy intermissions are sporadically interjected between Tassia Vas (Andrea Riseborough) stalking and executing her targets. Every violent encounter is exceptionally graphic. The explicit and shocking displays may offer too steep a hurdle for some viewers, but for ironed gut audiences, Possessor offers a truly distinct sci-fi experience.
