The 25 Best Movies on Hulu Right Now
Hulu doesn’t always get the recognition from competitors like Netflix and Max, but the streamer has a robust and rotating selection of theatrical films, as well as some impressive original releases. These are some of the best, trendiest, and/or funniest movies currently streaming across a variety of genres.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)
Despite the awkward title, this fourth installment in the modern Apes series retains the technical prowess of its predecessors, as well as their revolutionary spirit, while also serving as a soft reboot that doesn’t require extensive knowledge of what came before. Several generations after the death of Andy Serkis’ Caesar, human civilization continues to decline; Owen Teague plays Noth, a young chimpanzee forced to leave his home when a tyrannical rival faction of apes destroys his village due to distorted and contradictory interpretations of Caesar’s teachings. This is an impressive sequel to our smartest and most consistent modern film franchise. Hulu also has a variety of earlier Apes films.
We are all strangers (2023)
A ghost story, at least on the surface, All of Us Strangers follows lonely screenwriter Adam (Andrew Scott) as he begins a romantic relationship with his mysterious neighbor Harry (Paul Mescal), the only occupants of an impressive new apartment. building. This relationship prompts Adam to return to his family home, where he discovers that his (long-dead) parents are very lively and well-behaved. From here the film goes into dark places, reminding us that loss is an inevitable part of life, yes, but also that the only real comfort is forgetting and moving on. Emotionally raw (be prepared, honestly), but beautiful.
First Sign (2024)
These legacy sequels either failed, but more so the latter than the former. If you had told me that the prequel to this long-defunct franchise would be one of the most effective horror films of 2024, I would have looked at you the same way everyone looked at Gregory Peck when he tried to kill his Satanic child way back in the day. Original 1976. But here we are! First-time director Arkasha Stevenson brings a ton of ’70s period style and an appropriately paranoid atmosphere to the story of the birth of future Antichrist Damien, mixing (extremely timely!) themes of bodily autonomy with genuine horror – and one of the most bizarre birth scenes yet. in the history of cinema.
Sandbox (1993)
An unashamedly nostalgic coming-of-age film that became an object of nostalgia in its own right. This ’60s summer classic follows Scott Smalls (Tom Guiry), a new kid in a friendless town who knows nothing about baseball (appropriately) but takes a job on the local sandlot team, hoping to fake it ’til he makes it. It’s full of quirky characters and follows all the expected storylines, and despite a mixed reception back in 1993, it has shown impressive staying power among the kids who watched it growing up. Watching is necessary if only to better understand why a middle-aged man can sometimes be heard randomly shouting, “You’re killing me, Smalls!”
Triangle of Sadness (2022)
One of the darkest (and funniest) satires in recent memory, Ruben Östlund’s wild film feels like at least three films in one, with narratives that take sharp turns to the right at unexpected moments, striking at greed and completely skewering capitalism. The haunting central section aboard a luxury cruise ship, divided between the haves (passengers) and the have-nots (crew), culminates in literal explosions of vomit and shit. And that’s before the nice Lord of the Flies- inspired role reversal. Great and fun if you have the courage for it.
Split (2016)
M. Night Shyamalan is one of our most interesting but inconsistent directors. However, Split represents the high point. James McAvoy gives a wonderful performance as a man with dissociative identity disorder who kidnaps and imprisons three young women in an underground bunker. Depending on his dominant personality, McAvoy is sometimes the hero and sometimes the villain, but he clearly has fun playing at least nine different characters. The film’s portrayal of DID is quite problematic, but even so far it’s pretty fun.
The Worst Person in the World (2021)
Renata Reinswe brilliantly plays Julie, a medical student (briefly) who has no idea what she wants to do with her life and is completely afraid of commitment to anyone or anything. She’s that tired movie trope: the scruffy twenty-something young woman you’ve seen before in other, lesser films. However, The Worst Man in the World plays to its strengths, offering all the joys of cinematic romantic dramas we’ve seen before while feeling a little more like real life. People are dirty! It’s all amazingly sweet and life-affirming.
Extraction (2022)
It’s wild that the best Predator movie since the first (and arguably even better) was only released for streaming on Hulu. Regardless of whether the film deserves a theatrical release, Prey is a thrilling action movie that expands the Predator universe while also feeling deeply personal. The film takes place on the Great Plains in 1719. In Prey, Amber Midgrom plays Nara, a young Comanche warrior who finds himself the only person who can protect his tribe from a hunter from outer space.
Country of Nomads (2020)
After Fern (Frances McDormand) loses her job at a plaster factory, she sells everything and buys a van to live and travel while she looks for work (including in an Amazon warehouse – fun!). Affections come and go along her travels, as writer-director Chloe Zhao’s funny, elegiac film examines life within America’s increasingly unstable capitalist system while also exploring broader themes of permanence and impermanence.
Promised Land (2023)
In 18th-century Denmark, failed war hero Captain Ludvig Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen) hopes to turn his meager pension into a kind of life for himself, cultivating a piece of vast wilderness that no one else has. was able to do something. The greedy local judge quickly finds that Kalen’s reputation threatens him with the intention of ruining all his plans. Beautiful, but dark and forbidding, the Scandinavian drama is reminiscent of an old-school Western in many ways.
Happiest Season (2020)
It’s never too early for winter holidays! (Let’s say there are a lot of wonderful people who are definitely not me.) Hulu’s Happiest Season probably doesn’t belong on any list of cinematic masterpieces. Very few (if any) films in the modern Hallmark-style Homecoming for Christmas genre would clear such a bar. However, there’s a reason we love these things, and it adds a little prestige to its charm in both the cast (Kristen Stewart, Aubrey Plaza, Victor Garber, etc.) and the director (Clea Duvall). . What’s more, the film became a strong standard-bearer for queer representation in 2020, which ushered in a small but significant wave of LGBTQIA+ holiday films.
Fire Island (2022)
Or maybe you prefer gay films with a warmer atmosphere? A queer, modern take on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice , Fire Island also takes aim at the overabundance of fat/feminine/Asian stereotypes in the gay community. Social commentary aside, it’s also a funny, smart romantic comedy with a great cast that includes Joel Kim Booster (as Lizzie Bennett – he also wrote the script), Bowen Yang, Conrad Ricamora and Margaret Cho as a group of friends who meet every summer head to the titular island, but this summer turns out to be more dramatic (and romantic) than most.
Deep Water (2022)
Adrian Lyne ( 9.5 Weeks , Fatal Attraction and Indecent Proposal) returned to the director’s chair after a two-decade absence from this Hulu original. Ben Affleck is probably the rough equivalent of past leading men in star power and sex appeal, and Ana de Armas is a good choice as the second lead, even if the casting reminds us that the age gap in these films will always favor the idea of an older man with a much younger woman. Here, Affleck’s Vic agrees to ignore his wife’s string of affairs to save his marriage, but then becomes the prime suspect when her lovers start turning up dead. It’s a solid production (taken from Patricia Highsmith’s novel) that isn’t entirely coherent, but still serves as a fun throwback to the golden age of sexy thrillers.
Oh brother, where are you? (2000)
The Coen brothers are taking on Homer’s Odyssey, even if it’s not strictly speaking a faithful adaptation. Three workers in Mississippi in 1937 decide to escape, led by Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney). A team of prisoners face almost mythical obstacles on their way to freedom, as well as rumored treasure hidden in buried treasure.
Akira (1988)
For many people who have only ever seen one anime movie, this is the one. Akira’s incredible kinetic animation and detailed cityscape set a new standard for the form: writer-director Katsuhiro Otomo and company spawned a new animated world with this film, and we’re still living in it today. The classic cyberpunk takes place in a dystopian 2019 (well, unlike our 2019), where biker Kaneda is forced to fight his friend Tetsuo after the latter gains telekinetic powers in an accident. There’s more to Akira than just action, and it’s intense enough that the uninitiated may have a hard time following it, but it’s a film that gets bigger with every scene.
Poor things (2023)
The film, at the center of debates about movies being too dirty for the sensitive sensibilities of American audiences, received a shocking 11 Academy Award nominations, including best picture. Not bad. Emma Stone plays Bella Baxter, Frankenstein’s monster trying to find her place in the Victorian world with the help of her lecherous lawyer friend Duncan (Mark Ruffalo).
Infinity Pool (2023)
Writer-director Brandon Cronenberg (David’s son) brings a palpable fury and an unerring sense of style to this blend of sci-fi and horror, even as it crosses genre classifications like his famous father’s best work. A couple on vacation in a foreign country leave their resort and break the law, only to discover that for a price they can pass on the punishment to their clones.
Ghosts in Venice (2023)
These adaptations of Kenneth Branagh’s Poirot weren’t to everyone’s taste (I’m an old-school Agatha Christie fan and enjoyed them all); however, this third one is almost certainly the best of the bunch. As atmospheric as they are, this is a thoroughly creepy murder story set in a crumbling Venetian palazzo on Halloween. Tina Fey joins the cast as Agatha Christie’s leading lady Ariadne Oliver, while recent Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh plays the medium who starts it all.
13 Killers (2010)
Near the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the completely sadistic (not to mention corrupt) Lord Naritsugu would be offered a seat on the Shogunate Council, a promotion that would not only increase the brutal lord’s power, but would likely start a civic spirit. a war between his supporters and those who hate him. The shogun’s minister of justice decides that murder is the only option and hires a dozen samurai to carry out the execution. Kinetic and violent, the film reminds us that director Takashi Miike made a name for himself with several memorable, visceral horror films.
How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2023)
A non-fiction work adapted into an action film, How to Blow Up a Pipeline is about eight people who blow up an oil pipeline in two different locations. The film, like the book on which it is based, argues that property damage is not the worst thing in the face of environmental disaster, but the level of commitment required to carry out such an act takes a deeply personal toll.
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
The deeply, deeply silly premise, in which a divorced father reunites with his family while disguised as an elderly British nanny, is enhanced by lead performances from Robin Williams and Sally Field. Williams is at his best, but both he and Field play the emotional beats for all they’re worth.
Theater Camp (2023)
Paying homage to summer camp and theater kids in general, wrapped in a musical mockumentary in the style of Christopher Guest, “Theater Camp” finds a group of aspiring actors putting on a performance in honor of the camp’s comatose founder, played by Amy Sedaris. It’s a lot of fun, especially for former playwrights.
Midnight Kiss (2019)
Technically an episode of Hulu’s Into the Dark anthology, the feature-length Midnight Kiss follows a group of gay friends (and their straight friends) as they travel to a gorgeous desert location as part of an annual tradition: each of them will pick someone. randomly kiss at midnight. Old grudges resurface, brought on (unbeknownst to most of them) by a serial killer. It wouldn’t be a spoiler to suggest that not all of them will make it to the New Year.
Quiz Lady (2023)
Awkwafina and Sandra Oh play two sisters. It’s a wild road trip comedy in the tradition of ’90s masterpieces like Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion . One is tightly wound, the other is a complete mess. They are forced to work together to pay off their mother’s gambling debts, and the problem becomes more complicated when a loan shark kidnaps the dog and holds it hostage in exchange for money. It’s a good thing Awkwafina’s character is a quiz scientist who drowned her childhood sorrows by binge-watching a Jeopardy -style game show with a big cash prize.
Bad Boys for Life (2020)
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are back together after nearly 20 years, and shockingly, this third film in the series doesn’t just hold up—it outperforms its Michael Bay predecessors. The directorial team of Adil El Arbi and Bilal Fallah knows how to get the most out of the chemistry between the film’s leads without stopping the action. It breathed new life into a seemingly dead franchise and spawned a damn good sequel.