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The best thrillers on Hulu right now

A woman looking to the side, a man with his head down behind her in Gone Girl.
20th Century Fox

If you’re in the mood for a thriller, this guide has you covered. The best thrillers on Hulu right now range from thought-provoking psychological thrillers to terrifying horror thrillers and everything in between. That’s the beauty of the genre: you can pick and choose the slant for a thriller that suits your mood and interests.

There are tons of great thrillers on Hulu, dating back to Alien, a classic from the 1970s. It is even joined by all of its many sequels in the franchise, so you can have a movie marathon. If that isn’t your flavor, consider other notable titles like Fight Club, Black Swan, and Fresh starring Sebastian Stan.

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Need more recommendations? Then check out the best new movies to stream this week, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.

Also, be sure to give the Disney Bundle a look — it’ll get you Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+ for one price. That way, you’ll get thrillers and more from Hulu, plus tons of other great content.

Recently added to Hulu

Alien (1979)

Alien
117m
Genre
Horror, Science Fiction
Stars
Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright
Directed by
Ridley Scott
Watch on Hulu
This Ridley Scott gem is not on its own for streaming: it’s joined by all the other films in the iconic franchise, including Alien 3, Alien Resurrection, Alien vs. Predator, Alien: Covenant, Aliens, Aliens vs Predator Requiem, and Alien: Romulus. This is the one, however, that started it all, and the sci-fi horror thriller to kick off your marathon viewing. Sigourney Weaver is Ripley, a warrant officer of a spaceship trying to take down a deadly alien creature.

With a new Alien TV series launching in 2025 on FX on Hulu, it’s the perfect time to rewatch all these classics. Travel through the decades, right up to the latest 2024 flick, Alien: Romulus, to gear up for a new interpretation of the story. Nothing will ever compare to the original, however, which solidified Weaver as a badass female lead and the concept as one of the most enduring in the genre.

Notes on a Scandal (2006)

Notes on a Scandal
92m
Genre
Drama, Romance
Stars
Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Bill Nighy
Directed by
Richard Eyre
Watch on Hulu

It’s no surprise Notes on a Scandal earned Oscar recognition with Dame Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, and Bill Nighy heading up the cast. A British psychological drama thriller, the central story is that of Barbara (Dench), a lonely, disliked teacher who discovers that fellow teacher Sheba (Blanchett), whom she has grown infatuated with, has been having an affair with an underage student. Now, Barbara has found an intriguing purpose as she keeps herself busy and Sheba on edge.

Keep an eye out for other recognizable faces among the cast, including Juno Temple (Ted Lasso, Fargo) and Anne-Marie Duff (Bad Sisters).

Fight Club (1999)

Fight Club
139m
Genre
Drama
Stars
Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter
Directed by
David Fincher
Watch on Hulu

Even those who have never seen this movie know that the first rule of Fight Club is that you never talk about Fight Club. The psychological thriller with one of the best, most shocking endings puts Brad Pitt and Edward Norton’s incredible acting on full display. Norton’s character, who doesn’t actually have a name, forms a fight club in a basement with the mysterious Tyler Durden (Pitt), a soap salesman whom he comes across and befriends.

Using this club as a way to deal with dissatisfaction with his job and his severe insomnia, the man is soon at odds with Tyler as they grow the club; he starts to feel sidelined. The ending of Fight Club is one you won’t see coming if you have managed to avoid this well-known spoiler for the last 26 years. Even if you know how it ends, though, Fight Club, one of David Fincher’s best movies, is one of those movies that fans love to watch more than once.

Black Swan (2010)

Black Swan
109m
Genre
Drama, Thriller, Horror
Stars
Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel
Directed by
Darren Aronofsky
Watch on Hulu

You’ll be deeply disturbed by the events in Black Swan, a psychological horror thriller from Darren Aronofsky that follows a New York City Ballet production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. The White Swan is played by the sweet and innocent Nina (Natalie Portman), and the dark and sensual Black Swan is played by rival Lily (Mila Kunis). But the pressure on Nina to compete for the coveted role becomes too much, and she descends into madness.

Our reviewer cuts Black Swan down to its primary theme, the cost of beauty and desire for perfection. “It is both beautiful and devastating,” he says, “…[with] moments that are difficult to watch.” He even goes so far as to call it one of the best movies of its year of release.

Gone Girl (2014)

Gone Girl
149m
Genre
Mystery, Thriller, Drama
Stars
Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris
Directed by
David Fincher
Watch on Hulu

Gone Girl made such an impression that the movie title has become part of common vernacular. Typically used to reference a situation whereby a woman has faked an event with blame being placed on her significant other in the process, that’s essentially the premise of this David Fincher film. Amy (Rosamund Pike) goes missing, and instantly, the fingers start to point to her husband, Nick (Ben Affleck). His every word, action, even mannerism or facial expression, is scrutinized and twisted to present as evidence of his guilt.

But, as the plot later confirms in one of the most shocking midpoint twists in movie history, things aren’t always what they seem. Gone Girl is a brilliant film that will get you thinking about perception, media manipulation, and your own inherent biases. Plus, it has a fantastic cast that also includes Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, and Carrie Coon.

Man on Fire (2004)

Man on Fire
146m
Genre
Action, Drama, Thriller
Stars
Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Christopher Walken
Directed by
Tony Scott
Watch on Hulu

If you love some Denzel Washington, Man on Fire is one of his most electrifying films and nuanced action characters. He’s John Creasy, a former marine and CIA officer who has been burying his sorrows in alcohol. When a young girl named Lupita (Fanning), who he was tasked to protect, is kidnapped, however, he forgets all thoughts of suicide and sets out for revenge in the most violent way possible.

Man on Fire is about a man who found a purpose in the face of severe depression. Creasy becomes obsessed with taking down anyone who gets in his way of saving this little girl and bringing justice to those who have captured her. Critics may not have loved the movie, and it isn’t one of Washington’s Oscar-worthy flicks. But as an edge-of-your-seat popcorn movie, it’s perfect.

Taken (2008)

Taken
94m
Genre
Action, Thriller
Stars
Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen
Directed by
Pierre Morel
Watch on Hulu

Everyone knows the line about Liam Neeson’s “special set of skills,” but have you ever watched the film from which it originates? Even if you have, how long has it been since you last watched Taken? The action-thriller is one of the actor’s most known movies in which he stars as Bryan Mills, a retired ex-CIA agent who goes on a rampage when his teenage daughter and her best friend are kidnapped by a human trafficking terrorist group while on vacation in France.

Taken is one of those movies with amazing re-watch value and the film that solidified Neeson’s status as one of the greatest action movie stars of his generation. Spawning two movie sequels and a TV series, Taken’s plot doesn’t go deep, but the action, fight scenes, and intensity are off the charts.

Speed (1994)

Speed
116m
Genre
Action, Thriller
Stars
Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock
Directed by
Jan de Bont
Watch on Hulu

Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2024, there’s arguably no other action thriller that sustains the same level of intensity all the way through like Speed. It begins when LAPD SWAT bomb disposal officer Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves) learns that an extortionist has rigged a city bus with a bomb that will explode if the vehicle ever travels below 50 miles per hour. Jack bravely boards the bus to help stop the literal ticking time bomb, but when the driver is accidentally shot, Jack looks to random passenger Annie Porter (Sandra Bullock) to take over. Together, the two work in a frantic state to keep the bus moving, until they can help get the passengers off and defuse the bomb.

Speed is an edge-of-your-seat action movie, with Reeves and Bullock making a formidable pair. The movie has received universal praise as a fantastic popcorn thriller, helping solidify Reeves as a top leading man. It’s exciting no matter how many times you’ve watched it.

Sanctuary (2023)

Sanctuary
96m
Genre
Drama, Thriller
Stars
Margaret Qualley, Christopher Abbott, Danita Battle
Directed by
Zachary Wigon
Watch on Hulu

If you’re looking for something psychological with dark comedic undertones, Sanctuary will satiate your appetite for a thriller that touches on these themes. Margaret Qualley is Rebecca, a dominatrix, and Christopher Abbott is Hal, her client. It’s their final session of welcome degradation and humiliation before Hal reveals that he can no longer see Rebecca. He’s about to take on the demanding role of CEO for his company, and their relationship just isn’t a fit for his new life. Angered by being tossed aside, Rebecca decides to put her own business learnings to use and demands that Hal pay her half his salary. It’s her actions, after all, that turned him from weak man to leader. It’s easy to guess what she threatens him with should he not comply. Now, Hal is being humiliated and shamed for real, without deriving any sexual pleasure from it.

A terrifying tale of a man being challenged by a woman who maintains her power dynamic in a scenario he doesn’t want, Sanctuary follows Hal’s descent as he desperately tries to save his career and reputation. Receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews, Rotten Tomatoes-accredited reviewer Matt Pais of MattPais.com describes Sanctuary as playing “mental pinball and sexual chess and psychological sudoku set to expert.”

How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2023)

How to Blow Up a Pipeline
104m
Genre
Crime, Drama, Thriller
Stars
Ariela Barer, Kristine Froseth, Lukas Gage
Directed by
Daniel Goldhaber
Watch on Hulu

Praised for its focus on timely eco-related topics, How to Blow Up a Pipeline is set in West Texas. A group of young residents decide bold steps are needed to get their point across. So, they devise a plan to blow up an oil pipeline, their radical response to the climate crisis. The film examines their actions and the morality of them: Are these young individuals activists or terrorists?

Featuring an ensemble cast that includes Lukas Gage (The White Lotus, Euphoria), Marcus Scribner (Black-ish), Ariela Barer (Runaways), and Kristine Froseth (The Buccaneers), Forbes’ Scott Phillips classifies How to Blow Up a Pipeline both as a “top-notch thriller” and an “examination of our modern political system where the voices of individual citizens seem to carry no weight.”

No One Will Save You (2023)

No One Will Save You
93m
Genre
Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller
Stars
Kaitlyn Dever, Elizabeth Kaluev, Zack Duhame
Directed by
Brian Duffield
Watch on Hulu

If you’re looking for a thriller that skews more toward horror, No One Will Save You fits the bill. The movie centers around Brynn (Dopesick’s Kaitlyn Dever), a young woman living as a recluse. She has been shunned by her neighbors, so she spends her days and nights making a model town in her living room and mourning the loss of her best friend and mother. But when there’s a home invasion and Brynn discovers aliens have taken over, her life is turned upside down.

An interestingly quiet movie (there are only five words of dialogue through the entire thing), No One Will Save You is like nothing else you’ve ever seen. It has elements of horror and sci-fi smashed into one, with a commanding performance from Dever that will have you convinced she’s a widely underrated breakout star.

Prey (2022)

Prey
100m
Genre
Thriller, Action, Science Fiction
Stars
Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, Michelle Thrush
Directed by
Dan Trachtenberg
Watch on Hulu

If you love Predator, you’ll want to check out Prey. The sci-fi action thriller serves as a prequel to the first four movies. Set in 1719 in the Great Plains, it follows Naru (Amber Midthunder), a young Comanche woman who wants to prove that she’s a good hunter. To do so, she does whatever is necessary to protect her people from a humanoid alien that is attacking them. She also has to fight off French fur traders who are after the buffalo she and her people need to survive.

Nominated for six Primetime Emmy Awards, Prey was also the first in the franchise to win one, for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special. Critics say Prey stands on its own, so it’s worth watching even for those who have never watched other films in the franchise.

Girl in the Basement (2021)

Girl in the Basement
88m
Genre
Crime, Thriller, TV Movie
Stars
Judd Nelson, Stefanie Scott, Joely Fisher
Directed by
Elisabeth Röhm
Watch on Hulu

This Lifetime movie is terrifyingly inspired by the real-life case of Josef Fritzl from Austria and his teenage daughter Elisabeth. In Girl in the Basement, the young girl is Sara (Stefanie Scott) a teen with so much potential who is excited for the arrival of her 18th birthday. She’s anxious for the day to come because finally, as a legal adult, she can escape the clutches of her controlling father Don (Judd Nelson).

However, before Sara can leave, her father does the unthinkable: he kidnaps her, keeping her imprisoned in the basement over what would eventually become a period of 24 harrowing years. Through that time, he rapes and assaults her, resulting in the birth of seven children. While Girl in the Basement is a dramatization of this disturbing true story, knowing the real story behind it makes the movie even more haunting.

Clock (2023)

Clock
92m
Genre
Horror, Thriller
Stars
Dianna Agron, Melora Hardin, Jay Ali
Directed by
Alexis Jacknow
Watch on Hulu

Dianna Agron (Glee) stars as Ella in this sci-fi horror thriller with a premise that’s all-too-familiar for Millennial women nowadays. Ella is a 37-year-old woman who, despite being constantly pressured by friends and family members to start a family, has no interest in having children. But her journey to living life how she wants eventually takes a twisted, horrifying turn.

When Ella secretly undergoes an experimental treatment to help speed up her biological clock, she starts seeing and doing things she can’t quite control and doesn’t quite understand.

Fresh (2022)

Fresh
114m
Genre
Horror, Thriller, Comedy
Stars
Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sebastian Stan, Jojo T. Gibbs
Directed by
Mimi Cave
Watch on Hulu

After repeated frustration with dating apps, Noa (Where the Crawdads Sing‘s Daisy Edgar-Jones) decides to pursue things the old-fashioned way when she has a chance meeting with a striking man at the grocery store. Steve (Sebastian Stan) at first appears to be the perfect gentleman, sweeping Noa off her feet. So, she’s not hesitant at all to jump right into his invitation to spend a romantic weekend away.

But upon arrival, Noa discovers that Steve is hiding a dark, ominous secret. Her life is in serious danger and she’s in for a sick and twisted ride. Fresh is described as both upsetting and provocative but also widely praised for putting a modern spin on the traditional horror genre.

Down (2019)

Down
82m
Genre
Horror, Science Fiction, Drama
Stars
Natalie Martinez, Matt Lauria, Christina Leone
Directed by
Daniel Stamm
Watch on Hulu
Spending Valentine’s Day stuck on an elevator isn’t anybody’s idea of a good time. However, it seems to work out for Guy (Matt Lauria) and Jennifer (Natalie Martinez) in Down, a Hulu original movie. Both Guy and Jennifer are workers in a high rise who inadvertently become trapped over a long holiday weekend. At first, it seems like love is in the air and they appear to be natural romantic partners for each other. But all is not what it appears to be, and when the truth comes out, Guy and Jennifer will be at each other’s throats.
Into the Dark: Down Trailer (Official) • A Hulu Original

Pig (2021)

Pig
82%
6.9/10
r
91m
Genre
Drama, Thriller
Stars
Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff, Adam Arkin
Directed by
Michael Sarnoski
Watch on Hulu
Pig is collecting a ton of attention lately, by way of both bountiful media mentions and general word-of-mouth exchanges — and for plenty of good reasons. The film follows Rob (Nicolas Cage), a reclusive ex-chef living in the woods of Oregon. Now a truffle hunter, Rob scours the wilderness with his prized foraging pig. After a run-in with a gang of assailants, Rob’s pig is stolen. Connecting with a local contact (Alex Wolff), Rob follows the single lead he has to his swine’s whereabouts, plunging the self-proclaimed hermit into the seedy underbelly of Portland. An astonishing feature debut from writer-director Michael Sarnoski, Pig is a poignant film with an equally-poignant lead performance from Nicholas Cage, reminding us that the actor is capable of much more than camp.
Pig Trailer #1 (2021) | Movieclips Trailers

The Secrets We Keep (2020)

The Secrets We Keep
48%
5.8/10
r
97m
Genre
Thriller, History
Stars
Noomi Rapace, Joel Kinnaman, Chris Messina
Directed by
Yuval Adler
Watch on Hulu
In the post-World War II suburbs of America, Romanian immigrant Maja (Noomi Rapace) lives with her husband and young son. Still plagued by visions of horrific war crimes committed against her, Maja’s seemingly tranquil surface level is deeply disturbed when she encounters a man walking her streets, a gentleman she recognizes as an ex-SS officer who attacked her years before. What follows is a spiraling story of despair, regret, and past lives resurfacing. While not reinventing the genre, The Secrets We Keep leans successfully on its central talents, particularly Rapace. A Hitchcock-inspired thriller for modern-day audiences, we found it more than fitting for inclusion.
The Secrets We Keep Trailer #1 (2020) | Movieclips Trailers

Run (2020)

Run
67%
6.7/10
pg-13
90m
Genre
Thriller, Horror, Drama
Stars
Sarah Paulson, Kiera Allen, Pat Healy
Directed by
Aneesh Chaganty
Watch on Hulu
Sarah Paulson is having a moment — well, she’s always having a moment. The star actress is capping off the year with Run, an intense thriller originally set for theatrical release on Mother’s Day 2020, instead now exclusive to Hulu. Paulson stars as a mother who seems to be harboring a deep secret, as her isolated daughter Chloe is slowly discovering. Kiera Allen, who plays Chloe, matches Paulson scene for scene and advances the conversation about representation in film, as Allen is a wheelchair-bound actress. Run is the highlight of original movies that arrived to the streaming service in November.
Run (2020 Movie) Official Trailer – Sarah Paulson, Kiera Allen
Movie images and data from:
Michael Bizzaco
Former AV Contributor

Michael Bizzaco has been selling, installing, and talking about TVs, soundbars, streaming devices, and all things smart home for the better part of 15 years. He even knows a thing or two about how to fix this stuff when it starts misbehaving (because no tech is perfect!).

Mike has been writing for Digital Trends and several other publications since 2020. Fortunately, he’s still able to write after he got his index finger stuck in a vending machine at the Ramada Inn the summer before fourth grade! From hands-on reviews to best-of roundups, Mike does his best to share his expertise in a friendly and informative way with all readers, and loves staying on top of the latest AV and smart home trends.

When he’s not thanking his father for dislodging his finger from that vile vending machine in New Jersey, Mike enjoys playing guitar, reading, and indulging in horror films with his girlfriend.

Christine Persaud

Christine has decades of experience in trade and consumer journalism. While she started her career writing exclusively about tech, she now writes about everything from tech to entertainment, business, lifestyle, and more. An admitted TV junkie (feel free to reach out for recommendations on what to watch!), if she's not working or hanging out with friends and family, she's probably relaxing with a crisp glass of wine while binging her latest TV series obsession. Follow her on Twitter @christinetechCA.

 

 

 

 

Blair Marnell

Blair Marnell has been an entertainment journalist for over 15 years. His bylines have appeared in Wizard Magazine, Geek Monthly, SYFY Wire, Superhero Hype, Collider, DC Universe, and the official sites for Star Trek and Marvel. He also lends his pop culture expertise to Digital Trends on a variety of TV, movie, and streaming features.

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