The great thing about sci-fi movies on Hulu is that there’s always an abundance of films in this genre from the 20th Century Fox library alone. But genre fans can’t live on just Alien, Predator, or Alien vs. Predator. We need a little variety with these fantastic adventures, because there’s only so many times we can watch all of the Planet of the Apes movies.
This month’s picks for the three great sci-fi movies on Hulu that you need to watch in May are all from outside studios. They include Vin Diesel’s favorite sci-fi franchise, a 2021 science fiction thriller starring Hugh Jackman, and an unusual sci-fi buddy comedy that goes in some very unexpected directions.
The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
It says a lot about Vin Diesel’s charisma that he played a serial killer, Richard B. Riddick, in Pitch Black, and audiences loved him despite his character’s near-complete lack of empathy. The Chronicles of Riddick doesn’t lack ambition as it tries to reframe Riddick in a more heroic light while expanding his personal mythology to include his connection to a potentially lost race of warriors.
Riddick even gets his own galactic empire to oppose in the form of the Necromongers, a fanatical interplanetary religious cult that forces its victims to convert to the faith or die. The Necromonger’s Lord Marshal (Colm Feore) is initially irked when Riddick won’t break, but then he becomes worried that Riddick may be the one who was prophesized to kill him. However, the Lord Marshal should really be worried about a threat closer to home, because Riddick isn’t the only one who wants to take him out.
Watch The Chronicles of Riddick on Hulu.
Reminiscence (2021)
Westworld co-creator and Fallout executive producer Lisa Joy wrote and directed Reminiscence, a film where memories may be the most valuable commodity humanity has left. In the future, the environment is partially ruined, and people can only comfortably come out at night. Nick Bannister (Deadpool & Wolverine‘s Hugh Jackman) and his partner, Emily “Watts” Sanders (Thandiwe Newton), manage to make a living by using a machine that allows people to relive their own memories.
Nick soon becomes emotionally fixated on one of their clients, Mae (Rebecca Ferguson), even though Emily doesn’t approve. When Mae disappears, Nick’s obsession leads him to start searching for her. He also uses the memory machine to learn that Mae was more than she seemed to be, and she may have her own agenda.
Watch Reminiscence on Hulu.
Biosphere (2022)
Biosphere is a fairly low-budget sci-fi comedy about what happens after the end of the world. Former President of the United States Billy (Mark Duplass) and his childhood friend, Ray (Sterling K. Brown), are very likely the last two men alive. But in a world with no more females, that means the human race ends with them.
Billy and Ray have managed to survive in a biosphere that keeps them safe from a hostile environment, but their food supply is getting scarce. More alarmingly, Billy is starting to physically change. As they say in Jurassic Park, “life finds a way.” But this is one biological adaptation that takes more than a little getting used to.
Watch Biosphere on Hulu.
