These Horror Movies on Hulu Will Have You Sleeping With the Lights On
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Choosing what to watch shouldn't be anxiety-inducing...especially when you want to watch a horror flick that's anxiety-inducing by design. There's nothing quite like a good flick, particularly some of the recent scary films, to get your blood pumping and skin crawling. If you're feeling bogged down by indecision, then we're here to help ya out with the best horror movies on Hulu rn (a treasure trove of both well-known and underrated films). See? Don't you feel less stressed by decision-making already? Let the serial killers and monsters in these movies get your heart racing instead. It's their job, after all.
Ya, rom-coms and tearjerkers are nice and all, but who needs "safe" movie choices anyway? Tbqh, watching a depressing Pixar movie after dark is more likely to send you spiraling than a good old-fashioned fright night (uh, have you seen Inside Out???). If you're in the mood for living on the edge with some delicious made-up horror, then we've got the scariest, most terrifying movies available to stream on Hulu at the moment. There's everything from wild, trippy psychological films featuring brain-bending premises to the goriest blood-spatter gore-fest you've ever seen in your life. We apologize in advance for the nightmares.
Note: Because these movies vary in terms of themes and plotlines, we do get into some details for these movies, so you have an *idea* of what you're getting into. So if you'd rather not be spoiled at all, maybe just focus on the titles and genres and go watch immediately.
1. It Comes at Night
Earth has been mostly wiped out by a highly contagious disease (ugh, I'm getting COVID flashbacks already). A small group of survivors try to stay alive but—surprise, surprise—things don't go smoothly.
2. Midsommar
From the director of Hereditary (also on this list!), Ari Aster puts his take on the "pagan festival that's actually a cult" trope through the lens of a very dysfunctional relationship. If you know anything about The Wicker Man, you'll know that sh*t is about to go sideways in the worst way.
3. Stalker
A man meets and makes friends with a ride-share driver after he moves to California. Then he kinda blows the guy off to hang out with his new GF—and, uh, it turns out maybe that was a terrible idea. You don't want to piss this guy off, actually.
4. Under the Skin
Scarlett Johannson is actually ~very~ underrated in this film as an alien who comes to Earth and goes after random men. Without spoiling it...this movie is dark and trippy and quite gross, all at the same time.
5. Possessor
If you like trippy horror, watch this immediately. An assassin is trained to enter the mind of another person, who kills the intended target and then themselves (and the assassin gets "pulled out" back to her own body). When we meet her, it's all starting to go wrong in her brain.
6. Thelma
Supernatural thrillers are reliably awesome, but this one has added ~layering~ with discussions about religion, sexuality, repression, and what happens when all of that combines with uncontrollable telekinesis. Cool (and also dark)!
7. The Last Rite
If you like a lil Exorcist vibe horror, check out this lower-budget film: A woman with sleep paralysis (ugh) feels like she's being taken over by a demonic entity (UGH) and contacts a priest to hopefully get some assistance.
8. Wrong Turn
This remake (technically a reboot of the series) features a familiar premise—a bunch of young people go hiking off the beaten path in Appalachia and come across violent "mountain dwellers" who really, really, reaaaally don't like being disturbed.
9. 12 Hour Shift
If you think your life is tough: Mandy is a nurse, on an overnight shift, addicted to pain medication, deep in an organ-harvesting ring, and being pursued for a missing kidney. You know, all while sleep-deprived. Casual!
10. The Owners
The ahhmazing Maisie Williams (from Game of Thrones, obviously) is awesome here as part of a group of robbers who break in and ambush an old couple. It goes...quite badly for the robbers, let's say. If you like gore, get excited!
11. Fresh (2022)
Fresh stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as a young woman who discovers that her new BF (played by Sebastian Stan) has...strange...appetites (it's grosser than you think), and unfortunately, she discovers this during an isolated weekend away with him.
12. No Exit (2022)
This thriller revolves around a college student who gets stuck in a blizzard during a trip home. Luckily, she isn't alone, as she's stranded along with a group of others, but as it turns out, one of the people among them is a kidnapper.
13. Run (2020)
Starring scream queen Sarah Paulson, this suspenseful thriller revolves around a wheelchair-bound teen raised in total isolation by her mother—and that mother just so happens to harbor a sinister secret that could unravel both of their lives.
14. Wounds (2019)
If you nope the eff out at the mere sight of cockroaches, Wounds will not be your bag, k? Here, Armie Hammer stars as a bartender and all-around bad boyfriend who finds a cellphone with a super disturbing video on it that may or may not show someone’s murder. The movie plays it fast and loose with whatever the hell is going on (vague supernatural craziness? Maybe witchcraft? TBD!), but that just makes the whole viewing experience all the more uncomfortable.
15. False Positive (2021)
Hi, looking to have a baby anytime soon? Yeah, then you probs shouldn't watch this one, which tells the story of a copywriter struggling to conceive (Ilana Glazer) who seeks out the help of a fertility doctor...and though she manages to become pregnant, she can't help but feel that something is off about the charming doctor. (Spoiler alert: there is.)
16. Mother/Android (2021)
Set in the not-so-distant future, Chloë Grace Moretz and Algee Smith star in this one as a pregnant woman and her boyfriend who attempt to escape to Boston in the midst of a hostile AI takeover, and you won't wanna use Siri for a while after watching this one.
17. Parasite (2019)
A scary movie that won Best Picture? Aren’t you fancy! Bong Joon-ho’s social thriller might not always be the kind of scary you’re used to—if what you’re used to is fangs, claws, and constant jump scares—but it’s incredible.
18. The Lodge (2019)
The mere concept of spending Christmas with your boyfriend’s kids, who totally hate you and blame you for their mom’s death, is pretty freaking anxiety-inducing. Except, wait: There’s also a snowstorm that traps you in the cabin...just before things get mind-blowingly weird. Throw in some cult stuff and a dash of “WTF is actually happening?!?” and you have one of the most nail-biting movies about step-parenting ever.
19. Safer at Home (2021)
The age of Coronavirus-inspired pandemic horror movies is upon us, and this one reeeeally hits close to home. Not traumatized enough after the events of 2020? Smash that play button!
20. Let The Right One In (2008)
This blood-filled vampire romance has been remade more than once, but nothing compares to the original. It’s emo as hell but gives you all the suspense and unease you want out of a good vampire thriller.
21. XX (2017)
This isn't technically one long narrative, but four scary shorts in one horror movie, all directed by women who know how to scare the crap out of you. There’s a mix of psychological scares, straight-up terrifying monsters, and maybe the most disturbing villains of all: evil teenagers.
22. Mom and Dad (2018)
Yikes. Mom and Dad puts a really dark twist on the whole “I brought you into this world, and I can take you out of it!” cliché your parents emptily threatened you with as a kid. All the parents in this town go nuts and try to kill all their children. Also, you should probably know that the dad is Nicolas Cage...if that makes it any scarier for you.
23. Titane (2021)
In this wild French horror flick, a woman with a titanium plate in her head becomes pregnant after having sex with a car, and yes, it's as wild and weird as it sounds.
24. Little Joe (2019)
This truly wild indie horror flick revolves around Alice, a plant breeder working in a lab who decides to take one of her creations home to her son (despite company policy forbidding this). Unfortunately, her son becomes pollinated by the aggressive plant, and Alice begins to fear both the plant...and her son.
25. The Wretched (2020)
In The Wretched, a defiant teen struggling with his parents' ongoing divorce finds the perfect distraction when he discovers that a thousand-year-old flesh-eating being has possessed his next-door neighbor—and it's a lot better than it sounds, trust.
26. The Witch (2016)
This truly horrifying flick centers on a young woman who witnesses the disappearance of her youngest brother in 1630 New England and is consequently accused of witchcraft. Anya Taylor-Joy plays Thomasin with such conviction that you actually believe she's trapped in a 17th-century waking nightmare.
27. The Feast (2021)
Set in the Welsh mountains, this fantasy horror movie revolves around a wealthy family who gather to have dinner in their estate, though the evening takes a real turn after a mysterious woman arrives claiming to be their waitress (and as you can probably guess, she's not).
28. We Need to Do Something (2021)
Based on the novella of the same name by Max Booth III, this supernatural thriller revolves around a family who is trapped in their bathroom during a tornado. When they realize help isn't coming, they are forced to find a way to rescue themselves.
29. Malignant (2021)
In Malignant, a young woman (Annabelle Wallis) finds herself subject to horrifying visions of grisly murders. These visions become even more terrifying when she realizes they're actually coming true. This movie is wiiiiild but I promise you will enjoy the hell out of it.
30. Old (2021)
Directed by the legendary M. Night Shyamalan, this thriller follows a couple going through a divorce who decide to take their kids on one last tropical family vacation. Little do they know that the vacation may actually be their last one ever, as they end up on a beach that causes them all to age rapidly in just a few hours.
31. The Night House (2021)
Rebecca Hall stars in this one as Beth, a young widow still reeling from the death of her architect husband who finds herself all alone in the lake house he built for them. What's worse: She discovers that she's not actually alone, as the home seems to be haunted by a ghostly presence.
32. Oculus (2013)
Starring Karen Gillan, this v freaky horror movie follows a woman who's convinced that an old, potentially cursed mirror is responsible for her parents' death more than a decade earlier, and the longer she devotes herself to researching the history of the mirror, the more she finds herself pulled under its spell.
33. The Haunting in Connecticut (2009)
Reportedly based on the true story of Carmen Snedeker and her family, this horror flick follows the fictional Campbells as they move into a house (which was formerly a mortuary) and begin to witness terrifying supernatural phenomena.
34. Alone (2020)
This incredibly underrated thriller follows a recent widow who finds herself stalked and, eventually, kidnapped by a creepy killer who takes her to his remote cabin in the Pacific Northwest. And though she eventually escapes, her horrifying experience is unfortunately far from over.
35. Vacancy (2007)
Starring Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson, Vacancy follows a couple who unwittingly become stars in a snuff film, and fun fact: It's loosely based on the true story of a motel owner who created crawlspaces in the ceiling above the rooms for him to watch his guests.
36. Hereditary (2018)
Last but certainly not least: Hereditary, which is truly one of the freakiest films you'll ever see. In it, a woman (Toni Collette) watches her family unravel in the wake of her mother's death and learns of the sinister fate they have inherited, and it's basically guaranteed to give ya nightmares.
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