The 62 Best Movies on Hulu Right Now (April 2024)

Usually, when we're talking about the new Hulu movies or shows we're talking about fiction, but Hulu's latest movie is a story that's as real as it gets: Spermworld, a riveting documentary about online sperm donors and the people who buy their "stuff" online. Now that's a doozy. But that's not the only awesome recent addition to Hulu's lineup — there's also the Oscar-winning, electric fantasy romance Poor Things, with star Emma Stone winning Best Actress for her performance; and the rock 'n' roll documentary The Stones and Brian Jones, which looks at Brian Jones, the enigmatic founder of the Rolling Stones. 

This list isn't just about the absolute best movies of all time; it's about the best movies to watch on Hulu right now. That means this list will look a little different from the other ones out there, as we're focusing on Hulu originals, new arrivals to Hulu, and our own personal favorites. 

Last updated April 13; newer additions are at the top

Spermworld

For fans of:documentaries, weird human stories

Director: Lance Oppenheim
Genre: Documentary
Rating: n/a

The world is full of strange black markets and surprising underbellies, and Spermworld wants to introduce you to one of them: the online sperm donor market. This is a world most of us will never venture into ourselves, but this pleasantly enthralling doc will fill you in on the ins and outs of this unregulated market by following three prominent donors as they meet with prospective recipients. But despite the odd premise, Spermworld ends up being a surprisingly relatable little movie.

The Stones and Brian Jones (2023)

For fans of: Early Rolling Stones, rock docs

Year: 2023
Director: Nick Broomfield
Stars: Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and others
Genre: Documentary, Music
Rating: n/a
Metacritic score: 75

Kurt & Courtney director Nick Broomfield looks back at the dawn of rock 'n' roll with this documentary about Brian Jones, the founder of the Rolling Stones, and the band that would eventually move on without him. Jones started the Rolling Stones in 1962 before seeing his influence on the band fade away as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards took creative control, leading to his ouster in 1969. He died less than a month later, but his footprint on the British rock scene remains as strong as ever. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

More on Hulu:

• The Best Shows on Hulu Right Now
• Everything New on Hulu
• How to Get a Hulu Free Trial and Other Deals That Hulu Offers
• Hulu Live TV Channel List: What channels are on Hulu with Live TV?
• What to Watch on Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Max, and More in April

Poor Things (2023)

For fans of: Weirdness, movies that could have won Best Picture if not for Oppenheimer

Year: 2023
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Stars: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, and Vicki Pepperdine
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Romance, Fantasy
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 88

Yorgos Lanthimos' endearingly odd fantasy/romance/drama/comedy film and Best Picture nominee hit subscription streaming just in time for your Oscars cram. Though it didn't win Best Picture, Emma Stone won Best Actress for playing a previously deceased woman who is brought back to life and thirsts for worldliness and self-discovery. Best Supporting Actor nominee Mark Ruffalo plays the man she runs off with for a global adventure. It's a good one. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Suncoast (2024)

For fans of: Indie movies, Aughts nostalgia, based-on-a-true story films

Year: 2024
Director: Laura Chinn
Stars: Laura Linney, Nico Parker, Woody Harrelson
Genre: Drama
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 61

This semi-autobiographical film from writer/director Laura Chinn is a coming-of-age tale with a compelling set of wrinkles — the girl at the center of the story has a brother who is terminally ill, and the movie takes place during the final days of Terri Schiavo's life in 2005. The broad strokes of this one can get a bit trope-y, but it's the emotional honesty from Chinn, and young star Nico Parker, that will hit viewers square in the heart. Suncoast — which also stars Woody Harrelson and Laura Linney — is quite a first movie from Chinn. -Phil Owen [Trailer]

Self Reliance (2023)

For fans of: Deadly games of comedy, Jake Johnson

Year: 2023
Director: Jake Johnson
Stars: Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick, Natalie Morales, Andy Samberg
Genre: Comedy, thriller
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 59

In a move that was true to the spirit of the title, Jake Johnson wrote, directed, and stars in Self Reliance. The New Girl actor's feature film directorial debut follows a man who's offered a chance to win $1 million if he can survive a deadly reality TV competition. The loophole is that he can only be killed when he's alone, setting him off on a quest for constant companionship. Reviews for the movie have been pretty solid; it sounds like good company. -Kelly Connolly [Trailer]

Beyond Utopia (2023)

For fans of: Political documentaries

Year: 2023
Director: Madeleine Gavin
Genre: Documentary
Rating: PG-13
Metacritic score: 84

This acclaimed documentary from director Madeleine Gavin follows families trying to escape North Korea after living a life of hardship and lies brought upon them by the North Korean government. Using rare footage of life inside North Korea, Beyond Utopia captures the harrowing and life-threatening journey toward freedom, aided by South Korean pastor Seungeun Kim, who has helped over a thousand North Koreans defect. While the human stories are captivating, it's worth noting that some critics found the movie failed to detail America's involvement in making North Korea what it is today. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

The Creator (2023)

For fans of: Isaac Asimov, the singularity

Year: 2023
Director: Gareth Edwards
Stars: John David Washington, Gemma Chan, Allison Janney, Madeleine Yuna Voyles
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Drama
Rating: PG-13
Metacritic score: 63

Rogue One director Gareth Edwards tackles a future in which artificial intelligence isn't just writing college students' term papers, it's in all-out war against the human race after a bot launches a nuclear attack on Los Angeles. Years later, a special agent (John David Washington) goes on a mission to hunt down the mysterious "creator," the mastermind behind a new weapon that will help AI win the war. And then things get complicated! It's a solid action-based sci-fi film with better visuals than story, so have the popcorn handy. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Theater Camp (2023)

For fans of: Wet Hot American Summer, mockumentaries, show tunes

Year: 2023
Director: Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman
Stars: Jimmy Tatro, Molly Gordon, Ben Platt, Ayo Edebiri, Noah Galvin, Patti Harrison
Genre: Comedy
Rating: PG-13
Metacritic score: 70

Among all the great things about Theater Camp, it gives American Vandal's Jimmy Tatro the starring film role he deserves. He plays Troy, the clueless tech bro son of a theater camp director who is suddenly put in charge of the camp's operations for one tumultuous summer, much to the frustration of drama instructors Amos (Ben Platt) and Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon). As Troy tries to keep the camp financially afloat, Amos and Rebecca-Diane work on staging their annual original musical amid their own personal drama. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

No One Will Save You (2023)

For fans of: Home Alone, but with aliens

Year: 2023
Director: Brian Duffield
Stars: Kaitlyn Dever
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Rating: PG-13
Metacritic score: 64

No One Will Save You, a nearly wordless thriller from Brian Duffield (Love and Monsters, The Babysitter), stars Kaitlyn Dever as a creative but lonely young woman named Brynn, whose alienation turns literal when extraterrestrials invade her childhood home one night. In order to confront her intruders, Brynn will have to face her past. Beam this one up; it's a lot of fun. -Kelly Connolly [Trailer]

How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2023)

For fans of: Environmental thrillers

Year: 2023
Director: Daniel Goldhaber
Stars: Lukas Gage, Marcus Scribner, Kristine Forseth
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Rating: R
Metacritic score: n/a

Hulu is still one of the strongest streamers for great under-the-radar movies, and this 2023 film from Neon might be one of the best you'll see all year. How to Blow Up a Pipeline follows a group of youngsters who band together to take out a controversial oil pipeline, tiptoeing the line between environmental activism and domestic terrorism. It was a hit among critics, who lauded it as a taut thriller with eco-friendly themes, and it features a cast that includes The White Lotus' Lukas Gage, black-ish's Marcus Scribner, and The Society's Kristine Forseth. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Infinity Pool (2023)

For fans of: The twisted minds of the Cronenberg family, Alexander Skarsgård

Year: 2023
Director: Brandon Cronenberg
Stars: Alexander Skarsgård, Cleopatra Coleman, Mia Goth
Genre: Sci-Fi, Mystery, Thriller, Horror
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 72

If the name "Cronenberg" didn't tip you off, you should know that Infinity Pool is a bizarre and often disturbing film. (The director, Brandon Cronenberg, is the son of the king of body horror, David Cronenberg.) It follows a vacationing married couple, played by Alexander Skarsgård and Cleopatra Coleman, who, after an accident, begin to discover the dark, twisted secrets hidden beyond the walls of their resort. It's difficult to say much without spoiling everything, but this is certainly a movie that will stick with you long after it ends. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

Rye Lane (2023)

For fans of: Breezy rom-coms, London

Year: 2023
Director: Raine Allen Miller
Stars: Vivian Oparah, David Jonsson
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 83

This cute rom-com film set in the London neighborhoods of Peckham and Brixton has a tried-and-true setup — two people reeling from bad breakups have a chance encounter with each other, and you know the rest — but it's presented in a dazzling, magnetic way thanks to director Raine Allen Miller. Yas (Vivian Oparah) and Dom (Industry's David Jonsson) are twentysomethings who use their new friendship to deal with their exes over the course of a day, and who knows, maybe they will fall for each other. Who knows!?!? -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Triangle of Sadness (2022)

For fans of: Eating the rich, literal toilet humor

Year: 2022
Director: Ruben Östlund
Stars: Harry Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Woody Harrelson, Dolly de Leon
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 63

Ruben Östlund's latest film won the Palme d'Or in 2022, Best Picture at the European Film Awards, and was nominated for Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards. But it also has a 63 score on Metacritic. It's one of those movies, a satirical look at and takedown of the rich and famous on a cruise ship, and for some the satire and black humor don't hit. Others love it though, and as one of the year's most polarizing Best Picture nominees, it's a mandatory watch. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Bruiser (2023)

For fans of: Coming-of-age stories, learning how to be a man, gut punches

Year: 2023
Director: Miles Warren
Stars: Jalyn Hall, Shamier Anderson, Trevante Rhodes
Genre: Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Metacritic score: 81

First-time feature director Miles Warren arrives with the confidence of a veteran filmmaker with this family drama about a 14-year-old (Jalyn Hall) caught between his father (Shamier Anderson) and a mysterious drifter (Trevante Rhodes). It's a story about fatherhood and parenting, coming-of-age, and defending yourself. It's also one of the best things Onyx Collective, a subdivision of Disney focusing on Black stories, has produced. -Tim Surette [Trailer]    

Fire of Love (2022)

For fans of: Magma, French New Wave, love stories

Year: 2022
Director: Sara Dosa
Stars: Maurice Krafft, Katia Krafft
Genre: Documentary
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: 83

This stunning film was nominated for Best Documentary at this year's Academy Awards, and for good reason. Fire of Love introduces audiences to Maurice and Katia Krafft, a pair of charismatic French volcanologists who bucked the stuffy stereotypes of scientists from the 1970s to early 1990s. Director Sara Dosa also innovates with a stylish collage of the Kraffts' massive library of film footage, multimedia animations, groovy music, and entrancing editing. But what makes Fire of Love better than the sum of its parts is the fascinating love triangle between Maurice and Katia, who were married, and the explosive volcanoes that drew them in. It's a nature documentary, a profile of a couple who found love against all odds, and an art film in one splendid package. -Tim Surette [Trailer]    

Riotsville, U.S.A. (2022)

For fans of: Learning about America's dark history

Year: 2022
Director: Sarah Pettengill
Stars: Charlene Modeste
Genre: Documentary
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: 83

History repeats itself — or maybe it just never ends — in Riotsville, U.S.A. This well-reviewed 2022 documentary looks back on the social justice movement of the late 1960s and traces how America's police forces militarized in response. Its focus is on fake towns built by the Army, which were used to train police and the military to violently subdue protests. Director Sarah Pettengill uses archival footage and pointed narration to tell a story that has obvious parallels in the present. -Kelly Connolly [Trailer]

Stars at Noon (2022)

For fans of: Beautiful, sweaty people

Year: 2022
Director: Claire Denis
Stars: Margaret Qualley, Joe Alwyn, Benny Safdie, John C. Reilly
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Romance
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: 67

Claire Denis' latest film was a big hit at Cannes, and now it's on Hulu for you to form your own opinion about. A modern adaptation of Denis Johnson's 1984 novel, it stars Margaret Qualley as an American journalist stranded in Nicaragua and Joe Alwyn as the British guy she meets and immediately falls for, only to discover he's in deep with — wait for it — the CIA. It's a woozy, sweaty, and sexy romantic thriller elevated by a dynamic performance from Qualley. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]     

Crimes of the Future (2022)

For fans of: David Cronenberg's twisted mind, Kristen Stewart

Year: 2022
Director: David Cronenberg
Stars: Kristen Stewart, Léa Seydoux, Viggo Mortensen, Scott Speedman
Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama, Horror
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: 67

David Cronenberg's name is synonymous with stomach-churning body horror, and his latest film is a return to the genre he helped pioneer. Set in an alternate future, Viggo Mortensen and Léa Seydoux star as a performance artist couple who make their money staging live surgeries in which they remove extra organs from the body for rapt audiences. They catch the attention of a government organization that keeps track of new organs, as well as a peculiar cult of people who are experimenting with their own form of biological performance art. It's a big old Cronenbergian blend of ideas that's guaranteed to make your squirm. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]     

On the Count of Three (2021)

For fans of: Dark, dark, dark buddy comedies

Year: 2021
Director: Jerrod Carmichael
Stars: Jerrod Carmichael, Christopher Abbott, Tiffany Haddish, Henry Winkler, JB Smoove
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: 85

Jerrod Carmichael directs this dark buddy dramedy about two best friends – one played by Carmichael, the other by Christopher Abbott – who hatch a joint suicide pact. Before they kill themselves, though, they spend their last day alive taking care of unfinished business and engaging in shameless debauchery. It's difficult to recommend a movie with such upsetting subject material, but Carmichael's singular voice makes this one worth it. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]     

Prey (2022)

For fans of: Predator movies

Year: 2022
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Stars: Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, Dane DiLiegro
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Drama, Thriller, Horror
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 69

Hulu went ahead and revived the Predator franchise, and this time it's a prequel. Prey is set in the Comanche Nation in the 1700s, and finds the Predator coming to Earth, where he faces off against a young warrior (Amber Midthunder) trying to protect her tribe. It has all the brawling and killing you want from a Predator movie, and as Jordan Hoffman said in his review for TV Guide, its setting feels refreshing. -Allison Picurro [Trailer | Review]     

Ultrasound (2022)

For fans of: Total mind f-cks, small-budget films

Year: 2021
Director: Rob Schroeder
Stars: Vincent Kartheiser, Chelsea Lopez, Bob Stephenson
Genre: Sci-fi, thriller
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: 55

This 2021 low-budget indie film from first-time director Rob Schroeder isn't a great movie, but it is the type of challenging sci-fi thriller that hardcore movie buffs will love to try to decipher. (Hence the 55 Metacritic score, it's a niche film targeted at fans of movies like Primer.) It starts with a man (Mad Men's Vincent Kartheiser) who is invited into a stranger's house after his car breaks down and is asked to have sex with the stranger's wife, and then turns into something really weird. It's entirely unpredictable and may even need a second watch to fully make sense of everything. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Aftershock (2022)

For fans of: Learning about medical crises

Year: 2022
Director: Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee
Genre: Sci-fi, Mystery
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: 89

This documentary from directors Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee puts the focus on the healthcare crisis that disproportionately affects Black women, who face rising maternal death rates after childbirth. The film follows the families of two women, Shamony Gibson and Amber Rose Isaac, as they bring attention to this largely ignored issue. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022)

For fans of: Emma Thompson getting her groove back, sex positivity

Year: 2022
Director: Sophie Hyde
Stars: Emma Thompson, Daryl McCormack
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Romance
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 78

Emma Thompson is one of our all-time greats, period. She has the unique ability to light up just about anything she's in, a talent on full display in this charming dramedy about a retired widow who decides, for the first time in her life, to seek out good sex, leading her to hire and form an unexpected bond with a sex worker (Daryl McCormack). Thompson and McCormack have enough chemistry to make this very dialogue-heavy movie feel sweet and easily watchable. -Allison Picurro [Trailer | Review]

The Worst Person in the World (2022)

For fans of: Young people who are just trying to figure it out, man

Year: 2021
Director: Joachim Trier
Stars: Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Herbert Nordrum
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Romance
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: 90

One of the most well-liked and well-reviewed films of last year (it was nominated for Best International Feature and Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars), The Worst Person in the World is not actually all that romantic or all that much of a comedy, despite often being classified as a rom-com. It's more of a character study about one aimless woman (Renate Reinsve) in her twenties, following her over the course of several years as she drifts in and out of relationships and jobs — think Frances Ha, but Norwegian. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

Fire Island (2022)

For fans of: Pride and Prejudice, Marisa Tomei

Year: 2022
Director: Andrew Ahn
Stars: Joel Kim Booster, Bowen Yang, Conrad Ricamora, Margaret Cho, Matt Rogers
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 72

Joel Kim Booster writes and stars in this hilarious, heartbreaking, and horny adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, which reimagines one of Jane Austen's most famous novels as a gay romantic comedy set on New York's Fire Island. Booster stars as Noah, the Elizabeth Bennett role, and Bowen Yang plays his best friend Howie, the Jane Bennett; the film hits all the Austenian beats regarding class and social status, but Booster's observations about being gay and Asian American gives a well-trodden story its updated perspective. It's likely the only movie you'll see that has jokes about Quibi, My Cousin Vinny, and Yolanda Hadid. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

The Last Tourist (2022)

For fans of: Saving the environment, guilt, beautiful shots of places you can't go

Year: 2022
Director: Tyson Sadler
Genre: Documentary
Rating: NR

This documentary about the tourism industry and how it's destroying the world will have you rethinking that trip to a developing nation where you were planning to justify your Instagram posts from on top of an elephant by contributing a few dollars to the local economy. The movie is a hit among critics, who laud The Last Tourist for its important message and beautiful shots of these international lands. And yes, those picturesque vistas will make you want to go there, but please don't. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Try Harder! (2021)

For fans of: Watching others succeed, high school drama

Year: 2021
Director: Debbie Lum
Genre: Documentary
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: 75

If you'd like to get in on the anxiety high school seniors are facing as they await the decisions of the colleges they applied to, this documentary will do the trick. The film examines how much college admissions have changed over the years, with students now expected to have 5.0 GPAs, be a member of no less than 17 clubs, and run a 4-minute mile. Slightly exaggerated, but the competition has never been fiercer, even to get into some second-choice school like Vassar. Thankfully, director Debbie Lum handles the absurdity of it all with a playful sense of humor. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Sundown (2021)

For fans of: Middle-aged man ennui, Mexico, jerks

Year: 2022
Director: Michael Franco
Stars: Tim Roth, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Iazua Larios
Genre: Drama
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 70

Tim Roth is the embodiment of indifference in this mellow drama about a wealthy British man vacationing in Acapulco with his siblings when they're suddenly called back for a family tragedy. Only he doesn't go back, pretending he forgot his passport back at the hotel. Then he just stays in Mexico while everyone else deals with all the responsibility! Roth is excellent as a man who has completely given up in this film that's low on plot but high on masculine malaise and shots of drinking beer on the beach. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Death on the Nile (2022)

For fans of: Big boats, old-fashioned mystery and adventure, all-star casts

Year: 2022
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Annette Bening, Jennifer Saunders, Rose Leslie
Genre: Mystery, Adventure
Rating: PG-13
Metacritic score: 52

Cruises aren't a good idea right now, but you can still get the feelings of big-boat adventures — large terraces overlooking the water, grand ballrooms, floating reverie, MURDER — with Death on the Nile, Kenneth Branaugh's adaptation of Agatha Christie's famous 1937 novel. The mystery film is a whodunnit with a who's who cast, which includes Gal Gadot, Annette Bening, Armie Hammer, and Branaugh (who does double duty as director). It's an imperfect film, no doubt, but it has an old-fashioned sensibility to it that makes it a great escape from life's doldrums. -Tim Surette [Trailer]       

Deep Water (2022)

For fans of: Erotic thrillers, the flash-in-the-pan coupling known as "BenAna"

Director: Adrian Lyne
Stars: Ben Affleck, Ana de Armas  
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 52

This is the first film from director Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction), one of the central figures of the erotic thriller subgenre, in 20 years. His last one was 2002's Unfaithful, which came out right at the end of the erotic thriller's period of commercial viability. Now that streaming is creating a demand for erotic thrillers again, Lyne is back like he never went away. Deep Water stars Ana de Armas and Gone Girl mode Ben Affleck, who started a relationship when the movie was shooting in 2019 and have since broken up, as a married couple who play twisted psychosexual mind games with each other, and then people around them start turning up dead. Uh oh! Deep Water was supposed to get a theatrical release in 2020, but now it's going directly to Hulu with less fanfare than it deserves — though straight-to-streaming may end up being the best thing for it. It's a trashy good time. -Liam Mathews [Trailer | Review]

Hell Hath No Fury (2021)

For fans of: WWII heist flicks, tension

Director: Jesse V. Johnson
Stars: Nina Bergman, Daniel Bernhardt, Timothy V. Murphy
Genre: Action, War, Crime
Rating: R

This is one of those low-budget movies that are worth the bargain bin price. Action filmmaker and stuntman Jesse V. Johnson, a frequent collaborator with underground British action star Scott Adkins, helms this WWII thriller about Nazis, resistance fighters, and American soldiers hunting down rumors of buried Nazi gold in a French cemetery. It's set almost entirely in the cemetery, and centers on a French woman (Nina Bergman) accused of being a Nazi sympathizer who might know more about the gold than anyone else. It's not going to blow anyone away, but it's a gritty, violent, and tense film that's an impressive bit of atmosphere building. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Flee (2021)

For fans of: Documentaries, animation, international film, LGBTQ+ stories of perseverance

Director: Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Genre: Documentary, Animation, Biography
Rating: PG-13
Metacritic score: 91

Be more efficient with your Oscar nominee watch by checking out Flee, a triple threat that's nominated for Best Documentary, Best Animated Feature, and Best International Feature. The gorgeous film was a top pick on many critics' Best of 2021 lists and focuses on Amin Nawabi, who tells the story of his journey to Denmark as a child refugee from Afghanistan and the secret he kept hidden for 20 years. It's an astounding piece of art. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Fresh (2022)

For fans of: Never dating again

Director: Mimi Cave
Stars: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sebastian Stan 
Genre: Thriller, Comedy
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 67

It's not really a spoiler to say that this movie starts out as a romantic comedy and then turns into a horror movie a half-hour in, because that's the whole thing of it. I just won't tell you what happens, other than to say Sebastian Stan gets his Patrick Bateman on. Fresh is the debut film from promising director Mimi Cave, and it stars Normal People's Daisy Edgar-Jones as a young woman who's sick of online dating. She meets a charming man in a grocery store, and after they quickly hit it off, she agrees to go away with him to a remote cabin for a weekend. You can guess how it goes. The cinematographer is Midsommar's Pawel Pogorzelski, who's very good at shooting visually striking, gruesome horror. -Liam Mathews [Trailer] 

No Exit (2022)

For fans of: Paranoia, weather, parentless children

Director: Damien Power
Stars: Havana Rose Liu, Danny Ramirez, Dennis Haysbert, David Rysdahl, Dale Dickey
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Horror
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 54

In this day and age of pandemic paranoia where trust in strangers is at an all-time low, we probably don't need a movie about being stuck in a room with four people, one of whom is a suspected kidnapper, to get our suspicions elevated. But here we are with No Exit, a Hulu-exclusive movie about a troubled young woman who finds herself waiting out a snowstorm with four strangers. That's already an inconvenience, but things go really bad when she discovers a kidnapped child in one of their cars. Early reviews are mixed, but this feels like the kind of film made for audiences looking for a thrill rather than for movie critics.  -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Titane (2021)

For fans of: Insanity with a sweet center, cars, mayhem 

Director: Julia Ducournau
Stars: Agathe Rousselle, Vincent Lindon, a dope Cadillac
Genre: Body horror, Drama
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 75

Given its everything, I have no idea how Titane became the winner of the 2021 Palme d'Or, the top prize at the Cannes International Film Festival. But I'm glad it did because Titane is absolutely amazing in the most primal sense of the word. The French-Belgian film defies genre but spends lots of time in almost all of them — horror, science-fiction, drama, comedy — as it follows a model with a titanium plate in her head that she got after a car crash when she was young at car shows. From there, Titane is a riveting and savage ride as shocking as it is unpredictable (you'll never think of airport bathroom sinks the same way again). And just when you think it's gone entirely off the rails, it becomes an emotional and thought-provoking film about character relationships. Love it or hate it, no reaction would surprise me from this truly original and daring film. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

The Feast (2021)

For fans of: Slow-burn horror movies, movies in languages you don't expect             

Director: Lee Haven Jones
Stars: Annes Elwy, Nia Roberts, Julian Lewis Jones
Genre: Horror
Rating: Not rated
Metacritic score: 68

You may have never seen a Welsh-language horror movie before, but Hulu can make your first one a good one. The Feast, which made a splash on the film festival circuit, is an ecologically minded folk horror slow-burner that takes its sweet time getting going, but is well worth it when it gets there. It's about a strange, quiet young woman named Cadi (Annes Elwy) who's hired to be a cater-waitress at a dinner party of the home of an exploitative politician and his stuck-up wife. They've forgotten their connection to the land, and Cadi is going to remind them, in very gruesome and disturbing fashion. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]

Charli XCX: Alone Together (2021)

For fans of: Reliving the pandemic, fan-artist collaborations, good music

Director: Bradley Bell and Pablo Jones-Soler
Stars: Charli XCX
Genre: Music, Documentary
Rating: Unrated
Metacritic score: 71

It might be a little too soon to relive early quarantine days, but it's different when you do it through the eyes of one of our greatest (and somehow still underrated) pop stars — in this case, Charli XCX. Told largely through self-taped footage, Alone Together follows the inception, creation, and release of one of the more unique projects to come out of the pandemic: Charli's near-perfect 2020 album How I'm Feeling Now. It's a fascinating look at a truly collaborative process between an artist and her fans, showing how songs were written with their help over Instagram Live, and also presents a raw account of Charli's struggles with anxiety. This is definitely a documentary primarily for the diehard fans, but even a casual listener can enjoy bearing witness to such a cool creative process. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

Nightmare Alley (2021)

For fans of: The circus, sideshow freaks and cons, an A-list cast and A-list sets

Director: Guillermo del Toro
Stars: Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Ron Perlman, David Strathairn
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Crime
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 70

Someone somewhere is still eating popcorn they bought while watching Nightmare Alley in the theaters on its mid-December premiere night, and yet the movie is already on Hulu. That's not a knock on the quality of Nightmare Alley, the traveling circus film noir from Guillermo del Toro; it's more an indication of the speed of streaming. Bradley Cooper stars as a carnival worker in the 1930s and 1940s who learns to grift the rich and famous from other circus folk, and he's joined by a stellar cast that includes Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Ron Perlman, and David Strathairn. Under del Toro's eye, Nightmare Alley is a sight to behold, a time warp to the shady traveling sideshows and elegant art deco ballrooms of the era when everyone was working some sort of scheme. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Bergman Island (2021)

For fans of: Dissolving marriages, filmmaking, Ingmar Bergman, vacationing in gorgeous Sweden

Director: Mia Hansen-Løve
Stars: Tim Roth, Vicky Krieps, Mia Wasikowska
Genre: Drama
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 81

A filmmaking couple, played by Tim Roth and Vicky Krieps, head to the Swedish island of Fårö, the home of legendary director Ingmar Bergman, to root around for inspiration. But as they spend more time on the quaint island and their opinions of Bergman diverge, their marriage slowly falls apart. The film is like two indie movies in one, with a movie-within-a-movie playing in the middle as a visualization of the screenplay the wife is working on, and it all floats along gorgeously with the natural beauty of Fårö. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

I'm Your Man (2021)

For fans of: Black Mirror's "Be Right Back," Dan Stevens speaking German

Director: Maria Schrader
Stars: Dan Stevens, Maren Eggert
Genre: Sci-Fi, Comedy, Romance
Rating: Not Rated
Metacritic score: 78

This Best International Feature Film selection from Germany for the 2022 Academy Awards was this science-fiction rom-com starring Dan Stevens (Legion) as a robot built to be the perfect boyfriend. He does the rumba. Do you need any other reason to watch this? (In German, with English subtitles.) -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Pig (2021)

For fans of: Nicolas Cage as a great actor, deep sadness 

Director: Michael Sarnoski
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff
Genre: Drama
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 82

"We don't get a lot of things to really care about." If that line resonates with you, you'll want to see the indie drama Pig. Nicolas Cage stars as a onetime prominent chef from Portland who left society to go live in the woods with his beloved truffle-hunting pig. When his pig is stolen, he has to return to the city to look for one of the few things he really cares about. It's a similar premise to John Wick, with assassin action replaced by tragicomic character study. It's a top-tier Nicolas Cage performance, and probably his most subtle in at least 20 years. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]  

Mandibles (2020)

For fans of: The Farrelly Brothers, French comedy, absurdity

Director: Quentin Dupieux
Stars: David Marsais, Grégoire Ludig, Adèle Exarchopoulos, India Hair
Genre: Fantasy, Comedy
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: 74

If you've ever wondered what a silly stoner comedy would be like en français, wonder no more. Mandibles, from bugged out writer-director Quentin Dupieux, is about two dumb slacker pals who find themselves in possession of a gigantic housefly. They initially plan to train the fly to rob people for them, but instead they just end up meandering around the South of France with their bristly companion having moronic misadventures. It's a flyweight buddy comedy with a refreshing sense of creativity – you never know what's going to happen next – that generated a lot of buzz on the film festival circuit. All right, that's enough bug puns. Just watch it. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]

For Madmen Only (2020)

For fans of: Improv comedy, pretty much every comedian working today

Director: Heather Ross
Stars: Ike Barinholtz, Janet Coleman, Josh Fadem, Mike Gold, Robert Dassie
Genre: Documentary
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: n/a

You may not know the name Del Close, but you're definitely a fan of his work. Close was instrumental in establishing improv comedy, and is credited by many top comedians — Bob Odenkirk, Tina Fey, John Belushi, to name a few — as their mentor, with his knowledge being passed down to today's generation. The documentary For Madmen Only digs into Close's legacy, including his legendary stories and mental illness. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Maybe This Year (2021)

For fans of: Football (like, to an insane degree), booing Santa Claus, throwing batteries, passion

Director: Kyle Thrash
Genre: Documentary
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: n/a

Director Kyle Thrash follows fans of the Philadelphia Eagles during the team's 2017 Super Bowl run in this character documentary. What's the big deal about that? Have you seen fans of Philadelphia sports teams? They're a unique type of insane. They throw batteries at opposing players. They boo Santa Claus! Maybe This Year (sometimes called Maybe Next Year) isn't so much about football as it is a look at fandom from the perspective of one of the most die-hard fanbases in the world, like the guy who spent his life savings making a makeshift Eagles bar in his home or the self-proclaimed shy woman who calls into sports radio and screams. And you know it has a happy ending. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Jacinta (2020)

For fans of: Painful but important documentaries, stories of addictions, mother and daughter bonds

Director: Jessica Earnshaw
Genre: Documentary
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: n/a

This documentary isn't an easy watch, but it is an essential watch. Director Jessica Earnshaw trains her cameras on three generations of a family, with the focus on young mother Jacinta, a heroin addict who is in and out of jail and desperate to reconnect with her young daughter. But Jacinta's addiction, born from her mother's behavior, might be too powerful for her to ever have a normal relationship with her child. There's a lot of pain on screen here (as well as lessons to be learned), but a bittersweet ending at least avoids the worst possible scenario. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Summer of Soul (2021)

For fans of: The best musical acts of the '60s, reclaiming history

Director: Ahmir-Khalib Thompson
Stars: B.B. King, Jesse Jackson, Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder
Genre: Documentary, Music
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: 96

The same year Woodstock was held and grabbed all the headlines as the only thing that happened in music in 1969, the Harlem Cultural Festival took place, with performances by Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Sly and the Family Stone, and more. Footage of the festival never saw the light of day until the release of this film, which marks the directorial debut of musician Questlove. If you need more reason to watch it, Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) has been universally acclaimed and won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the documentary category at Sundance. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Shadow in the Cloud (2020)

For fans of: Bonkers genre mash-ups, Chloë Grace Moretz

Director: Roseanne Liang
Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson
Genre: Action, Horror, War
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 66

This movie isn't for everyone, but if Chloë Grace Moretz fist-fighting a bat-like creature is for you, then this is definitely your kind of movie. It's a WWII movie, a creature feature, and a female action flick all in one, as Moretz stars as a woman with secrets who catches a lift from a WWII combat plane. In addition to firing at Japanese fighter planes, the crew ends up tangling with a monster and they're picked off one-by-one until Moretz has to save the day. These aren't spoilers, these are just facts you know are coming. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Changing the Game (2019)

For fans of: Trans rights, emotional sports stories

Director: Mike Barnett
Stars: Andraya Yearwood, Mack Beggs, Ngozi Nnaji, Ngozi Yarwood, Sarah Rose Huckman, Terry Miller
Genre: Documentary, Sports
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: 77

One of the most talked about issues in sports today is the role of transgender athletes. The award-winning documentary Changing the Game takes a humane, honest look at the subject from the point of view of three transgender teen athletes fighting for their right to compete. The centerpiece is trans man Mack Beggs, who was given two options by his home state of Texas: wrestle as his assigned sex (female) or quit. He chose to wrestle. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

The Biggest Little Farm (2018)

For fans of: Cute animals, feeling hopeful for once, saving the world

Director: John Chester
Stars: John Chester, Matthew Pilachowski, Molly Chester
Genre: Documentary
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: 73

The thought of watching a white couple from Los Angeles give up city life to start an organic farm sounds like a hard pass. But in the documentary The Biggest Little Farm, self-righteousness and hipster woke culture isn't the star; nature, in all her splendid beauty, is. This stunning documentary manages to capture the power of life with incredible footage of flora and fauna. It also captures the positive impact that humans can have, for a change, as the director, John Chester, and his wife, Molly, transform neglected acreage into a thriving ecosystem where literally every animal big and small plays an important part. Even though there are some basic facts of life on full display here — animals will die — it's a great watch for the whole family. This is one of those rare films you'll leave feeling that you can make a difference. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Parasite (2019)

For fans of: Class conflict, conning the rich

Director: Bong Joon-ho
Stars: Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Lee Jung-eun, Jang Hye-jin
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Comedy
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: 96

Parasite, the 2020 winner for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, is on Hulu, so you are really running out of excuses if you haven't seen it. Though technically not at all about any parasites, it's the parasitic metaphor that really strikes hard as a low-income family slowly infiltrates a wealthy family, living off them like ticks on a dog. But both sides have deep, dark secrets that come to light by the movie's totally bonkers ending. The movie's message isn't the only thing to watch for; Bong's immaculate direction and cinematography are bolstered by a truly incredible performance by its ensemble cast. Don't be that person who hasn't seen Parasite. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn (2021)

For fans of: Startups shutting down, cults, bad business

Director: Jed Rothstein
Stars: Adam Neumann
Genre: Documentary
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: 61

This Hulu original documentary is best watched by knowing as little as possible about WeWork, the real estate company that provided work stations for startups and became a Wall Street juggernaut before its founder, Adam Neumann, essentially drove the company off a cliff. That's because it probably won't tell you anything you don't already know, if you've followed the story, but even with that, it's still astonishing to see how events unfolded as Neumann essentially built a cult and had a desire to change the world with some pretty far-out ideas, like WeGrow, a private communal school built on the same foundations of WeWork. This is a dangerous lesson in capitalism. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Minding the Gap (2018)

For fans of: Skateboarding, the bittersweet passage of time

Director: Bing Liu
Stars: Kiere Johnson, Zack Mulligan
Genre: Documentary
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: 90

If you like your documentaries with a side of a punch in the gut, Minding the Gap will suffice! The Oscar-nominated film, from first-time director Bing Liu, follows Liu as he reconnects with two of his old skateboarding buddies while the twentysomething young men all deal with the struggles of growing up after childhoods of abuse and neglect. Archival footage is both exuberant and emotional as the trio escapes troubles through skateboarding and details the problems at home, while new footage shows how their lives have changed (or not changed) through unplanned fatherhood, new family issues, and more all-too-common obstacles. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

For fans of: French affairs, the way Saoirse Ronan says "Women" in Little Women

Director: Céline Sciamma
Stars: Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel
Genre: Drama, History, Romance
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 95

The most romantic movie of 2019, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a simmering love story designed to devastate and delight. Céline Sciamma directs the film, which is set in 18th century France and revolves around the affair that develops between an artist and her subject, a young aristocratic woman who is about to be married off. The chemistry between the leads, Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel, is a pleasure to watch in action, made all the more upsetting because of the pervasive knowledge that there's a hard expiration date on their relationship. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

Palm Springs (2020)

For fans of: Groundhog Day, wedding shenanigans

Director: Max Barbakow
Stars: Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, J.K. Simmons, Camila Mendes, June Squibb, Peter Gallagher, Tyler Hoechlin
Genre: Mystery, Fantasy, Comedy, Romance
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 83

The less you know about Palm Springs going into it, the better, but it's probably no secret at this point that this delightful comedy features Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti as a pair of wedding goers who find themselves trapped in a time loop. Their performances are at once goofy and grounded, and there are plenty of surprises packed into every precious minute of this wild, incredibly fun rom-com with touches of sci-fi. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Nomadland (2020)

For fans of: Camper vans, using a bucket as a bathroom

Director: Chloé Zhao
Stars: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn
Genre: Drama
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 93

You have Hulu, so you may as well watch the 2021 Oscar winner for Best Picture. Frances McDormand stars in this adaptation of the 2017 book about a nomad who works odd jobs and lives out of a van as part of a lifestyle choice, bringing light to an expanding community of people breaking the mold of how we're supposed to live. Many of those people are in the film as major characters, adding an immersive sense of authenticity. Part of that authenticity? The feeling you get wondering if you should ditch your house and hit the road to fully appreciate everything life and nature has to offer. Nomadland is a unique achievement that deserved every award it got. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Together Together (2021)

For fans of: Unlikely friendships, modern parenthood

Director: Nikole Beckwith
Stars: Patti Harrison, Ed Helms
Genre: Comedy
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: 70

I keep telling people to seek out this sweet indie, which had a theatrical release before movie theaters really opened up, and now everyone can watch it for free*! (*Well, with a Hulu subscription.) Ed Helms stars as a man who wants a baby, and Patti "I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson" Harrison plays the woman he's chosen to be his surrogate, and it's one of those movies where nothing really happens, but also everything happens. Helms and Harrison are great as two people who don't really know what to do with or how to relate to each other, but who have been thrown together for the better part of a year due to their circumstances. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and I hope it does the same for you. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

Another Round (2020)

For fans of: Mads Mikkelsen, Danish drinking culture

Director: Thomas Vinterberg
Stars: Mads Mikkelsen, Cassius Aasav Browning, Helene Reingaard Neumann, Lars Ranthe
Genre: Drama
Rating: Not Rated
Metacritic score: 79

Directed by Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round follows four high school teachers all in the throes of mid-life crises who, desperate to find a reason to keep going on, decide to test out a psychiatrist's theory that maintaining a certain blood alcohol content each day makes humans more content. It's a darkly funny and deeply sad film about aging and friendship and the struggle to find fulfillment in life. The 2021 Oscar winner for Best International Film is best known for its luminous final scene, which features its star, Mads Mikkelsen, performing an exuberant dance number to a thumping Euro pop track. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

Supernova (2020)

For fans of: Tragic love stories, Colin Firth, Stanley Tucci

Director: Harry Macqueen
Stars: Colin Firth, Stanley Tucci
Genre: Drama, Romance
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 73

This isn't one of those totally sad movies or one of those totally happy movies, even though it will make you both extremely happy and sad. It's one of those 'tweeners about the beauty of love and life in the face of tragedy, and I'm already crying. The bittersweet story about a couple (Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci) spending some of their last days together as one of them is afflicted with early-onset dementia is a weeper, but carrying you through it will be Firth and Tucci's excellent performances. [Trailer]

Three Identical Strangers (2018)

For fans of: Family secrets, getting your damn mind blown

Director: Tim Wardle
Stars: Adrian Lichter, Andrew Lovesey, David Kellman
Genre: Documentary
Rating: PG-13
Metacritic score: 81

Every documentary that has used some variation of the selling point "a story so crazy it has to be true" needs to step aside. The truth in Three Identical Strangers is so bizarre and goes in so many directions you'd never expect that you'll want to put a pillow on the floor for your jaw. The film follows the story of identical triplets — three gregarious New York boys — separated at birth who meet in their teenage years and become media sensations, but gets really insane when it dives into the circumstances of why they were separated. If I told you any more, I'd ruin it for you. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Possessor (2020)

For fans of: Mind trips, like seriously

Director: Brandon Cronenberg
Stars: Andrea Riseborough, Sean Bean, Christopher Abbott, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Daniel Park
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller, Horror
Rating: Not Rated
Metacritic score: 72

I tend to stay away from movies with trailers that proclaim "from the visionary mind of [insert writer/director here]," because it's like, get over yourself, dude, but Brandon "son of David" Cronenberg's latest film is a doozy. The sci-fi film follows an assassin (Andrea Riseborough) who executes hits by taking control of other people's bodies using implanted chip tech. Seems easy, right? It is, until she has trouble with her latest target (the always dying in a movie or show Sean Bean) when the body (Christopher Abbott) she takes over decides he's not ready to give up total control. Like his dad, Brandon isn't afraid to go cuckoo bananers with practical effects and hallucinatory montages. This is an art house freak-out film that deserves cult status. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

The Mole Agent (2020)

For fans of: Elderly spies, pure emotion

Director: Maite Alberdi
Genre: Documentary
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: 69

The charming Chilean documentary The Mole Agent was nominated for an Oscar in 2020, and it's easy to see why. When a man in his 80s answers an ad from a family who believes their matriarch is being mistreated in a nursing home, he goes in undercover to report what he sees. But what he finds is a unique connection to its residents. Grab a hanky, this one will make your heart explode. -Tim Surette [Trailer]