Hulu‘s turning up the tension with suspenseful thrillers, from the bone-chillingly terrifying to the comical.
Which are the ones you can’t skip? If the tension has you on the edge of your seat, you can relax (at least for a little while) — because Watch With Us has updated our list of Hulu thrillers for October 2025.
With a Nicolas Cage film about toxic obsession, a smart social satire and many more unsettling stories that will keep you guessing until the end, our thriller list will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
‘The Surfer’ (2024)
No one does “weird, tense thriller” like Nicolas Cage — when you see this actor, you know to expect the unexpected, and The Surfer doesn’t disappoint. Cage plays a father known only as The Surfer, who is desperate to purchase his childhood home on the beach so he can surf with his son (Finn Little).
But a battle over beach territory soon begins, with local self-proclaimed surf guru Scally (Julian McMahon) and a local homeless Bum (Nic Cassim) vying for control of the waves. Rapidly escalating feats of obsession and toxic masculinity swirl around the three men. Before long, they’re not just competing for territory — they’re competing for their very survival.
The Surfer is streaming on Hulu.
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‘The Menu’ (2022)
What is a truly unique dining experience really worth? Could it be your life? In The Menu, directed by Succession executive producer Mark Mylod, a group of wealthy foodies travels to a remote island to eat a lavish meal prepared by celebrity chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes). One of these guests is not like the other, however — Margot Mills (Anya Taylor-Joy) is an escort accompanying obnoxious food obsessive Tyler Ledford (Nicholas Hoult), and she’s simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
As Margot realizes that all of the meals are elaborate, nasty and dangerous surprises for the wealthy and powerful guests, she tries to devise a means of escape. A shocking social satire that sizzles with tension, The Menu is delightfully biting and deliciously suspenseful.
The Menu is streaming on Hulu.
‘Cat Person’ (2023)
In modern dating, where is the line between being awkward and being creepy? Between bad sex and sex that isn’t consensual? Is it possible to actually feel safe when going on a date with a stranger? These are the questions asked in Cat Person, an indie film based on the viral short story by Kristen Roupenian. It follows Margot (Emilia Jones), a college student who works at a movie theater concessions stand. When an older customer named Robert (Nicholas Braun) asks her out, Margot begins viscerally imagining the worst-case scenario.
Cat Person is a comedic psychological thriller that plays with our perceptions of romance, dating and sex. If you’ve ever wondered if your new Tinder match might be a serial killer, you won’t want to miss this highly underrated film.
Cat Person is streaming on Hulu.
‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ (2022)
After being abandoned by her family and left to fend for herself in the marshlands of North Carolina, Kya Crawford (Daisy Edgar-Jones) doesn’t know if she wants everyone to leave her alone or if she desperately wants a friend. Reviled by the nearby town, she nonetheless connects with two local boys — sweet and earnest Tate Walker (Taylor John Smith) and handsome football hero Chase Andrews (Harris Dickinson). When one of them is found dead, the town immediately suspects Kya — and as she tries to prove her innocence, we’re left to wonder what really happened in that wild marsh.
Stunning cinematography and a magnetic performance from Edgar-Jones (plus an original Taylor Swift song!) make this a captivating, lush thriller about what happens to people who are forced to make their own way in the world — for better or for worse.
Where the Crawdads Sing is streaming on Hulu.
‘A Simple Favor’ (2018)
This complicated, viral thriller stars Anna Kendrick as Stephanie, a mommy vlogger who strikes up a friendship with effortlessly cool neighbor Emily (Blake Lively) shortly before Emily vanishes. What follows is a mystery that’s as sordid and tawdry as you can possibly imagine — and it’s captivating every step of the way. Fake identities, infidelities and even incest are exposed in A Simple Favor, which was so popular it even spawned a (less successful) sequel.
The chemistry between Lively and Kendrick is what really sells this movie, which examines the complicated dynamics of female friendship. Do yourself a simple favor and watch it now.
A Simple Favor is streaming on Hulu.
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‘The Call’ (2013)
Jordan Turner (Halle Berry) is a 9-1-1 operator who still suffers from PTSD after she inadvertently caused the death of one of her callers. She gets a chance to redeem herself when a kidnapped girl, Casey (Abigail Breslin), calls from the trunk of a speeding car asking for help. It’s a race against time as Jordan tries to figure out where Casey is and who kidnapped her before it’s too late.
The Call is an effective and efficient B-movie that capitalizes on its irresistible premise. Armed with a questionable wig (which the actress occasionally makes fun of on her X feed) and a determination to right some past wrongs, Berry’s Jordan is a heroine worth rooting for as she goes above and beyond the call of duty to save Casey’s life. The third act is a bit over the top, but The Call is so fun, you’ll forgive its few lapses in logic.
The Call is streaming on Hulu.
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‘The Oxford Murders’ (2008)
Martin (Elijah Wood) is an American student studying at Oxford University. When his elderly landlady is murdered, Martin teams up with one of his professors, Arthur Seldom (John Hurt), to investigate who killed her. When Seldom becomes convinced the killer intends to kill again, the unlikely duo rush to solve the mystery before anyone else dies — including them.
The Oxford Murders is an old-school murder mystery that prioritizes cozy vibes over unsettling thrills. That’s perfectly fine with a movie that makes the most of its quaint English locations and charming cast. Hurt shines as the cerebral professor eager to solve the case, and Wood has one of his best non-Hobbit roles as a perpetually overwhelmed student who learns a valuable — and life-saving — lesson by the end of the film.
The Oxford Murders is streaming on Hulu.
‘Skincare’ (2024)
Hope Goldman (Elizabeth Banks) is a successful owner of a Los Angeles skincare clinic who is upset that a rival aesthetician, Angel (Luis Gerardo Mendez), is stealing her clients. When her tires are slashed and someone seems to be stalking her, she hires a life coach, Jordan (Lewis Pullman), to help her. Will Hope and Jordan find out who is harassing her before her personal life is compromised and her career is destroyed?
Skincare is a psychological thriller that takes its time to build up tension. It’s more interested in focusing on Hope and her gradual breakdown as she compromises her own morals to solve her problems. Banks and Pullman have great chemistry together as an unlikely duo pulled into a complicated web of lust and violence. Skincare has an unusual premise, but it’s a satisfying suspense movie that will make you think twice about applying that cold cream to your face.
Skincare is streaming on Hulu.
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‘Boston Strangler’ (2023)
Thrillers based on real-life events are usually creepier than fictional stories, and Boston Strangler is one of the better ones out there. Boston newspaper reporters Loretta McCaughlin (Keira Knightley) and Jean Cole (Carrie Coon) investigate a series of murders they believe are caused by one man. But the police are reluctant to admit they have a serial killer on their hands until Loretta and Jean’s persistent reporting forces the authorities to face the hard truth — there’s a Boston Strangler on the loose, and he’s preying on the city’s women.
Fans of Zodiac will like Boston Strangler as the film borrows liberally from David Fincher’s 2007 masterpiece. That’s OK, though, as it works well in depicting its protagonists’ dogged investigative efforts to catch a slippery killer. Knightley in particular stands out as a reporter fighting not only the police force’s indifference to her work, but also a sexist workplace that continually undermines her efforts.
Boston Strangler is streaming on Hulu.
‘Cuckoo’ (2024)
Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) is a teenager who has every reason to be moody. She’s still getting over the death of her mother, and her dad’s work has taken her away from her home. Stuck in a remote resort in the Bavarian Alps, Gretchen notices some unusual things, like strange screams in the distance and a hooded woman who seems to be stalking her. She begins to suspect her father’s employer, the weird Herr Koning (Dan Stevens), is behind it all, but how can she prove it and stay alive?
Cuckoo lives up to its title — it’s genuinely bonkers in all the right ways. The film’s bucolic European setting is used effectively, with the Alps casting sinister shadows over Gretchen and her family. Schafer is a great addition to the Final Girl Hall of Fame, and Stevens adds another madman role to his already impressive resume of unhinged weirdos.
Cuckoo is streaming on Hulu.
‘Eileen’ (2023)
Eileen Dunlop’s (Thomasin McKenzie) life is pretty drab. She lives in Massachusetts, where the winters are long and bleak, and she works at a juvenile detention facility for teenage boys, which is about as exciting as it sounds. But one day, in walks the platinum blonde Rebecca Saint John (Anne Hathaway), and Eileen’s life is forever changed — at first for the better, and then for the worse. Who is Rebecca, and what exactly does she want from Eileen besides mere friendship?
Eileen is an excellent thriller that’s also a compelling character study as it follows both women’s interest in a young inmate, Lee Polk (The White Lotus star Sam Nivola), who Rebecca suspects is hiding a dark family secret. Hathaway is in full movie-star mode as the glamorous Rebecca, and McKenzie is convincing as the sexually repressed Eileen. The film is a straightforward thriller with a deliberately anti-climactic ending that may anger some and please others.
Eileen is streaming on Hulu.
‘Black Swan’ (2010)
Natalie Portman won a Best Actress Oscar for her work in this psychological thriller, and it’s one of the few times the Academy got it right. Portman stars as Nina Sayers, a New York City ballet dancer who auditions for the lead role in an upcoming production of Swan Lake. The competition is fierce, though, and Nina’s fragile state soon fractures as she risks everything to win the dual part of the White and Black Swan and give the performance of a lifetime — even if it kills her.
Black Swan is just as visceral and intense today as it was in 2010, and that’s due to Portman and director Darren Aronofsky. Both are in sync in depicting the rapid deterioration of a woman whose life is largely empty except for one obsession — ballet. Black Swan’s climax is simply superb — transcendent, horrific, sad and oddly triumphant.
Black Swan is streaming on Hulu.
‘Femme’ (2023)
One night, London drag queen Jules (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) is violently assaulted by a group of homophobic men. Months later, he encounters one of them, Preston (George MacKay), at a gay sauna. When he realizes Preston doesn’t recognize him out of drag, Jules plots to exact revenge by filming them having sex and posting it on the internet. However, as Jules gets to know more about Preston, he develops feelings for him that could derail his plan.
Femme is a non-traditional thriller that examines the different gender roles men play to appease those around them. The movie is striking partly due to it being set in places like London’s housing projects and gay nightclubs, which you don’t normally see in this genre.
Femme is streaming on Hulu.
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