Hulu has a great selection of horror movies, and here are the best of the best. With the streaming wars in full swing, it’s absolutely essential that every major service represent every main genre of film well, as that’s doubly true for horror. Horror fans are always ravenous for new content to watch, and there can pretty much never be enough of it on tap.
Without any further ado, here are the best horror movies on Hulu, available to stream right this minute. The selections are presented in alphabetical order.
The Blair Witch Project
Despite being parodied, ripped off, and dismissed as overrated many times in the two decades since its original release, but there’s no denying that The Blair Witch Project is still one of the best examples of found footage horror done right, and one of the best horror movies on Hulu. Made on a shoestring budget by Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick, The Blair Witch Project follows three student filmmakers into some spooky woods, where they’re planning to make a documentary about some of the strange and horrifying occurrences that have taken place in the woods’ history. However, they soon find themselves subjected to some strange and horrifying occurrences of their own. The three actors did most of the camera work themselves, and were deliberately kept in the dark about what terrors would be visited upon them with each new day - so many of the screams heard are genuine.
Coherence
While often classified as a sci-fi/thriller, Coherence is also very much a horror movie, although not one of the blood, guts, and jumps kind. Coherence’s horror is existential, following as it does a group of eight friends who gather for a dinner party, only to find themselves questioning reality after a comet passing overhead leads to strange events occurring. Written and directed by James Ward Byrkit, Coherence is the perfect Hulu pick for anyone looking to see a movie that messes with their mind.
Crawl
The horror genre is full of great flicks pitting human against hungry animal, and one of the best in recent memory is Crawl, now available on Hulu. Crawl sees a Florida college student head home to check on her dad, only to find that he’s been attacked by a large alligator in the basement. As a large hurricane floods their area, daughter and father must find a way to escape or be turned into gator chow.
Hellbound: Hellraiser 2
Rarely does a horror sequel earn as good a reputation as the original, but 1988’s Hellbound: Hellraiser 2 comes close. In the film, directed by Tony Randel, Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) heads into Hell to try and save her stranded father Larry, only to run afoul of her evil uncle Frank, wicked stepmother Julia, and of course, Cenobite leader Pinhead. Containing both shocking gore effects and exquisitely dark visions of a blue-lit netherworld, Hellbound: Hellraiser 2 is unquestionably one of the best horror movies available on Hulu.
House of 1000 Corpses
While House of 1000 Corpses isn’t as good as its follow-up The Devil’s Rejects, Rob Zombie’s debut film established the rock star as a director to watch, and one with a very unique style all his own. In many ways House of 1000 Corpses resembles one of Zombie’s music videos, full of quick cuts, bright colors, scantily clad women, and shocking imagery. The Firefly family are immediately iconic villains, and this House is definitely still worth entering, making it one of the best horror movies on Hulu.
The Lodge
Sometimes kids just aren’t willing to accept a potential new step-mom, and that’s especially true when their biological mother recently died by suicide, as is the case in The Lodge. Aiden and Mia’s dad wants them to get to know his fiance Grace, but things go sideways after their plan to spend the holidays together at a remote lodge are interrupted by possibly supernatural events. The Lodge is a slow-burn, but patient viewers will find it to be one of the best horror movies on Hulu.
Mom and Dad
There are lots of horror movies about evil kids targeting their parents, but surprisingly few about the reverse, perhaps because putting children in mortal danger is still kind of frowned upon. That’s exactly what 2018’s Mom and Dad does, taking place during a mysterious event in which parents turn murderous toward their own offspring, and allowing Nicolas Cage and Selma Blair to go absolutely nuts as two such parental units.
Oculus
While not his feature debut, 2014’s Oculus was the first Hollywood film for Mike Flanagan, now one of horror’s most celebrated working directors. Oculus isn’t his best work, but it’s great on its own merits, presenting the tale of two siblings seeking to prove that an evil mirror was responsible for all the tragedy that’s befallen their family over the years. Along the way, Hulu viewers will be treated to some supremely freaky scenes, as Flanagan consistently plays with the timeline and the idea of what’s real and what’s imaginary.
Overlord
Produced by J.J. Abrams and directed by Julius Avery, 2018’s Overlord makes the horrors of World War II a bit more literal, offering up bloodthirsty monsters that result from genetic experiments performed by the Nazis. After their plane is shot down, a group of American soldiers finds themselves behind enemy lines, and tasked with the mission of destroying a Nazi radio tower inside an old church. Unfortunately, that building is also home to truly twisted mad science, in this recent Hulu hit.
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
There are lots of horror films set at Christmas time, but 2010’s Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale is one of the best in recent memory. A Finnish film, Rare Exports purports to expose the long buried truth about Santa Claus and the origins of the jolly gift-giver. It turns out Santa’s roots aren’t as benign as one might think. Jalmari Helander directs this critically acclaimed import addition to the best horror movies on Hulu.
Stir of Echoes
Released in the same year as M. Night Shyamalan’s blockbuster ghost movie The Sixth Sense, Stir of Echoes found itself pushed aside by audiences at the time. Thankfully, director David Koepp’s film has been rediscovered by many in the decades since, and is primed to earn more fans on Hulu. Based on a book by acclaimed author Richard Matheson, Stir of Echoes stars Kevin Bacon as Tom Witzky, a man who begins experiencing terrifying supernatural episodes after being hypnotized. Tom is nearly driven to complete madness, and Bacon’s performance in the role is one of the best in his storied career.
Tragedy Girls
Tragedy Girls is an arguably even darker on the classic 1989 black high school comedy Heathers. X-Men franchise vets Brianna Hildebrand and Alexandra Shipp star as two teenage girls who turn investigating a series of murders in their small town into a brush with social media stardom. The problem is, they eventually catch the killer, leaving the pair to start claiming victims themselves in order to keep their wild ride going.
