International hits and psychological scares populate Hulu’s catalog of chilling offerings.

Plot twist! The 20 best thriller movies on Hulu

International hits and psychological scares populate Hulu’s catalog of chilling offerings.

By Ilana Gordon,

Ilana Gordon is an entertainment, culture, and comedy writer originally from Connecticut. She currently lives in Los Angeles.

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Kevin Jacobsen,

on August 18, 2026 7:31 a.m. ET

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Jack Nicholson as Jerry Black in ‘The Pledge’; Franka Potente as Lola in ‘Run Lola Run’; Ricardo Darín as Benjamín Espósito in ‘The Secret in Their Eyes’. Credit:

Warner Brothers/Courtesy Everett Collection; Sony Pictures Classics/Courtesy Everett Collection; Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

The summer of the World Cup is over, but the international love fest continues on Hulu, where the thriller category runneth over with exceptional options from around the globe. This month, the guide travels to Australia for *We Bury the Dead* (2026), where a military accident has destroyed a city and left behind brain-dead survivors who are reanimating and becoming violent. Or, consider streaming one of two very different serial killer films: *American Psycho* (2000) and *Pearl* (2022) each follow a murderous psychopath, but one is a parody and the other a tragedy.

If you enjoy your thrillers served raw with a side of high stakes, then these flicks are for you. Read on for EW’s 20 favorites in the genre to stream on Hulu right now.**

American Psycho (2000)

Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman in ‘American Psycho’.

Kerry Hayes/Lionsgate

Bret Easton Ellis’ 1991 best-seller looks unrecognizable in Mary Harron’s cinematic adaptation of the controversial novel. Starring Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, a yuppie investment banker whose only real passions are consumerism, dining out, and committing murder, this black comedy and horror fusion satirizes the mass-consumption and performative lifestyle that was a hallmark of the 1980s culture and economy.

Luckily for viewers, the film version of *American Psycho *presents the best aspects of the novel without luxuriating in book Bateman’s fevered misogyny. EW’s critic writes that the film is elevated by Bale’s interpretation, noting, “He keeps Patrick lurching blindly toward humanity, until we see a self being born in a man who, paradoxically, was too selfish to have one.” *—Ilana Gordon*

Where to watch *American Psycho*: Hulu

**Director: **Mary Harron

**Cast: **Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Josh Lucas, Chloë Sevigny

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007)

Ethan Hawke as Hank Hanson and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Andy Hanson in ‘Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead’. Everett Collection

Money is the root of all evil, and in Sidney Lumet’s 2007 crime thriller, *Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead*, money rots the Hanson family from the inside out. After finance executive Andy Hanson (Philip Seymour Hoffman) realizes his embezzling activities are on the cusp of being discovered, he convinces his similarly cash-strapped younger brother, Hank (Ethan Hawke), to rob their parents’ jewelry store.

The siblings’ “victimless” crime does not work out as hoped, and as their father seeks revenge on the mysterious perpetrators, his two sons struggle to clean up the mess they left behind. The last film Lumet made before his death in 2011, *Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead* is arguably his best. EW’s critic writes, “Lumet’s camera has become an invisible cage, inviting us to study the behavior of the human animals trapped inside.” *—I.G.*

Where to watch *Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead*: Hulu

**EW grade:** A

**Director:** Sidney Lumet

**Cast:** Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Rosemary Harris, Marisa Tomei

Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)

Amandla Stenberg as Sophie, Maria Bakalova as Bee, Pete Davidson as David, and Rachel Sennott as Alice in ‘Bodies Bodies Bodies’.

Eric Chakeen/A24

In 2022’s *Bodies Bodies Bodies*, there’s a storm coming — but it isn’t responsible for the film’s many deaths. When Sophie and her girlfriend Bee decide to ride out a hurricane at a friend’s mansion, they don’t expect the experience to take a hedonistic turn into a night of drinking, drugs, and one paranoia-inducing round of the murder guessing game Bodies Bodies Bodies. As the evening progresses, the game of trying to identify the murderer becomes reality as, one by one, the houseguests begin to perish.

A horror film laden with generational lingo, style, and attitudes, *Bodies Bodies Bodies* is a well-acted and self-aware horror flick that attacks with both knives and jokes. EW’s critic describes it as “a blithe, ruthless slasher satire soaked in the digital-native lingo and dizzy *Euphoria* nihilism of Gen Z.” *—I.G.*

Where to watch *Bodies Bodies Bodies*: Hulu

**EW grade:** B+

**Director: **Halina Reijn

**Cast: **Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Myha’la Herrold, Chase Sui Wonders, Rachel Sennott

Fresh (2022)

Sebastian Stan as Steve in ‘Fresh’. Searchlight Pictures

Given that the title sequence doesn’t begin until 30 minutes into the film, *Fresh* may start out like a rom-com, right down to the meet-cute in a grocery store. But by the time you’re actually invested in the apparently burgeoning romance between the equally excellent Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sebastian Stan as Noa and Steve, things take a turn for the markedly sinister as Noa’s dream guy transforms into something quite different. EW’s critic deems *Fresh *“a clever, gory metaphor for the seemingly endless horrors of modern romance rooted in a plot twist just outrageous enough to plausibly be true.” To say anything else would spoil the fun, so we’ll just say that the film’s title is more than apt. *—Gwen Ihnat*

Where to watch *Fresh*: Hulu

**Director: **Mimi Cave

**Cast: **Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sebastian Stan, Jonica T. Gibbs, Charlotte Le Bon, Andrea Bang

How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2022)

Marcus Scribner as Shawn, Jake Weary as Dwayne, and Ariela Barer as Xochitl in ‘How to Blow Up a Pipeline’.

Neon/Courtesy Everett Collection

Based on Andreas Malm’s controversial book of the same name, *How to Blow Up a Pipeline* follows a group of young climate activists who plan to destroy an oil pipeline in West Texas to prompt more immediate action in addressing the climate crisis. One wrong step could risk being caught by authorities, or even putting themselves in harm’s way. Unfolding with the tension of a heist movie, the film doesn’t just entertain as an action thriller but also gives valid reasons as to what led each activist to take such drastic measures in the hope of saving the planet. The film also raises questions about whether such actions are effective in prompting change, while presenting its characters as complex humans. *—Kevin Jacobsen*

Where to watch *How to Blow Up a Pipeline*: Hulu

**Director:** Daniel Goldhaber

**Cast: **Ariela Barer, Kristine Froseth, Lukas Gage, Forrest Goodluck, Sasha Lane

The Infiltrator (2016)

Bryan Cranston as Robert Mazur in ‘The Infiltrator’.

Liam Daniel/Broad Green Pictures

Behind the scenes, the biographical crime drama thriller *The Infiltrator* is actually a family affair. Written by Ellen Brown Furman and directed by her son, Brad Furman, the movie is set in the 1980s and follows the infiltration and dissolution of Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar’s money laundering business. Three years after *Breaking Bad* went off the air, Bryan Cranston switches sides from meth maker to cartel breaker, starring as real-life U.S. Customs Special Agent Robert Mazur, whose undercover work was crucial in exposing Escobar’s far-reaching financial misdeeds.

Pivoting effortlessly from family man to ruthless felon, Cranston once again puts his acting range on full display, with a nuanced performance that is underscored by the knowledge that the slightest misstep could cost him — and his family — their lives. *—I.G.*

Where to watch *The Infiltrator*: Hulu

**EW grade:** B+

**Director: **Brad Furman

**Cast: **Bryan Cranston, Diane Kruger, John Leguizamo, Benjamin Bratt, Yul Vazquez

It Was Just an Accident (2025)

Majid Panahi as Ali, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr as Hamid, and Hadis Pakbaten as Goli in ‘It Was Just an Accident’.

Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi used run-and-gun shooting techniques to create *It Was Just an Accident*, a political thriller that was made without the approval of the country’s government. Pahani was arrested in 2010 on charges of creating propaganda against the Islamic Republic, and in this film, he leans heavily on the experiences of his fellow inmates to tell the story of three survivors of the Iranian prison system, who kidnap a man they believe was their torturer, and try to decide what to do with him.

Nominated for Best International Feature Film and Best Original Screenplay, *It Was Just an Accident *is Pahani’s bravest work yet: a condemnation of the regime’s practices, while still sending the audience on a gripping — and often funny — journey. *—I.G.*

Where to watch *It Was Just an Accident*: Hulu

**Director:** Jafar Panahi

**Cast: **Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi

Longlegs (2024)

Nicolas Cage as Longlegs in ‘Longlegs’.

Nicolas Cage takes a big swing (arguably bigger than usual) in this quietly haunting horror-thriller from Osgood Perkins (son of *Psycho* star Anthony Perkins). The go-for-broke actor plays a mysterious serial killer known only as “Longlegs,” who is involved in a string of murder-suicides dating back decades. FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) investigates and eventually discovers a disturbing secret about her own connection to the case. “Perkins collects his simple component parts and somehow transforms this into such an unnerving film,” writes EW’s critic. “*Longlegs *is definitely a step above the others.” —*K.J.*

Where to watch *Longlegs*: Hulu

**Director:** Osgood Perkins

**Cast:** Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage, Blair Underwood, Alicia Witt

Memento (2000)

Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby in ‘Memento’.

Everett Collection

*Memento*, Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed sophomore feature, is a non-linear thriller about grief and memory. Guy Pearce stars as Leonard Shelby, a man who began suffering from short-term amnesia after a brutal attack, an affliction that complicates his goal of avenging his wife’s death. Reliant on tattoos, Polaroid pictures, and hastily scribbled notes in place of memories, Leonard attempts to hunt down his wife’s killer, while struggling to discern who he can trust.

Nolan is meticulous with his plot, structuring the film’s chronology to mimic the fractures in Leonard’s memory. EW’s critic gave the film an A, writing, “*Memento* has the uniquely disorienting quality of a puzzle that reveals its design the fewer pieces there are in place. It’s the rare mystery in which every moment lives.” *—I.G.*

Where to watch *Memento*: Hulu

**EW grade:** A

**Director: **Christopher Nolan

**Cast: **Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano

Pearl (2022)

Mia Goth as Pearl in ‘Pearl’.

Christopher Moss/A24/Courtesy Everett Collection

Ti West’s *X* series contains three movies, and *Pearl* is the strongest. Considered a prequel to the horror films *X *(2022) and *MaXXXine* (2024), this movie tells the story of Pearl (Mia Goth), one of the lead characters in *X*. Set in 1918, Pearl is a farmer living with her parents while her husband fights in World War I. When Pearl’s life as a caretaker for her father chafes against her plans to become a chorus girl, Pearl’s violent tendencies begin to manifest in unusual ways.

Goth offers a “standout” performance in the film, guiding audiences through her character’s mental deterioration. EW’s reviewer writes, “*Pearl* is the rare origin story where you see the breakdown happening in real time.”* —I.G.*

Where to watch *Pearl*: Netflix

**EW grade:** A–

**Director: **Ti West

**Cast: **Mia Goth, Emma Jenkins, Tandi Wright, David Corenswet, Alistair Sewell

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The Pledge (2001)

Jack Nicholson as Jerry Black in ‘The Pledge’.

Warner Brothers/Courtesy of Everett Collection

Jack Nicholson plays a homicide detective who needs to close a case to keep a promise in *The Pledge*. On the day of Jerry Black’s (Nicholson) retirement, a second-grade girl is found murdered. Jerry assures her mother he will find her killer, but after the cops arrest a man, he worries the girl’s death might be part of a larger pattern.

Sean Penn directs this psychological thriller, which is more interested in interrogating how violence affects communities than in telling a straightforward crime story. *The Pledge* isn’t an easy watch — this is a movie about murdering children, after all — and Penn ratchets up the tension even further, positioning the audience to watch as Jerry destroys his life in pursuit of the truth. *—I.G.*

Where to watch *The Pledge: *Hulu

**Director: **Sean Penn

**Cast: **Jack Nicholson, Patricia Clarkson, Benicio Del Toro, Aaron Eckhart, Helen Mirren

Prey (2022)

Amber Midthunder as Naru in ‘Prey’. David Bukach/Hulu

The *Predator* monster has terrified audiences for more than 35 years, but in the story’s prequel and fifth installment, the tables turn and the monster becomes the prey. The film follows Naru (Amber Midthunder), a Comanche warrior with the heart of a hunter, who seeks to prove her skills and protect her tribe by catching a predator. Professional basketball player–turned–horror star Dane DiLiegro plays the film’s eponymous villain and says the story is strong enough to win viewers over, even without its affiliation to the beloved horror franchise.

In an interview, he tells EW, “There just happens to be a Predator involved. Honestly, you could have shot this movie with a different monster and it still probably would have worked.” If you’re in the market for a solid thriller that still makes time to flesh out its main characters, sink your teeth into *Prey*. *—I.G.*

Where to watch *Prey*: Hulu

**Director: **Dan Trachtenberg

**Cast: **Amber Midthunder, Dane DiLiegro, Dakota Beavers, Michelle Thrush, Harlan Blayne Kytwayhat

Prospect (2018)

Pedro Pascal as Ezra and Sophie Thatcher as Cee in ‘Prospect’. Everett Collection

The two areas Pedro Pascal excels in: acting while wearing helmets and becoming a surrogate parent to abandoned youth. In the 2018 sci-fi thriller *Prospect*, he gets to do both. Damon (Jay Duplass of *Transparent*) and Cee (Sophie Thatcher of *Yellowjackets*) are a father-daughter team with a contract to extract gems from a forest moon covered in poisonous mushrooms. But what could have been a nice bonding trip to an alien moon turns ugly after a violent interaction with a pair of rival prospectors. Pascal plays Ezra, the verbal member of the duo, whose swagger and cowboy cadence are a surefire signifier of impending shootouts.

A stylish, low-budget indie film that’s smart enough to cast great actors and get out of their way, *Prospect* doesn’t need multimillion-dollar special effects to keep you entertained — Ezra’s accent is capable of handling that all on its own. *—I.G.*

Where to watch *Prospect*: Hulu

**Directors: **Zeek Earl, Chris Caldwell

**Cast: **Pedro Pascal, Sophie Thatcher, Jay Duplass

Run (2020)

Kiera Allen as Chloe Sherman and Sarah Paulson as Diane Sherman in ‘Run’. Everett Collection

On the surface, Diane (Sarah Paulson) seems like the perfect mother: Her 17-year-old daughter, Chloe (Kiera Allen), was born with health issues, and Diane has devoted her life to homeschooling and taking care of her. But now that Chloe is applying to colleges and on the brink of setting off into the real world, she begins to notice that Diane’s love may be masking secrets that Chloe could never dream of. And the more Chloe learns about herself and her mother, the more danger she finds herself in.

A suspenseful psychological horror thriller that deals in themes of parental love, control, and what happens when the umbilical cord is cut too late, *Run *owes its success to the commitment of its stars. Newcomer Allen is a joy to watch, but it’s Paulson who, as EW’s critic writes, puts a “sweeter face” on depravity. *—I.G.*

Where to watch *Run*: Hulu

**Director:** Aneesh Chaganty

**Cast: **Sarah Paulson, Kiera Allen

Run Lola Run (1998)

Franka Potente as Lola in ‘Run Lola Run’.

Sony Pictures Classics/Courtesy Everett Collection

An action thriller imbued with the spirit of a liberal arts curriculum, *Run Lola Run* is a German export that keeps its protagonist moving and its audience guessing. Lola (Franka Potente) gets a call from her boyfriend, Manni — a criminal grunt who misplaced a bag of 100,000 marks and must come up with the money in 20 minutes or risk being murdered by his boss. What follows is a series of time loops as Lola’s smallest choices and actions combine to determine hers and Manni’s fates. One of the best international thrillers to emerge from the ‘90s, *Run Lola Run* takes abstract ideas about chaos theory and determinism and repackages them into a heady and fast-moving action movie. *—I.G.*

Where to watch *Run Lola Run*: Hulu

**Director: **Tom Tykwer

**Cast:** Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup, Nina Petri, Joachim Król

Sanctuary (2023)

Margaret Qualley as Rebecca Marin and Christopher Abbott as Hal Porterfield in ‘Sanctuary’.

Neon/Courtesy Everett Collection

Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott are the only stars of this taut psychological thriller. Qualley plays Rebecca, a woman interviewing Abbott’s Hal at a hotel for a CEO position; as the film soon reveals, however, Rebecca is actually Hal’s dominatrix, and this was all part of a carefully planned script. Hal breaks the news to Rebecca that because he’s about to inherit his father’s company, they have to end their arrangement. This enrages Rebecca, who demands half his new salary, and the pair engage in a battle for control. Unfolding with simmering suspense, *Sanctuary* is a scintillating thriller about sex and power, evoking Steven Soderbergh’s *Sex, Lies, and Videotape* (1989), ironically starring Qualley’s mother, Andie MacDowell. —*K.J.*

Where to watch *Sanctuary*: Hulu

**Director:** Zachary Wigon

**Cast:** Margaret Qualley, Christopher Abbott

The Secret Agent (2025)

Wagner Moura as Armando in ‘The Secret Agent’.

For 21 years, Brazil existed under the thumb of a military dictatorship. Set in 1977, in the midst of the repressive regime, *The Secret Agent *is a thriller starring *Civil War’s *Wagner Moura as Armando, an academic living under an assumed identity as he attempts to flee from his political enemies.

Shot on location in the coastal city of Recife, *The Secret Agent *is an homage to ‘70s cinema. The film combines grindhouse violence, gritty politics, real-life history, surreal comedy, and sharks — in an obvious nod to *Jaws** *(1975) — to create something new with an old soul. *The Secret Agent* was the most celebrated movie at Cannes 2025, and earned Moura an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. *—I.G.*

Where to watch *The Secret Agent*: Hulu

**Director: **Kleber Mendonça Filho

**Cast:** Wagner Moura, Carlos Francisco, Tânia Maria, Robério Diógenes, Alice Carvalho

The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)

Ricardo Darín as Benjamín Espósito in ‘The Secret in Their Eyes’.

Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

A non-linear crime thriller that took home the Oscar for Best International Feature Film in 2010, *The Secret in Their Eyes* is a masterfully composed film that unfolds like a classic movie. Benjamín Espósito (Ricardo Darín) is a retired criminal investigator who decides to write a novel to help find closure around a 1970s cold case. He recruits his former colleague, Judge Irene Menéndez Hastings (Soledad Villamil), to help him revisit the unsolved rape and murder, setting him on a journey through time and memory in search of a killer.

This co-production between Argentina and Spain inspired an English-language remake released in 2015, but the original is far stronger. EW’s critic writes, “The performances are tender, the script elegant, the cinematography (especially during a virtuoso chase scene in a soccer stadium) artful.” *—I.G.*

Where to watch *The Secret in Their Eyes*: Hulu

**EW grade: **B

**Director: **Juan José Campanella

**Cast: **Ricardo Darín, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago, Javier Godino, Guillermo Francella

Sirāt (2026)

Sergi López as Luis in ‘Sirāt’.

A road movie that elicits comparisons to William Friedkin’s *Sorcerer* (1977) or George Miller’s *Mad Max *(1979), *Sirāt *is a Spanish thriller about Luis (Sergi López), a father looking for his missing daughter, accompanied by his young son and dog. The pursuit leads the family into a rave in the Moroccan desert — until a violent conflict breaks out, transforming the search into a quest for survival.

Director Óliver Laxe fills his movie with mostly non-actors, and the expansive North African desert is as desolate as the film’s worldview. Ear-shattering EDM and bone-chilling tension make for a full-body sensory experience, but it’s *Sirāt*’s most emotional scene — omitted here to maintain the purity of the viewing experience — that makes this a thriller you won’t soon forget. *—I.G.*

Where to watch *Sirāt*: Hulu

**Director:** Óliver Laxe

**Cast:** Sergi López, Bruno Núñez Arjona, Richard Bellamy, Stefania Gadda, Joshua Liam Henderson

We Bury the Dead (2026)

Daisy Ridley as Ava Newman in ‘We Bury the Dead’.

This zombie horror thriller from Australia is littered with dead bodies and unfinished business. *We Bury the Dead *begins on the eastern coast of Tasmania, where the United States has accidentally deployed an experimental weapon to catastrophic results: The city of Hobart is destroyed, and the area’s population has either been killed or rendered brain-dead.

Ava Newman (Daisy Ridley) volunteers to join the body retrieval unit in order to search for her husband, Mitch. But as some of the brain-dead bodies reanimate and become violent, Ava’s tragic search takes a turn for the horrifying. Ridley gives a haunting performance as Ava, a grieving woman struggling to make sense of this grave new world. It’s a slower burn, but *We Bury the Dead* is still enough to startle the senses. *—I.G.*

Where to watch *We Bury the Dead*: Hulu

**Director: **Zak Hilditch

**Cast: **Daisy Ridley, Brenton Thwaites, Mark Coles Smith

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