Hulu is the place to go to stream fantastic thriller films.
There are all sorts of thrillers to enjoy on the platform — from psychological thrillers like Cuckoo and Eileen, to crime capers like Hustlers and bio-dramas like Boston Strangler.
This March, Watch With Us has updated our list of the best Hulu thrillers.
At the very top of our list is the recent Best Picture-nominated The Secret Agent, one of the best movies of 2025.
We also recommend Point Break, the classic Keanu Reeves/Patrick Swayze action thriller from 1991.
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‘The Secret Agent’ (2025)
In 1977, former technology professor Armando Solimões (Wagner Moura) flees persecution in an act of resistance against the authoritarian regime of the Brazilian military dictatorship. Armando relocates from São Paulo to Recife during the carnival holiday in an attempt to start over and protect his young son (Enzo Nunes), but in his new and highly surveilled environment, he finds himself hounded by paranoid neighbors and the constant sense that he is being watched.
The Secret Agent sadly did not end up taking home any of its four Academy Award nominations, but it still handily reigns as one of the best films from last year. The Portuguese-language thriller is rich in a unique style and visual sensibility, which perfectly carries its intelligent political commentary and weighty themes. Moura (of Narcos fame) gives an impressively nuanced and restrained performance that evokes startling power with subtle physicality. Ultimately, The Secret Agent is top-notch filmmaking and a can’t-miss modern masterpiece.
‘Point Break’ (1991)
Undercover FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) infiltrates a gang of surfers-turned-robbers who have been robbing banks across Southern California, donning masks and using the moniker the Ex-Presidents. Though wary of Utah at first, the group and their leader, the charismatic Bodhi (Patrick Swayze), ultimately accept him as their own. As Utah becomes closer to the surfers, he falls for a female surfer named Tyler (Lori Petty), complicating his sense of duty to the FBI. But will the Ex-Presidents get the jump on Utah before he resolves his internal conflicts?
The high-octane thrills of Point Break are directed to perfection by action-movie maven Kathryn Bigelow, enduring as a quintessential ’90s action film that balances popcorn entertainment with an endearing and philosophical bromance between Swayze and Reeves. The film favors practical stunts over flashy visual effects, making the stakes and sense of danger feel grounded, while Bigelow brings a distinct artistic sensibility to elevate a perceived “dude-bro” nature of the film.
‘Hustlers’ (2019)
In 2007, stripper Destiny (Constance Wu) dances in a New York City club to make ends meet, but she’s barely getting by. When the club’s extremely popular dancer Ramona (Jennifer Lopez) decides to take Destiny under her wing, the two make a powerhouse team. Destiny finds her money problems solved — until the following year’s financial crisis. Struggling and newly a single mom, Destiny joins Ramona and two other dancers in a scheme to drug wealthy men and steal their money. But when cracks start to show in their operation, it’s only a matter of time before their house of cards comes crashing down.
Hustlers is widely considered to feature the career-best performance for Lopez, who received major awards attention at the time, including a Golden Globe nomination. Director Lorene Scafaria gives Martin Scorsese-like energy to her film that is kinetic, emotional and exciting; a perfect mix of sexy, funny, shocking and scary. While avoiding being a cautionary tale of “girls gone wild,” Hustlers is instead an empathetic portrait of rage against an unjust system, the lengths people are forced to go to regain their autonomy — and the collateral damage that will always follow.
‘Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead’ (2007)
Buried under a mountain of debt and an impending audit that will reveal his embezzlement, Andy (Philip Seymour Hoffman) decides to employ his younger brother Hank (Ethan Hawke) for a desperate scheme to rob their parents’ jewelry store. Laid out in a nonlinear narrative showing differing perspectives, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead follows Andy and Hank as their heist goes horribly wrong, with their father (Albert Finney) seeking justice against criminals he has no idea are his own children.
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead made several “best movies of the year” lists in 2007, cracking the top 10 at publications like The Hollywood Reporter, The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly. Director Sidney Lumet‘s final film before he died four years later was hailed as a triumphant return to form for the veteran filmmaker. It’s a tense, hypnotizing thriller that deftly explores family dysfunction and features incredible performances from Hawke and Hoffman.
‘Sovereign’ (2025)
Sovereign tells a story of two fathers — Jerry (Nick Offerman), who homeschools his son Joe (Jacob Tremblay) and believes in the sovereign citizen movement, and John (Dennis Quaid), a police chief who looks on with pride as his son, Adam (Thomas Mann), starts his new job as an officer. Neither men know it yet, but their paths will soon collide violently, changing all their lives forever.
Sovereign is best watched without knowing too much of the plot going in. All you need to know is that it’s very good, with a surprisingly somber performance from Parks and Recreation star Offerman. A thriller grounded in reality, Sovereign is based on a real-life incident but told with appropriate but respectful dramatic license. It’s a tragedy for everyone involved, and it’s an indication of Sovereign’s strength as a movie that it can make you feel empathy for people even when they do terrible things.
‘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.
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‘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.
‘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.
‘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.
‘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.
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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.
‘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.
‘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.
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