Hulu subscribers are in luck this Halloween. The streaming service is packed with options for any viewers looking to watch something spooky in October. There are horror titles for all levels of moviegoer, from the scaredy cats to the genre’s aficionados. With multiple franchises, one-offs and new releases, plenty of horror lies within Hulu’s haunted library.
Here are the seven best horror movies streaming on Hulu right now.
“Alien”
Right out the gate, Hulu offers what could easily be argued as the finest horror film of all time. Ridley Scott’s 1979 film “Alien,” written by Dan O’Bannon from a story by O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett, is a film reminiscent of its central creature — that is, a perfect organism. “Alien” brilliantly fuses science fiction and horror storytelling, making a haunted house out of a futuristic spaceship harboring one deadly fugitive.
The film masterfully makes the Nostromo feel lived in and, more broadly, stale, a working-class space cruiser that drives home the metaphor at the heart of this franchise. Bursting with iconic characters and creatures (with a fantastic performance from Sigourney Weaver at its center), “Alien” will forever remain one of the great horror films of all time — a movie that is thought-provoking, fun and utterly terrifying in equal measure.
“The Fly” (1986)
This one isn’t for the faint of heart.
The master of body horror, David Cronenberg, lent his talents to a retelling of George Langelaan’s “The Fly” in 1986, writing a new version alongside Charles Edward Pogue. The story centers on Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum), a mannered scientist who, in a drunken mistake, splices his DNA with that of a common housefly while testing his newly invented teleportation device. What emerges is part Brundle, part fly (Brundlefly, if you will) and all gross, a progressively decaying body clinging to its last remnants of humanity. The makeup work from Chris Walas and Stephan Dupuis is truly extraordinary, sitting atop the hill as some of the finest practical effects in the horror genre to date.
But “The Fly” is more than its gore. At the heart of Cronenberg’s creation is a genuinely moving meditation on illness and aging. Goldblum and co-star Geena Davis portray these ideas movingly, with the latter in particular giving a truly heart-wrenching performance as she becomes an audience surrogate witnessing Brundle’s turn. Without these ideas so grounded in the film, “The Fly” would merely be a compelling effects showcase — with them, it’s an all-timer of the genre.
“No One Will Save You”
“No One Will Save You” carries the distinction of being the only film on this list that’s a Hulu original. The film from 20th Century Studios was released on the platform in 2023, written and directed by Brian Duffield. “No One Will Save You,” an almost entirely dialogue-free movie, follows Kaitlyn Dever as a young outcast who must survive in her childhood home on the night of an alien invasion. The film is simple, creepy and engaging, using its simple premise as a vehicle for well-staged horror set pieces. On a list full of classics, this is a strong recommendation from modern horror.
“Saw”
For all the over-the-top gore and traps that would befall the franchise in later entries (for better or worse), it’s easy to forget how straightforward and effective the first “Saw” film is. James Wan and Leigh Whannell’s 2004 horror sensation is relatively simple, with two men trapped in a dilapidated bathroom as the victims of a serial killer who tests his victims through deadly games. These games would get more and more elaborate as the films went on, belying the straightforward, effective terror faced by the characters in this first film. Of course, these crazy traps are effective in a different way (and Hulu has plenty of “Saw” films to enjoy), but no individual film has been quite as potent as Wan and Whannell’s first go.
“Scream” (1996)
On a list full of horror greats, “Scream” makes a strong case for being the finest of them all. The film is a brilliant send-up of the slasher genre, one that both imitates and perfects some of horror’s finest tropes. It’s a movie that knows how to be both incredibly funny and genuinely scary without ever sacrificing one trait for the other. The opening scene is a masterpiece of short-form horror, and the rest of the film somehow lives up to it. This is a great starter place for those new to the horror genre — but “Scream” isn’t without its scares.
“Sinister”
“Sinister” falls short of the dramatic perfection of some other films on this list, but it makes a strong case for being the scariest movie represented. Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill’s film stars Ethan Hawke as a struggling true crime writer who, after inadvisably moving his family into the home where a gruesome murder took place, searches for inspiration for his next hit. The film lives and dies by a series of sequences where Hawke’s Ellison Oswalt (a great author name, by the way) watches a series of Super 8 “home movies” that a series of terrifying family snuff films. These sequences are consistently unnerving and nightmare-inducing, making for a fantastic Halloween watch for anyone seeking genuine scares.
“Us”
“Us” is probably Jordan Peele’s worst film. This isn’t a dig, but a comment on the extraordinary quality of his three-film career. For most other horror directors, this would be one of their best.
The film is a non-stop ride with a number of engaging and terrifying sequences. Peele knows how to create lasting horror imagery, and that is on full display in his sophomore feature (there are few scary movie frames as memorable and haunting in the last decade as the tethered family standing in the yard). “Us” is anchored by an absolutely incredible dual performance from Lupita Nyong’o, one that continues to invite interrogation upon rewatches. With a three-film resume as strong as this, it’s hard to imagine how Peele won’t go down as one of the finest horror filmmakers of all time.
