Trying to find the best scary movies on Hulu can be tricky. Many older films exist, but some were a bit too schlocky, in ways that don't hold up today. So we've dug deep through the menus of Hulu to find the very finest spooky movies, just in time for the scariest season.
Our list ranges from critically acclaimed films to modern horror movies filled with moments that will have you screaming. And that range helps Hulu stay in our list as one of the best streaming services, giving us everything from gators in the crawl space to a group of masked hunters. And if you're looking for more? Check out our list of the best horror movies on Netflix.
Best scary movies on Hulu right now
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The Lodge
Often times when newly-single parents start dating again, their children can be terrible to their potential new suitors. This is especially true if they all go on a trip together. Unfortunately, this lodge isn't a well-made ski resort, but an in-the-boonies shack that's basically a death trap. The Lodge thrives thanks to its well-framed visuals, as well as a story where you're often unsure who is the villain and who is in the right. Are the kids (Martell and McHugh) correct about their possible mother to be (Keough), or are they pure evil? The only thing for sure is that dear old dad (Armitage) stinks. — Henry T. Casey
Rotten Tomatoes score: 74%
Starring: Riley Keough, Jaeden Martell, Lia McHugh, Richard Armitage, Alicia Silverstone
The Ring (2002)
A large wave of American awareness of the modern Japanese style of horror films (dubbed J-horror, because of course it was) started with The Ring. A remake of the 1998 Hideo Nakata film Ringu (itself an adaptation of a novel),The Ring revolves around a mysterious series of deaths, tied to a cursed videotape (ask your parents, Gen Z). Once you finish watching the tape, which is filled with violent imagery, a phone call rings on your end, with a two-word warning: "seven days." It's up to Rachel (Watts) to stop this pattern from continuing. — Henry T. Casey
Rotten Tomatoes score: 71%
Starring: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, David Dorfman, Jane Alexander, Brian Cox, Daveigh Chase
You're Next (2013)
The concept behind You're Next is a simple one. The rich Davison family is fighting and bickering at their vacation home, but their simple infighting is halted when a crossbow bolt breaks through a window and kills Tariq (a partner of one of the Davisons) with a brutal headshot. The bolt was fired by one of a series of masked individuals, and we quickly find that Erin (who is dating one of the other Davisons) may be one of the few folks here who can survive all of this nonsense. That's thanks to her impressive combat, a sight to be seen. — Henry T. Casey
Rotten Tomatoes score: 79%
Starring: Sharni Vinson, Nicholas Tucci, Wendy Glenn, A. J. Bowen, Joe Swanberg, Barbara Crampton, Rob Moran
The Grudge (2004)
If you like The Ring, you may also like The Grudge, another ripple in the wave of J-horror's influence in the States. Also a remake (of Takashi Shimizu's 2002 film Ju-On: The Grudge), the American The Grudge stars Sarah Michelle Gellar (whom American horror audiences knew from I Know What You Did Last Summer and Buffy: The Vampire Slayer) as an exchange student named Karen Davis who goes to take care of a child named Emma in Tokyo. We soon learn of The Grudge, a condition that afflicts those experiencing significant grief — and Karen works to figure it all out. — Henry T. Casey
Rotten Tomatoes score: 40%
Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, KaDee Strickland, Clea DuVall, Bill Pullman
Bram Stoker's Dracula
One of the most critically-acclaimed movies on this list with good reason, Bram Stoker's Dracula is directed by Francis Ford Coppola and is chock-full of stars. The story traces Dracula (Gary Oldman) back to his roots as Vlad The Impaler, who renounced god because a priest told him his wife Elisabeta's soul was to be stuck in hell for all eternity. Then, it jumps forward to the late 19th century when a solicitor named Jonathan (Reeves) takes on Drac as a client, and even goes to Transylvania to meet him. There, he makes the mistake of letting Dracula see a photo of his fiancée Mina (Ryder) — who the count thinks is a reincarnated version of his wife. — Henry T. Casey
Rotten Tomatoes score: 75%
Starring: Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves
Stephen King's IT (1990)
Stephen King’s It is a product of its time, for both good and ill. It’s a campy ‘90s horror miniseries based on a bestselling Stephen King book — which could also describe everything from The Stand to The Langoliers. It stands out, though, thanks to its stellar cast, particularly Tim Curry as the delightfully evil clown Pennywise. For those who haven’t read the book, It is about a group of friends in suburban Maine (where else?) who defeat a murderous clown demon as children, then have to reunite as adults to end the horror for good. While a lot of It’s appeal lies in nostalgia, it’s still got some laughs and some scares. — Marshall Honorof
Rotten Tomatoes score: 67%
Starring: Harry Anderson, Dennis Christopher, Richard Masur, Annette O'Toole, Tim Reid, John Ritter, Richard Thomas, Tim Curry
The Host (2006)
If you like your screams with a side of laughs, then the South Korean horror/comedy masterpiece The Host is worth your time. Bong Joon-ho's film takes lazy dad Park Gang-du (Kang-ho) and gives him a true test for his love for his family: a giant monster that jumps out of the water to wreak havoc and steals his daughter Hyun-seo (Go Ah-sung). And while it may seem like all is lost, help comes in the form of a new friend in the monster's hide out. All that's left is surviving the government's concerns over a spreading virus. — Henry T. Casey
Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%
Starring: Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-bong, Park Hae-il, Bae Doona, Go Ah-sung
Let The Right One In (2008)
Let The Right One In, based on the John Ajvide Lindqvist novel of the same name, is part horror movie, part romance and part ‘80s throwback. The film takes place in a suburb of Stockholm, where 12-year-old Oskar finds himself bullied and friendless. That changes when Oksar meets Eli: a mysterious girl who comes out only at night. Naturally, Eli is a vampire, which puts a damper on the tweens’ budding relationship — but as it turns out, that’s not the only traumatic secret from Eli’s past. Let the Right One in is dark, weird and memorable, favoring atmospheric dread over jump scares. — Marshall Honorof
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
Starring: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Ika Nord, Peter Carlberg
Crawl
What would you do if a hurricane was about to touch down on Florida, and your dad is still there and you don't think he's capable of saving himself? Well, you'd go and save him, as swimmer Haley Keller decides to do. It's what's right. What's not right, though, is the horror and frights she experiences in the crawl space underneath the house. No, it's not termites. Haley's got alligators to deal with, and she's in no condition to take them on. Maybe she can find her father and the two can combine their efforts. Jump-scares galore await when you learn to crawl. — Henry T. Casey
Rotten Tomatoes score: 84%
Starring: Kaya Scodelario, Barry Pepper
Event Horizon
Critically panned upon release, Event Horizon has undergone a deserved reevaluation in recent years and earned its place in the horror pantheon as a cult favorite. The film follows a group of astronauts searching a seemingly abandoned ship to discover what happened to the crew, and it’s this central mystery that keeps the film ticking along. Event Horizon airs on the side of brevity, with a runtime barely more than 90-minutes, but plenty of scares are packed into its relatively short length. Proceedings go completely off the rails in the final third, building to an ending that is deliciously unnerving and sure to stick with you — Rory Mellon
Rotten Tomatoes score: 29%
Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kathleen Quinlan, Joely Richardson
Friday the 13th Part 3
There’s no denying that the vast majority of Friday the 13th sequels aren’t remembered especially fondly. However, Part 3 has become iconic in the long-running franchise for introducing Jason’s legendary hockey mask. Witnessing the birth of a horror icon is reason enough to give this slasher flick a look. Part 3 is also one of the most gleefully violent in the entire series with a body count that stretches beyond a dozen victims. If you’re in the mood for a breezy slasher flick that will spook you and have you laughing in equal measures, then you can’t go wrong with Friday the 13th Part 3 — Rory Mellon
Rotten Tomatoes score: 7%
Starring: Dana Kimmell, Paul Kratka, Tracie Savage, Richard Brooker
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