5 Of The Best Horror Movies On Hulu Right Now

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By Daniel Trock/June 14, 2023 11:00 pm EST

The hallmark of any good film is the ability to really make you feel something. That moment where the story transcends the screen and strikes you to the core of your being is always one worth experiencing, and few film genres can make that happen like horror. From jumping out of your seat from a jump scare to the looming dread of building tension, horror knows how to reach down deep inside you and let out a bloodcurdling scream.

We could sit here for days listing off our favorite horror films, from slashers to thrillers to cheap shlock, but there are only so many hours in the day, so let's compartmentalize. Let's say that you're looking for a good picture for scary movie night with your friends, and your streaming platform of choice is Hulu. Thanks to its numerous licensing deals and acquisitions, Hulu has a respectable stable of horror flicks to choose from, new and old, and we can definitely recommend a few of them.

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Truly, is there any horror writer more iconic than Stephen King? The man has spent a lifetime concocting new and interesting ways to chill our spines, from man-eating clowns to murderous machines. Ironically, though, despite the depths of the human imagination that Stephen King has plumbed, one of his most famous works, "Misery," is also one of his most grounded.

Released in 1990, "Misery" tells the story of a prominent author who's grown disillusioned with his current book series, and plans to kill off his main character in his next manuscript. After a car accident, however, he ends up in the care of a young woman who happens to be his biggest fan, and when she finds his manuscript, let's just say she doesn't take the news well. If you've ever harbored fears of stalkers or imprisonment, "Misery" is all but guaranteed to make those phobias even worse. As they say, fame has its price.

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When you think of your childhood playthings coming to life, you probably think of films like "Toy Story," right? You spend your young years playing with and caring for your toys, and surely there's no way they could ever mean you harm — well, under normal circumstances, perhaps. But when they're inspirited by the soul of a serial killer, then you might want to invest in a lock for the toy chest.

The 1988 movie "Child's Play" tells the tale of Charles "Chucky" Lee Ray, a serial killer who, after getting shot in a police pursuit, transplants his soul into a popular child's doll. This doll ends up in the hands of a young boy as a gift from his mother, and Chucky begins wreaking havoc under the cover of a harmless toy. Chucky has joined the ranks of the horror icon elite, spawning numerous spin-offs and tie-ins. If you've ever been curious about that red-headed murder doll, this is the place to start.

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Summer camps are often horror shows in their own right, though usually more in a mundane "I would rather be home playing video games" sort of way. While being away from home is scary, you're never in any real danger at a summer camp, provided it's well-designed and properly staffed. Camp Crystal Lake, unfortunately, is neither, which is what led to one of the most legendary slasher flicks of all time.

The 1980 movie "Friday the 13th" brings us to the aforementioned summer camp, which has been the subject of bad press following the accidental drowning of a camper in years past. Despite that, a new stable of councilors attempts to refurbish the place, only to be attacked by Jason Voorhees, a seemingly unstoppable killer clad in a hockey mask and wielding a machete. Fair warning, despite the film's critical success at the time of its release, it was derided by some for its depictions of graphic violence. If you're squeamish, this might not be a fun time for you.

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Like most storytelling genres, horror stories often adhere to certain established tropes and plot devices, whether unintentionally or deliberately. Modern storytelling has a certain predilection for deconstructive stories that take a closer look at those established tropes, and for the horror genre, the clearest example of this is 2011's "The Cabin in the Woods."

The film follows a group of friends on their way for a weekend getaway in a remote mountain cabin, unaware of the horror that lurks just below the cabin's floors. What seems at first to be setting up a bog-standard slasher flick is actually a deep dive on many of the horror film tropes we've come to expect and take for granted, culminating in a story that is equal parts introspective, unnerving, and on occasion, hilarious. If you're an aficionado of horror films, odds are good you've seen this movie already, but if you haven't, you ought to remedy that.

It's important to remember that being a good movie and being an entertaining movie are not mutually inclusive. The horror genre in particular is rife with films that aren't very scary, whether due to cheap special effects or half-baked storylines, but what they lack in scares or tension, they make up for in sheer spectacle. Case in point, in 2021, Nicolas Cage starred in "Willy's Wonderland," a debatable knockoff of "Five Nights at Freddy's," in which he plays a silent janitor getting into fistfights with murderous animatronics.

Is the film scary? There are jumpscares, certainly, but not much else. Is the story well-written? Not really. But is it fun to watch? Well, if the idea of Nicolas Cage waging a one-man war against bloodthirsty Chuck E. Cheese robots sounds fun to you — and really, there's no version of that sentence that doesn't sound fun — then you are going to have the time of your life.