No matter what the season, it’s always a good time to watch a well-made thriller.
Hulu has plenty of them and, this July, the streamer has more great suspense stories for you to savor in the hot summer months.
Watch With Us has selected the best of the best, including the guilty pleasure Halle Berry movie The Call, the British murder mystery The Oxford Murders with Lord of the Rings actor Elijah Wood and the action-thriller The Flight of the Phoenix with Dennis Quaid and Hugh Laurie.
‘Flight of the Phoenix’ (2004)
When an oil rig crew needs to be rescued in Mongolia, Captain Frank Towns (Dennis Quaid) flies in to save them. But when a major dust storm causes the plane to crash in the Gobi Desert, Frank and only a handful of his passengers survive. To make matters worse, desert bandits loom in the distance, their food and water are already running low and not every survivor gets along with the others. Can they figure out a way to escape a seemingly impossible situation?
Flight of the Phoenix is an action-thriller whose main antagonist isn’t a human but rather nature itself. The Gobi Desert they are stranded in is hot, windy and unforgiving, and it forces each man to work together or else they will all die. The eclectic cast, which includes Lord of the Rings actress Miranda Otto, Hugh Laurie and rapper Sticky Fingaz, is excellent, but it’s Quaid who proves to be the one you can’t take your eyes off.
The Flight of the Phoenix is streaming on Hulu.
‘The Call’ (2013)
Jordan Turner (Halle Berry) is a 9-1-1 operator who still suffers from PTSD after she inadvertently caused the death of one of her callers. She gets a chance to redeem herself when a kidnapped girl, Casey (Abigail Breslin), calls from the trunk of a speeding car asking for help. It’s a race against time as Jordan tries to figure out where Casey is and who kidnapped her before it’s too late.
The Call is an effective and efficient B-movie that makes the most of its irresistible premise. Armed with a questionable wig (which the actress occasionally makes fun of on her X feed) and a determination to right some past wrongs, Berry’s Jordan is a heroine worth rooting for as she goes above and beyond the call of duty to save Casey’s life. The third act is a bit over the top, but The Call is so fun, you’ll forgive its few lapses in logic.
The Call is streaming on Hulu.
‘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.
The Oxford Murders is streaming on Hulu.
‘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.
Skincare is streaming on Hulu.
‘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 work.
Boston Strangler is streaming on Hulu.
‘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.
Cuckoo is streaming on Hulu.
‘Nightmare Alley’ (2021)
Stan Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) is a man who is running from his past. That’s what makes him join a travelling circus, where he soon finds success as a phony psychic and spiritualist. Eventually, he leaves the circus to exploit a wealthier clientele in upscale Buffalo, where he meets Dr. Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett). Stan believes he may have met his soul mate, but little does he realize Lilith is exactly like him — except smarter and more ruthless. Has Stan finally met his match?
One of the few remakes nominated for Best Picture, Nightmare Alley is a terrific thriller noir that keeps you enthralled throughout its 150-minute runtime. Cooper is outstanding as a man who thinks he has all the answers, and he’s matched by Blanchett, who quickly shows him he knows nothing. Nightmare Alley is the rare thriller that has an ending that’s both obvious and shocking. It turns out no one, not even smooth-talking Stan, can escape their fate.
Nightmare Alley is streaming on Hulu.
‘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.
Eileen is streaming on Hulu.
‘Black Swan’ (2010)
Natalie Portman won a Best Actress Oscar for her work in this psychological thriller, and it’s one of the few times the Academy got it right. Portman stars as Nina Sayers, a New York City ballet dancer who auditions for the lead role in an upcoming production of Swan Lake. The competition is fierce, though, and Nina’s fragile state soon fractures as she risks everything to win the dual part of the White and Black Swan and give the performance of a lifetime — even if it kills her.
Black Swan is just as visceral and intense today as it was in 2010, and that’s due to Portman and director Darren Aronofsky. Both are in sync in depicting the rapid deterioration of a woman whose life is largely empty except for one obsession — ballet. Black Swan’s climax is simply superb — transcendent, horrific, sad and oddly triumphant.
Black Swan is streaming on Hulu.
‘Femme’ (2023)
One night, London drag queen Jules (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) is violently assaulted by a group of homophobic men. Months later, he encounters one of them, Preston (George MacKay), at a gay sauna. When he realizes Preston doesn’t recognize him out of drag, Jules plots to exact revenge by filming them having sex and posting it on the internet. However, as Jules gets to know more about Preston, he develops feelings for him that could derail his plan.
Femme is a non-traditional thriller that examines the different gender roles men play to appease those around them. The movie is striking partly due to it being set in places like London’s housing projects and gay nightclubs, which you don’t normally see in this genre.
Femme is streaming on Hulu.
