The 25 best movies to watch on Hulu: April 2022

Hulu may not be as well-known and viewed as Netflix or HBO but it is still a great place to stream classic movies and new films. If you’ve popped open the streamer on your TV or computer, you’ve probably scrolled for a couple of minutes before asking yourself: how can I find the best movies to stream on Hulu? You can find it right here.

You can find classics, such as AkiraThe Princess BrideTo modern marvels like The Portrait of a Lady On Fire And Beale Street could talk, we’ve pulled together a list of 25 of the best movies currently streaming on Hulu. These movies include horror films and romantic thrillers as well as comedies, action movies, romances and heartfelt dramas. This list has a lot to offer, and we hope everyone will enjoy it.

We’ll continue updating this list as new releases come to the platform, so feel free to check back next month to see what new recommendations we have in store.

Akira

Image by Funimation

Let’s just cut to the chase here: Akira Unambiguously, slaps. Katsuhiro Otomo’s 1988 post-apocalyptic sci-fi epic, adapted from his influential manga series of the same name, is a certified “must-see” film for any discerning anime fan. The story of biker gang ne’er-do-well Kaneda and his best-friend-turned-psychic powered nemesis Tetsuo has loomed unconquerably vast over the collective imagination of Japanese pop culture in the decades since the film’s release. Japan was even originally planning on organizing the 2020 Olympic Games around Akira’s iconic visuals (until COVID-19 happened). With a live-action Hollywood adaptation perpetually ensnared in production hell and a new Akira anime series currently in development, now’s as perfect a time as any to either revisit or experience for the first time one of the most indelible touchstones of anime cinema ever produced. —Toussaint Egan

Alles by itself

Image: XYZ Films / Magnet Releasing

John Hyams has a taut spine-chillerDay of Reckoning for Universal Soldiers, Alles by itself This is the classic story of a woman on the run. Jules, a widow recently divorced by Jessica Swanson is moving. If that wasn’t enough stress, a creepy man (Marc Menchaca) appears to be following her on the road. He slashes her tires and she falls to the ground. She then wakes up in his basement. This thriller is tightly constructed with outstanding performances and direction. The 98 minute run time will leave you pounding your chest. —Pete Volk

After Midnight

Richard Linklater’s After Midnight sees Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy reprise their roles as Jesse and Celine; the French-American couple who met on a train in Vienna in 1995’s Before Sunrise. Set nine years after rekindling their relationship in 2004’s Before sunsetFilm follows two married parents with their daughters, Celine and Jesse. They are vacationing on the Greek Peloponnese Peninsula. Celine and Jesse reflect on their life experiences and consider their choices. They also contemplate the relationship between time and love. Beautiful cinematography and masterful performances elevate this film to a level that is both evocative and profoundly emotional. After MidnightIt is the conclusion to one the most extraordinary cinematic trilogys ever imagined and it’s a stunning film in its own right. —TE

Benedetta

IFC Films – Photo

Paul Verhoeven is one of the few filmmakers who have done a violent job confronting modern cinema’s puritanical condition. He is known for his unique style of doing. The MostIt is a matter of marrying gratuitous aesthetics and uncommon thoughtfulness when depicting sex, violence, or both. Benedetta, his first film since 2016’s acclaimed thriller Elle, is perhaps the most openly provocative movie of 2021, and maybe of Verhoeven’s filmography as well.

It is 17th-century Italy where Benedetta, a nun (Virginie Efira), has been experiencing the supernatural touch in her daily life ever since she was a child. She believes God spoke to her, which has been confirmed by many small miracles in her childhood that have spared her family. Her family decided to give her life to God and place her in a convent. Bartolomea, Daphne Patakia’s sister and her everyday life at the convent are disrupted by their secret affair. Her visions turn erotic and she is drawn into a spiritual awakening.

You might find it interesting. BenedettaIt is too exploitative to be taken seriously. That criticism has its merits: The movie’s lasciviousness can be read as being meant for the camera as much as it is for the characters. You might think it is a joke to entertain straight men. But in the context of the rigid confines of Catholicism at the peak of its powers, Verhoeven’s argument for Benedetta’s extremes is compelling. He presses for the sacred over the profane. —Joshua Rivera

Blade of the Immortal

Magnet Releasing

Adapted from Hiroaki Samura’s highly acclaimed manga, Blade of the Immortal stars Takuya Kimura as Manji, a ruthless swordsman who wanders the countryside of feudal Japan on a quest to kill enough “evil” men in order to undo the curse that renders him immortal, yet still susceptible to injury and pain. Manji is enlisted by Rin (Hana Sugsaki), an abandoned teenager whose family had been killed by a vicious band of sword fighters. She vows to defend her in her quest for revenge with the hope that his vendetta will finally set him free. Takashi Miike (13 Assassins, Ichi, the Killer) is the perfect director to tackle this material, rendering Manji’s many mutilations at the hands of his opponents with gleeful physical humor, gory detail, and stylish grace as he and Rin cut a bloody swath through their adversaries. —TE

District B13

Parkour Action Film 2004 is set in an alternate 2010, where Paris’ outlying suburbs are enclosed by walled cities and left to the crime lords. District B13 follows Leïto (David Belle), an athletic ex-thug who must work with an undercover cop (Cyril Raffaelli) to infiltrate his old neighborhood and recover a compromised neutron bomb from a deadly crime boss before it explodes and save his sister. Although written and produced by Luc BessonLéon: The Professional, The Fifth Element), the plot and writing aren’t really anything to write home about. It’s the fast action, breathless chase scenes, and explosive gunfights that make District B13A must-see, professional stunt dancer and Parkour pioneer Belle weaves through concrete compound with the same athleticism as Jackie Chan or Bugs Bunny. —TE

Hell Hath No Fury

Image by Well Go USA Entertainment

Jesse V. Johnson is a great filmmaker in today’s direct-to video action industry. His latest film Hell Hath No FuryOne of his most important achievements in his long and successful career. Marie DuJardin (Nina Bergman), is a French woman who was branded a traitor due to her romantic relationship with Daniel Bernhardt, a Nazi officer. As World War II comes to a close and Marie’s place in the future French society is uncertain, she is rescued by a group of American soldiers on one condition: she must reveal the location of a secret stash of Nazi gold and lead the group there.

The thriller unfolds in an almost completely cemetery setting. There is also a sense of mystery that will challenge everything you thought you knew. Bergman is excellent in a complicated, layered role, and Bernhadt brings an uncanny combination of menace and charm in one of the richest roles he’s had the opportunity to play. The story has no heroes, it’s only about the survivors. —PV

Beale Street could talk

Image: Annapurna Pictures

Barry Jenkins’ follow-up to the Oscar-winning Moonlight is this tender adaptation of James Baldwin’s 1974 novel. Filmed in Harlem, in the beginning of the 1970s, it follows Tish (KiKi Lane) and Fonny (“Stephen James), a young Black couple that is simply trying to survive: apartment hunting and dealing with rival families. Fonny’s arrest for a criminal offense that he couldn’t have possibly committed throws their lives into chaos. A stellar supporting cast includes Regina King, Teyonah Perry, Teyonah Ellis, Brian Tyree Henry and Colman Domingo. Beale StreetIt is a masterpiece in an instant with transcendent scores to match. —PV

Comedy’s King

20th Century Fox

Martin Scorsese’s 1982 follow-up to Raging BullThis dark comedy stars Robert De Niro in the role of Rubert Pupkin (an aspiring comedian). He meets Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis), and falls for him. Pupkin plots to kidnap Langford so that he can get more air time on his program. As you might imagine, things don’t exactly go as planned. De Niro, Lewis, and Sandra Bernhard are outstanding in their respective unhinged roles. Masha is also a great role for Pupkin’s twisted plan. The movie was also a major influence on 2019’s Joker (if it weren’t obvious from the plot description, De Niro basically plays Lewis’s character in that movie), but in my estimation is Considerably, significantly better. It all depends on who is watching. —PV

Land of the Dead

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

George A. Romero’s earlier zombie movies like Night of the Living Dead And Dawn of the Dead are what the horror master is known best for, but 2005’s Land of the Dead It is one of the most overlooked entries to the zombie film canon. The film is set in post-zombie-apocalypse Pittsburgh, where the feudal Dennis Hopper reigns. Pittsburgh’s wealthiest residents live in an apartment complex, leaving everyone else living within its walls to suffer from poverty. Similar to many Romero films. Land of the Dead Effectively wrestles with complex themes. Reflects the problems in our world from the perspective of a fictional world. —PV

Leave No Trace

Bleecker Street Media

Ben Foster (an Iraq War Veteran) and Thomasin McKenzie, his thirteen-year-old daughter live with PTSD in lush green forests outside Portland. They live apart from society and work together to enjoy a peaceful life in harmony with the natural world. The social services detain the girl and arrest her father when she’s seen running in the woods. A touching story about finding your own place in the world and the comforts and limitations of family, Debra Granik’s 2018 drama is a modern masterpiece. —PV

Melancholia

Magnolia Pictures

Lars von Trier’s Melancholia stars Kirsten Dunst (Marie AntoinetteIn the role of Justine (a young bride-to be), Justine experiences a depressive episode right before her wedding. When a rogue planet known as Melancholia appears hurtling towards Earth on a crash-collision course, Justine’s sister Claire struggles to maintain composure in the face of imminent disaster, while Justine navigates a strange euphoric resignation that washes over her in the planet’s last days. Melancholia is an achingly beautiful, somber, and harrowing journey through depression and ennui and one of von Trier’s finest films to date. —TELECOMM ENGINEERING

Memories of Murder

Image: The Criterion Channel

Before ParasiteBefore Snowpiercer, even before The hostBong Joon-ho exploded onto the scene. Memories of Murder. Loosely based on the true story of the first confirmed serial murders in Korea, Bong’s second feature film won dozens of Korean film awards, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor (for Song Kang-ho) at the 2003 Grand Bell Awards. Song portrays Park Dooman (a local detective who is tasked with solving violent crime sprees). Seo Taeyoon, a younger Seoul detective who offers to help in solving the case, disagrees with his methods. Memories of Murder This haunting movie is one of the greatest serial killer mysteries and detective thrillers this century. —PV

Minding the Gap

Magnolia Pictures

The 2018 documentary by Bing Liu about three Rockford young men is a thoughtful and heartfelt meditation on American masculinity. A confident debut by filmmaker Bing Liu, the movie follows Liu and his friends as they grow from a group of skateboarding-obsessed teens to troubled young adults. Filmed over the course of 12 years, it’s an impressive and powerful work filled with the moments of joy and anguish that make up life. Warning: The movie explicitly discusses domestic violence. —PV

Personal shopper

Photo: Carole Bethuel / Les Films du Losange

Maureen Stewart (Kristen Stewart), is a personal shopper to a supermodel. She tries on and sometimes buys clothes, shoes, jewelry, and other accessories for others. Maureen also hopes to speak with her twin brother Lewis. They made a deal that Lewis would be the one to send the signal from the afterlife if he died first. Maureen gets a strange series of texts messages from Lewis. Her twin lives merge into one beautiful and haunting ghost story. After the first collaboration, Stewart and Olivier Assayas collaborate again. Clouds of Sils Maria, Personal shopperAssayas was awarded the Best Director Award at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, and this is a good thing. —PV

Pig

Foto by Neon

While frequently compared to 2014’s John Wick when it was first announced, Michael Sarnoski’s PigIt is not an intensely violent revenge thriller. The story of an ex-chef who became a truffle hunter, and the relentless pursuit to retrieve his stolen pork is instead a deeply moving drama. There are moments of incredible vulnerability and grace that are as unassuming and devastating as their violent actions. Nicolas Cage gives an outstanding performance as Rob, the truffle farmer. His beleaguered face and tired tone are a sign of a life filled with regrets and loss. —TE

Portrait of Lady on Fire

Foto by Neon

I wish I could watch this movie again for the first time, but I’ll settle for watching it over and over. Portrait of Lady on Fire is absolutely exquisite, gorgeous, and cheeky — telling the tale of a woman hired to paint the portrait of another, for the sake of sending to a potential suitor. Of course, the two fall for each other — over the course of thorny portrait sessions, coastal walks, discussions of Eurydice and the nature of art and memory. The quiet longing! What a thrill to find your desire satisfied! A period piece on queer women, which is not only firmly grounded in the female gaze but also one that doesn’t focus too much on the sadness of separation, but rather revels in the pleasure of intimacy and passion. It’s the placement of that mirror. If you don’t know it, you already know. The filmmaking is crisp, considered, and full of life — the slow burn made me consider both the nature of seeing and being seenWhat it means to be intentional about making choices regarding how this impression of love will be preserved as memories fade away. —Nicole Clark

Possessor

Photo by Karimhussain for Sundance Film Festival

Brandon Cronenberg takes a page out of his father’s playbook with the sci-fi psychological horror film Possessor. Andrea RiseboroughBirdmanTasya (played by ) is an assassin. Through a device that allows her to insert her consciousness into the target’s mind, she infiltrates their thoughts. When her latest target (Christopher Abbot) begins to resist Tasya’s conditioning, the two consciousness battle with one another as she desperately attempts to fulfill her mission and return to her own body. It is as sleek and beautiful as it seems, as cerebral as it can be, as visceral as it is. PossessorThis is an unnerving and stylish body horror nightmare that’s well-worth experiencing. —TE

The Princess Bride

Image from the Criterion Collection

The Princess BrideThis movie has it all. Swashbucklers and epic adventures. It also features Cary Elwes’s incredibly funny humor. And it ends with a sweet romance. It’s a fairytale fantasy that plays with familiar tropes and breathes new life into them, a parody born out of love. This movie has inspired so many quotes and pop culture references that it is almost unbelievable.

Although it’s funny, the core of this joke is heartfelt. The Princess BrideButtercup and Wesley are in a passionate, heart-stopping romance. The loyalty, the dedication, the reconnection, the devotion — as you wish, indeed. The Princess Bride, a witty, romantic fantasy tale, is funny and sweet. It features a grandfather telling his grandson a story to read at bedtime, which helps preserve the William Goldman novel a bit better than an easy adaptation. —Petrana Radulovic

The Raid 2

Image: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

We mean the follow-up of smash. 2011Hit Raid, Gareth Evans’ 2014 sequel packs a heavy punch as well — plus some hammers. Set just after the events of the first movie, Rama (Iko Uwais, reprising his lead role) goes undercover to expose corruption in Jakarta’s police. He is sent to jail, survived a prison riot and gained favor with the Jakarta underground. It is packed with intense action, lots of blood, and breathtaking displays of Indonesian Martial Art. pencak silatFans Raid You should also consider the second version. —PV

Riders of Justice

Photo by Rolf Konow/Magnet Publishing

Soldier Markus (Mads Mikelsen), who lost his wife in an accident on a train, is shocked to see Otto the mathematician at his doorstep. Otto is working on an algorithm that he claims can predict the future, and he tells Markus his wife’s death was no accident. Markus welcomes the chance to understand tragedy and joins Otto with his friends to find the truth. Riders of Justice This subverts revenge thriller conventions in ways I won’t spoil. Mikkelsen’s performances are great, as is the team of math geeks (Nikolaj Li Kaas and Lars Brygmann), and there’s a fine balance between comedy and action. Riders of JusticeIt is among the best movies of 2021. —PV

Spencer

Foto by Neon

Pablo Larraín’s (JackieThe latest movie, ‘The Last Days of Diana’ is a film that takes an entirely different approach to a biopic about a woman in public view. Instead of trying to recount her entire life, the film focuses on one terrible weekend. Kristen Stewart’s incredible performance as the near-mythic Princess Diana grounds the now larger-than-life figure with an incredibly human and raw portrayal. Seamlessly blending in horror aesthetics to heighten the anxiety-provoking atmosphere of a weekend getaway with the Royal Family, Larraín and Stewart both manage to evoke the feelings of being surrounded, being perceived at all times, and of standing out while also being completely ignored. —PV

Starship Troopers

Image: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

A satirical adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein’s 1959 novel of the same name, Paul Verhoeven’s 1997 biting sci-fi film Starship TroopersThe Federation is a fascistic military organisation that controls the Earth’s surface through mandatory conscription. In a distant future, the Federation instigates a large-scale war on a terrifying race of alien insects. Though derided when it first released, the film has since experienced a reappraisal in the decades since to such a point that it’s now championed as one of the best and most perceptive science-fiction films of its era. You would like more information? —TE

Inexorable

Image by Twentieth Century Fox

The late Tony Scott’s last film is one of his very best, a working-class drama with a lot of thrilling action and even more heart. Denzel Washington plays Frank Barnes (a retired railroad engineer) who reluctantly trains Will Colson, a young train conductor. They must all work together in order to stop an unstoppable train from destroying a Pennsylvania town. Washington and Pine are superb in a complicated working dynamic, with Pine representing a younger class of worker unknowingly pushing Washington’s older group out of jobs. It’s a thrilling, 98-minute ride. Inexorable This story is loosely inspired by a true story. —PV

Whiplash

Image: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Damien Chazelle delivers a remarkable ode to the uneasy relationship between obsession, talent, and so-called “greatness” with the 2014 drama Whiplash. Film follows Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller), who is an accomplished jazz drummer. He becomes the target of JK Simmons (Fletcher), a hard-working bandleader who demands perfection. The ever-escalating antagonism at the heart of Neiman and Fletcher’s mentor-mentee relationship draws the audience in like a vortex, culminating in a climactic performance that will leave viewers to wonder whether or not everything the former went through was worth it. —TE