Entertainment
Every ‘Into the Dark’ horror movie on Hulu ranked
Horror fans looking for their next great binge should head Into the Dark.
This week, Hulu’s scary movie anthology wraps up its second season of holiday-centric horrors with Blood Moon, a chilling werewolf story celebrating the spring full moon (which yes, we agree, is a bit of stretch on the “holiday” front). That brings the Into the Dark installment count up to 24 feature-length nightmares inspired by Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Pet Appreciation Week, and more.
In honor of the occasion, we’re celebrating these celebrations with a complete ranking of the Blumhouse series. Of course, we’ll tell you which movie goes with each holiday, but we’ll also tell you what other horror titles each episode is like so you can cue up something you’re sure to enjoy.
So, here it is: a guide to every single one of Hulu’s Into the Dark films. Happy haunting!
24. The Current Occupant
What’s more likely, that the president of the United States would wake up as a patient in a mental hospital? Or that a patient in a mental hospital would wake up thinking he’s the president of the United States? This — let’s be real, very dumb — question anchors The Current Occupant, a psychological thriller that’s basically just the eye scene from A Clockwork Orange stretched to feature length. It’s not great, but it’s not terrible. You can get to this Independence Day romp last.
Good for fans of: Unsane, Shutter Island
Where to watch: The Current Occupant is now streaming on Hulu.
23. I’m Just Fucking With You
In honor of everyone’s least favorite holiday, April Fool’s Day, Into the Dark pits a hateful internet troll against an actual serial killer staying at a bizarre motel. As the title implies, this movie is made to mess with you, and does so through red herrings, plot twists, and a lot of other random bullshit. Suffice to say, it achieves what it set out to accomplish. Whether you’ll enjoy it is another matter.
Good for fans of: The Voices, Spree
Where to watch: I’m Just Fucking With You is now streaming on Hulu.
22. Uncanny Annie
A group of friends opt for a relaxed Halloween night in, but a cursed board game ruled by a devilish little ghost girl has other plans in mind. In this spooky tale — which, yes, uses Jumanji rules — our protagonists must defeat the titular Uncanny Annie to set everything right. The writing in this one, particularly when it comes to what we can only assume was supposed to be heartfelt dialogue, isn’t fantastic. However, the sheer silliness of the premise makes it a solid on-in-the-background pick.
Good for fans of: Ouija, Truth or Dare, The Boy
Where to watch: Uncanny Annie is now streaming on Hulu.
21. Pure
Well, this is a super gross way to celebrate Daughter’s Day. In Pure, a creepy dad takes his daughters to a celibacy retreat run by an even creepier pastor. Thankfully, ancient maternal magic is on the girls’ side, so they’re not defenseless against the weirdness that’s about to ensue. This ambitious idea doesn’t land in every way we’d like, but it’s got enough going for it to be serviceable.
Good for fans of: Teeth, Ginger Snaps
Where to watch: Pure is now streaming on Hulu.
20. The Body
Written by Paul Fischer and Paul Davis, and based on their short film of the same name, The Body follows a hitman completing a job in plain view on Halloween night. After all, who would suspect anything is real on a night all about make-believe? It’s a cute premise that doesn’t go as far as we’d like, but features a strong cast and some very fun dialogue for its antihero, played by Tom Bateman, and his love interest, played by Rebecca Rittenhouse.
Good for fans of: Kill List
Where to watch: The Body is now streaming on Hulu.
19. Down
No one wants to spend Valentine’s Day stuck in an elevator with a stranger. But for two sexy singles, that hypothetical inconvenience becomes a terrifying reality when they get trapped in their office building over a long weekend. This isn’t the most interesting Into the Dark gets. Still, Down‘s solid leads make it a romantic comedy-turned-survival thriller worth seeing once.
Good for fans of: 10 Cloverfield Lane, P2, Buried
Where to watch: Down is now streaming on Hulu.
18. My Valentine
Toxic masculinity and pop stardom collide in this neon-soaked nightmare from writer-director Maggie Levin. GLOW‘s Britt Baron stars as Valentine, a talented musician confronted by her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend, who strangely looks a whole lot like Valentine herself. Tonally, this one is a very bumpy ride — but great visuals, hysterical one-liners, and a catchy soundtrack save it.
Good for fans of: Cam
Where to watch: My Valentine is now streaming on Hulu.
17. New Year, New You
Revenge is classic fodder for scary films, but New Year, New You tackles a friend group’s fighting through an especially modern lens. Four women reunite to celebrate New Year’s Eve, but the insidious past of one, a social media star played by the sensational Carly Chaikin, looms large. What follows is a study in manipulation that’s intensely cynical but still very funny.
Good for fans of: Fantasy Island
Where to watch: New Year, New You is now streaming on Hulu.
16. Flesh and Blood
Stars Dermot Mulroney and Diana Silvers knock it out of the park in this father-daughter two hander. As Kim Tooms and her dad Henry Tooms prepare for Thanksgiving, questions about the recent death of Kim’s mom, namely whether Henry anything do with it, make the mood less than inviting. You’ve seen this type of movie before, for sure. But not with these phenomenal actors.
Good for fans of: Run
How to watch: Flesh and Blood is now streaming on Hulu.
15. All That We Destroy
Into the Dark runs headlong into the terrors of parenthood with the Mother’s Day-themed All That We Destroy. In this sci-fi hellscape, a geneticist with a serial killer for a son provides clones to be his victims. It’s an ethical conundrum, certainly. But when one of the clones starts fighting back, this mother is forced decide how far she is willing to go for her child. It’s a doozy.
Good for fans of: We Need to Talk About Kevin, Ex Machina
Where to watch: All That We Destroy is now streaming on Hulu.
14. Treehouse
Killer comedy meets feminist frights in this chilling tale of witchcraft and revenge. Jimmi Simpson stars as a douchebag celebrity chef who travels to his deceased father’s remote estate for a weekend away. But when he invites a beautiful stranger and her friends over to his place for dinner, unexplained terrors begin to plague the house. This one is seriously twisty.
Good for fans of: The Craft, Hard Candy, I Spit on Your Grave
Where to watch: Treehouse is now streaming on Hulu.
13. Blood Moon
Blood Moon sees Into the Dark finally take on transformation horror by way of a mother-son survival story. With the next full moon approaching, Esme, played by Megalyn Echikunwoke, must protect her werewolf son Luna, played by Yonas Kibreab, from authorities — and himself. You won’t be particularly scared by this installment, but it sure is heart-wrenching.
Good for fans of: An American Werewolf in London
Where to watch: Blood Moon is now streaming on Hulu.
12. School Spirit
All right, Into the Dark, the first day of school is a special kind of torture, not a holiday — get it together. Still, this high school horror show is more fun than that holiday choice implies, delivering a surprisingly satisfying send-up of The Breakfast Club that replaces teen angst with goofy gore. Sure, its characters fall flat and you can see the ending from a mile away. But a slasher flick about a deranged school mascot? At the very least, that’s an A+ for effort.
Good for fans of: Prom Night, Happy Death Day, Student Bodies
Where to watch: School Spirit is now streaming on Hulu.
11. Pooka 2: Pooka Lives!
A standalone sequel to Pooka! (#4 on this ranking), Pooka 2: Pooka Lives! turns the original Christmas-themed story of a killer toy into a comedic exploration of internet legends. Set against an Easter backdrop, this is basically Evil Dead 2 done Pooka-style, right down to the pulpy kills. Plus, Rachel Bloom appears in a small role as maniacal toy maker that is just absolute perfection. Definitely watch this one, but see the original first if you can. It’s worth it.
Good for fans of: Slender Man, Unfriended, Annabelle
Where to watch: Pooka 2: Pooka Lives! is now streaming on Hulu.
10. Midnight Kiss
Into the Dark‘s best slasher to date, Midnight Kiss transforms flirty New Year’s Eve fun into a deadly game of cat and mouse. When a group of catty West Hollywood friends arrive in Palm Springs to ring in 2020 (good luck with that one, my dudes), a mysterious killer dressed in BDSM gear starts to hunt them one by one. It’s campy fun with just enough splatter, a traditional whodunnit wrapped up in glitter and guts. At the very least, you’ll love the champagne bottle kill. It’s brutal, but…bubbly.
Good for fans of: The House on Sorority Row, Black Christmas
Where to watch: Midnight Kiss is now streaming on Hulu.
9. Crawlers
Crawlers is the St. Patrick’s Day-themed alien invasion we never knew we needed. In this action adventure, body-snatching creatures from outer space descend on Earth and friends attending an Irish pub crawl must defend themselves from attack. Full of witty dialogue and stellar comedic performances, this is an instant win for fans of Stranger Things and green beer.
Good for fans of: Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The World’s End
Where to watch: Crawlers is now streaming on Hulu.
8. Delivered
Making friends as an adult can be remarkably difficult. So it makes perfect sense that when a friendly couple met a nice lady at maternity yoga, they agreed to come over for dinner. At her remote home. Where no one could hear them scream. The smiley antagonist of Delivered, played by Tina Majorino, is what really sells this Mother’s Day-themed abduction story. It’s the best performance in the entire series, delivering an Annie Wilkes-inspired killer you won’t soon forget.
Good for fans of: Misery
Where to watch: Delivered is now streaming on Hulu.
7 . They Come Knocking
For Into the Dark‘s second Father’s Day episode, They Come Knocking takes audiences on a somber road trip with a dad and his children as they prepare to spread their mother’s ashes in the countryside. At their campsite, however, an otherworldly presence refocuses their attention from that lasting grief to an increasing sense of panic. Better left unspoiled, this is a nightmarish journey that consistently satisfies and never fails to surprise.
Good for fans of: The Ritual
Where to watch: They Come Knocking is now streaming on Hulu.
6. Good Boy
National treasure Judy Greer heads up Into the Dark‘s monstrous take on Pet Appreciation Week in director Tyler MacIntyre’s Good Boy. When Maggie, a newly unemployed journalist who is just as unlucky in love, decides to adopt a dog, she picks out Chico from the local shelter. He’s an adorable black and white mutt, willing to do anything for his new owner. And we mean anything. (Murder. He does murder.) It’s silly and kind of sweet — like cuddly Cujo, minus the rabies.
Good for fans of: Gremlins, Cujo
Where to watch: Good Boy is now streaming on Hulu.
5. Tentacles
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with some truly toxic co-dependence. In Tentacles, a man and a woman fall in love hard and fast — moving in together and getting engaged just weeks after meeting. But their blissful romance gives way to an eeriness they can’t quite shake. Filmed during the pandemic, Tentacles marked Into the Dark‘s triumphant return after their COVID-19 hiatus and proved just how much the series could do with a scaled-down concept. It’s simple, but genuinely scary.
Good for fans of: The Invisible Man, It Follows, Audition
Where to watch: Tentacles is now streaming on Hulu.
4. Pooka!
In what is perhaps Into the Dark‘s most widely known title, a struggling actor named Wilson (Nyasha Hatendi) gets a job playing the mascot form of a popular toy for Christmas. But the holiday miracle soon gives way to a series of brutal killings that leave Wilson terrified for himself, his girlfriend, and her son. You won’t see where this seasonal scare is going, so buckle up.
Good for fans of: Child’s Play
Where to watch: Pooka! is now streaming on Hulu.
3. Pilgrim
Pilgrim, by far the goriest title on this list, offers home invasion horror with a side of occult terror for the most bonkers feast in holiday history. It’s too unhinged to spoil, so we’ll just say this: A wealthy family learns the meaning of Thanksgiving the hard way after inviting strangers they believe to be a historical reenactment group to dine at their home. This ends, as you might guess, very, very badly for them. Proceed with caution, but this is definitely the pick if you’re looking for extreme.
Good for fans of: Dinner Party, Wrong Turn
Where to watch: Pilgrim is now streaming on Hulu.
2. Culture Shock
The most thought-provoking Into the Dark yet, Culture Shock is a sci-fi thriller set along the Mexico-United States border that packs a serious gut punch. Directed by Gigi Saul Guerrero, the film begins as a terrifying tale of crossing the border grounded in tense realism. Soon, however, that real-world horror gives way to a more artificial insidiousness. The result is a not at all subtle, but still hugely impactful exploration of the human rights crisis that is United States’ immigration.
Good for fans of: Get Out
Where to watch: Culture Shock is now streaming on Hulu.
1. A Nasty Piece of Work
Fans of Ready or Not can enjoy another brutal game night in the house of a conceited rich dude with Into the Dark‘s A Nasty Piece of Work. In this Belko Experiment-meets-National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation mash-up, Kyle Howard stars as Ted, a corporate underling vying for his holiday bonus at a terrifying work dinner party. Julian Sands and Molly Hagan undeniably steal the show as Ted’s evil boss and his equally evil wife, but the whole cast nails it in this ensemble horror-comedy. *
Good for fans of: Ready or Not, You’re Next, Would You Rather
Where to watch: A Nasty Piece of Work is now streaming on Hulu.
Asterisks (*) indiciate movie entry has appeared on a previous Mashable list.
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