Sometimes, scrolling through Hulu can feel like wandering around a massive warehouse filled with all your online shopping—endless options and a little overwhelming. After a while, you might feel like giving up or just picking a movie you’ve already watched a dozen times. But now and then, you stumble across a hidden gem so good that you can’t help but tell your friends about it.
If you’re tired of the same major-studio heavy-hitters and are looking for movies that’ll make you the coolest friend with the best taste, look no further. Here are ten lesser-known Hulu gems, listed from number 10 down to the plain necessity.
10. Crush (2022)
Think you’ve seen every possible teen rom-com setup? Crush flips the formula. Rowan Blanchard plays Paige, a creative misfit stuck joining the school track team, only to end up in a love triangle that’s funny, heartfelt, and refreshingly casual about its queer romance—no melodramatic “big reveal,” just a story where love is love.
9. Monica (2022)
This is one of those films that creeps up and shatters your heart. Trace Lysette stars as Monica, coming home to take care of her estranged, terminally ill mother. It’s intimate and messy and full of quiet moments that feel like something that could have occurred in your own home.
8. BlackBerry (2023)
Before iPhones dominated the planet, there was BlackBerry—and this movie documents its meteoric birth and collapse with quick wit and high energy. A blend of technology history and corporate mayhem, it’s both a time capsule and an object lesson.
7. All of Us Strangers (2023)
Eerie and deeply moving, this drama follows Adam (Andrew Scott), a lonely screenwriter who reconnects—literally—with his long-deceased parents. Throw in a charged romance with his neighbor (Paul Mescal), and you’ve got a film that lingers in your head long after the credits.
6. Sanctuary (2022)
One night, two individuals, and a struggle for power and lust. Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott engage in this hot, wired two-hander that is half psychological game of chess, half dark comedy.
5. Slums of Beverly Hills (1998)
Natasha Lyonne shines in this bittersweet teen coming-of-age tale of a teenage girl crashing from one low-rent apartment to another with her zany family. It’s witty, humorous, and packed with cringeworthy teen reality.
4. American Woman (2019)
A slowly building drama of survival and resilience. In ten years, a mother (Sienna Miller) is trying to find her lost daughter while raising her grandson, turning loss into inner strength.
3. Yes, God, Yes (2019)
Teenage hormones collide with Catholic school repression in this sly, cringeingly funny comedy. Natalia Dyer nails the combination of curiosity, shame, and rebellion in a comedy about sorting yourself out.
2. The Contestant (2023)
Half-documentary, half-psychological horror, this is the real-life account of Nasubi—a Japanese comedian stuck in a strange reality show experiment. Alone, naked, and living off sweepstakes winnings, he becomes an unwitting pop culture sensation.
1. Eileen (2023)
Dark, fashionable, and seething with tension, Eileen reunites Thomasin McKenzie and Anne Hathaway in a 1960s Boston thriller about an unlikely bond that descends into madness. The third act will leave you gasping.
The next time you’re hard in the Hulu scroll and lacking inspiration, bypass the easy choices. These movies might not have been the biggest box office hits when they came out, but they’re well worth your time—and could make you the most sought-after movie recommender in your social circle.