Hulu has an excellent selection of films, especially for subscribers who want more than just the family-friendly fare of Disney+. But a lot of great underrated movies on Hulu tend to fall through the cracks. That’s why we’ve gone through everything new on Hulu in October to pull out the three films that deserve a second chance to be discovered.
This month’s picks include a comedy team-up between Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy, a cult horror film, and a comedy/drama from the 1990s that just didn’t catch on. These are the three underrated movies on Hulu that you need to watch in October.
Tower Heist (2011)
Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy form an unexpected comedy team in Tower Heist, which casts them as childhood friends Josh Kovaks and Darnell “Slide” Davis, respectively. While Slide has become a career criminal, Josh went on to become the building manager of The Tower, a high-end apartment complex. After realizing that The Tower’s most prominent resident, Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda), has stolen the pension funds for the entire staff of the building, Josh vows to get the money back.
FBI agent Claire Denham (Téa Leoni) inadvertently gives Josh the idea steal the money while Shaw is in court and the FBI isn’t watching. That’s why he recruits his brother-in-law, Charlie Gibbs (Casey Affleck), Enrique Dev’reaux (Michael Peña), Odessa Montero (Gabourey Sidibe), Mr. Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick), and Slide to pull off the heist. But if Slide gets to the money first, he plans to keep it all for himself.
Watch Tower Heist on Hulu.
The Empty Man (2020)
Although The Empty Man was savaged by critics upon release, horror fans have come to embrace it as a cult film. Two decades before the primary story, a man named Paul (Aaron Poole) is seemingly possessed by an ancient spirit, which he unleashes on his friends. In the present, teenager Amanda Quail (Sasha Frolova) goes missing under suspicious circumstances, and from the way Amanda’s friend, Davara (Samantha Logan), describes it, it is almost exactly what happened to Paul and his friends decades earlier.
Amanda’s mother. Nora Quail (Marin Ireland), turns to her friend, James Lasombra (James Badge Dale), a former detective who is mourning the death of his wife and son. After agreeing to help, James learns that Amanda and her friends were obsessed with the legend of the Empty Man. And James’ search for answers takes him back to the spot where Paul oversaw the murder of his friends.
Watch The Empty Man on Hulu.
The New Age (1994)
RoboCop‘s Peter Weller and Judy Davis co-star in The New Age, a well-reviewed dramedy from the ’90s that has been largely forgotten. Weller and Davis play Peter and Katherine Witner, a married couple whose life of material comforts is threatened when they both lose their lucrative jobs. But that’s only a symptom of the larger problem that they have. Because without their jobs and their wealth, the Witners don’t know who they are.
The couple’s attempt to redefine themselves starts with mutual infidelity and continues when they take a deep dive into New Age treatment and follow various gurus. At best, these are all temporary solutions. Eventually, the Witners will have to decide whether to face their trials together or separately.
Watch The New Age on Hulu.
