15 Best Mystery Movies On Hulu

"Black Swan" is arguably the closest thing Darren Aronofsky has ever made to a mainstream film, and it also ranks among his darkest and most unsettling endeavors. 

In an Oscar-winning performance, Natalie Portman plays Nina Sayers — a ballerina on the cusp of realizing her lifelong dream by landing the lead role in "Swan Lake." Nina's abusive stage mom has also dreamed of Nina starring in "Swan Lake," yet her daughter's blossoming career does nothing to reduce either of their sky-high anxiety levels. When Nina's director — a #MeToo story waiting to happen — adds to her pre-existing issues, a free spirited new dancer who might not actually exist join's her troupe, and Nina can no longer trust what she sees in the mirror. We mean that last about the mirror figuratively and literally.

• Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel  
• Director: Darren Aronofsky
• Year: 2010
• Runtime: 108 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85%

Utterly overshadowed by the cinematic towers of the "Godfather" trilogy and "Apocalypse Now," "The Conversation" isn't Francis Ford Coppola's most famous or visually adventurous project. However, it might be his most cerebral movie.

Spy-for-hire Harry Caul will bug any phone for a price, but he obsesses over preventing violations of his own privacy. His life gets even more complicated when he's hired to follow a young couple and starts to think that perhaps these two are in serious danger. "The Conversation" features one of Gene Hackman's best performances, and maybe in this day and age where nobody sees a problem with sharing the intimate details of our lives with the executive boards of Google and Facebook, we could learn a thing or two from Harry Caul!   

• Starring: Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Harrison Ford
• Director: Francis Ford Coppola
• Year: 1974
• Runtime: 114 minutes
• Rating: PG
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%

Did Nick Dunne murder his wife, Amy? We ask because nobody seems able to find Amy, and Nick definitely gives off the vibe of somebody who would murder his wife. 

With Nick, David Fincher revisits his penchant for externally respectable, internally collapsing protagonists that also brought us the Narrator from "Fight Club" and tormented businessman Nicholas Van Orton from "The Game." If you're a Fincher nerd, that's got to be your favorite movie character archetype. 

"Gone Girl" also marks Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' third collaboration with Fincher on an original soundtrack. There's nothing like warm, sentimental ambiance from the mastermind of Nine Inch Nails to reassure us that Nick Dunne did not kill his wife. How could he have? He looks so happy! And happy people never do murders ... right?      

• Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris
• Director: David Fincher
• Year: 2014
• Runtime: 146 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%

This Victorian-era whodunit announces itself as the sort of stern, hushed affair you might expect to see serialized on the public television program formerly known as "Masterpiece Theater." However, don't panic — we promise "The Limehouse Golem" unleashes enough blood and guts to keep it safely beyond the grasp of PBS standards and practices, especially as it's about a detective hunting a serial killer through the dark streets of London.

Noted for supporting roles in "Bates Motel" and "The Sound Of Metal," Olivia Cooke gets a part that actually requires her to do and say things for a change, and she certainly does not squander the opportunity. 

• Starring: Bill Nighy, Olivia Cooke, Douglas Booth
• Director: Juan Carlos Medina
• Year: 2016
• Runtime: 109 minutes
• Rating: N/A
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 74%

Roughly 10 years before "Parasite" dominated the 2020 Oscars, director Bong Joon-ho was cranking out high-quality films that didn't necessary break any global records but are entirely worth watching nevertheless. For example, take "Mother."

In this incredible mystery flick, a working-class single mom fights to exonerate her mentally challenged son who's been accused of a murder. Perhaps its critique of capitalism is not as refined as "Parasite," but "Mother" shares that film's ability to pull visual and narrative potency out of seemingly mundane subject matter.      

• Starring: Kim Hye-ja, Won-bin, Jin Goo
• Director: Bong Joon-ho
• Year: 2009
• Runtime: 129 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%

Every now and again, folks find themselves in a state of mind to watch the most unforgiving, nihilistic piece of media possible. If such an occasion should arise, the South Korean-produced "Pieta" provides a perfectly effective abyss in which to stare. The plot follows a loan shark who, one day, meets a mysterious woman who claims to be his mom. Needless to say, this family reunion isn't exactly cheerful.

While noted for its ruthless violence and absolute lack of any hope for the redemption of humanity; "Pieta" was the darling of multiple 2012 film festivals, particularly the Venice International Film Festival. The film's undeniable creative integrity means we can't dismiss its depravity and misery as merely for shock value ... which makes the whole endeavor that much more disturbing, doesn't it?    

• Starring: Lee Jung-jin, Jo Min-soo, Woo Gi-hong
• Director: Kim Ki-duk
• Year: 2012
• Runtime: 104 minutes
• Rating: N/A
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 73%

There's certainly no shortage of movies about main characters resorting to vigilante violence as a result of harm inflicted against loved ones. Here, we have a case of the right collection of talents coming together to turn a well-worn premise into a chilling examination of justice and morality. 

Hugh Jackman plays a righteously angry dad looking for answers and payback when his daughter disappears. But as it's directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by "Raised by Wolves" creator Aaron Guzikowski, "Prisoners" explores somewhat more cerebral terrains than your average revenge flick. Without giving too much away, it ain't exactly "Taken."     

• Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis
• Director: Denis Villeneuve
• Year: 2013
• Runtime: 153 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 81%

Before Robert Redford made "All the President's Men," his literal Watergate movie, he starred in "Three Days of the Condor," a metaphorical take on the infamous scandal. This thrilling film sees Redford play a CIA researcher who is possibly being framed for massacring the rest of his covert team. What unfolds is a pulse-pounding espionage caper reminiscent of "The Prisoner." As it turns out, the 1970s was a much more intense and paranoid era than "The Brady Bunch" would have us believe — a fact "Three Days of the Condor" captures with aplomb.

• Starring: Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson
• Director: Sydney Pollack
• Year: 1975
• Runtime: 117 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88%