3 Underrated Hulu Movies I Can’t Wait to Watch This Weekend (September 26-28): ‘The Surfer’ and More

As September wraps up, Hulu has some underrated movies in its library that are worth a look.

Watch With Us has curated a quick list of must-watch films for you to watch this weekend. Two of them star Nicolas Cage — the Oscar-winning actor headlines the trippy alien invader flick, Color Out of Space, and the crime drama, The Surfer.

If Cage isn’t your thing, relax. I Am Number Four is a YA sci-fi movie from the era when the genre ruled the multiplexes. It’s no classic, but it’s good enough to stream on a lazy afternoon.

‘The Surfer’ (2024)

The Surfer (Nicolas Cage) has no name or job — all he has is his son, his surfboard, and a dream to buy the beach house his now-deceased dad raised him in. He’s close to purchasing it, but he must deal with a band of surf hooligans led by Scally (the late Julian McMahon), who don’t think the Surfer is worthy to buy a property on their territory. The Surfer doesn’t care what they think, but he soon experiences one misfortune after another, with his life in jeopardy. Is Scally behind it? Or is the Surfer not who he says he is?

A weird mix of crime drama and paranoid thriller, The Surfer is yet another fascinating entry in Cage’s eclectic filmography. As the titular character, you’re never quite sure if the Surfer is legitimate. At one point, the movie asks you to question if everything the Surfer has experienced is one big hallucination. I won’t reveal if it is or not, but the ending is oddly conclusive and mysterious at the same time. The Surfer isn’t perfect, but it’s always intriguing to watch. You never know what waves it will throw at you next.

The Surfer is streaming on Hulu.

‘Color Out of Space’ (2019)

On a farm in the middle of nowhere, Nathan Gardner (Cage) witnesses a meteorite crash-land near his well. He doesn’t think anything of it until he notices some strange things happening with his family, like his wife, Theresa (Joely Richardson), randomly chopping two of her fingers off and his teenage son, Benny (Brendan Meyer), losing all sense of time. Nathan quickly realizes that an alien entity known as “Color” has infected their water and is slowly mutating them into extensions of itself. Can Nathan save his family and stop this bizarre alien invasion from taking over the world?

Color Out of Space is a trippy, psychedelic sci-fi movie that’s like Invasion of the Body Snatchers on acid. That’s fitting for a 2019 film starring Cage, who was in full experimental mode during this time. The movie’s willingness to be different and weird pays off, with a climax that would’ve made H.P. Lovecraft proud.

Color Out of Space is streaming on Hulu.

‘I Am Number Four’ (2011)

John Smith (Alex Pettyfer) looks like your average, all-American teenager, but his good looks harbor a dark secret — he’s actually an alien from another planet that was conquered by another species, and he’s been marked for execution by them. On the run, he hides out in a small town in Ohio, where he strikes up an unlikely romance with Sarah (Dianna Agron). But John can’t escape his enemies, and if he ever wants to find peace in his adopted world, he’ll have to fight back using his enhanced speed and strength.

I Am Number Four is a cross between Superman and Twilight, interweaving spectacular, small-scale action set pieces with a syrupy YA romance. It doesn’t always work, but when it does, the movie is slick and entertaining, with plenty of pretty people and explosions to look at. The movie’s ending sets up a sequel that never came due to I Am Number Four’s disappointing box office.

I Am Number Four is streaming on Hulu.