While there are so many great movies streaming on Netflix, HBO Max, and Disney+, all of those cost an arm and a leg these days, with platforms upping the price. But where do you watch great movies streaming for free? Well, look no further than platforms like Tubi, Pluto TV, Plex, and even YouTube.
You’d be shocked at how many options exist out on the internet, all with minimal ad interruption. Here are a couple of dozen great dramas, action flicks, horror films, family-friendly adventures, and more. And best of all, you don’t have to spend a thing on any of these. No new streaming services, no forgotten subscriptions, no commitments!
Intense Dramas
Are you looking for a night of intense drama? Well, the following titles will give you that and more, without breaking the bank.
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
The Director: Stanley Kubrick
The Cast: Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermey, Vincent D’Onofrio
Based On: The Short-Timers by Gustav Hasford
What It’s About: A platoon of Marines survives a hellish boot camp only to be thrown face-first into active combat in Vietnam, where things get even more intense.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: Expect to hear Lee R. Ermey push a man to his breaking point, a devastating portrayal of life in the military, and a new perspective on the classic Mickey Mouse song.
The Ides Of March (2011)
The Director: George Clooney
The Cast: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Based On: Farragut North by Beau Willimon
What It’s About: A young and idealistic junior campaign manager for a presidential hopeful finds his entire worldview changing in an instant after uncovering a dark secret about the man he thought was America’s best choice.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: The Ides of March is one of the best political thrillers of the 21st century and one that will leave you guessing at every turn. Featuring outstanding performances by Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, this intense drama is a must-watch.
Aftersun (2022)
The Director: Charlotte Wells
The Cast: Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio, Celia Rowlson-HallWhat It’s About: A woman looks back on the final vacation she took with her father as a young girl before tragedy struck.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: Aftersun is one of those movies that takes a hammer to your heart and smashes it into a million pieces before allowing you to put it back together. But then it comes around and does it again, and again, and again.
The Social Network (2010)
The Director: David Fincher
The Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake
Based On: The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich
What It’s About: After a late-night project turns into a social media platform that revolutionizes the world, its creator must grapple with his decisions, future, and relationships that crumbled to get there.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: Though The Social Network shouldn’t be taken as gospel, this compelling and electric retelling of Facebook’s early days is one of the best dramas of the past decade-and-a-half.
The Godfather (1972)
The Director: Francis Ford Coppola
The Cast: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall
What It’s About: Told over the course of multiple decades, The Godfather explores the rise of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), the reluctant head of his family’s crime empire.
Why It’s One of the Best Movies Streaming: Often considered one of the best movies of all time, Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 epic is an undeniable masterpiece. Being able to watch this influential drama for free is, for lack of a better term, an offer you can’t refuse.
Over-The-Top Action Movies
Sometimes, nothing is better than watching an absurd and over-the-top action movie. Here are some of the best examples!
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
The Director: James CameronThe Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong
What It’s About: More than a decade after a terminator was sent back in time to kill the mother of humanity’s last shot at survival, another model is sent back to protect him from a liquid-metal cyborg.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: Similar to how James Cameron revolutionized the sci-fi genre in the ‘80s, the famed filmmaker turned the action world on its head with this 1991 summer blockbuster. Big chases, bigger explosions, and a showdown like no other await you…
First Blood (1982)
The Director: Ted Kotcheff
The Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Brian Dennehy
Based On: First Blood by David Morell
What It’s About: After entering a small town in the Pacific Northwest, a Vietnam veteran finds himself at the center of a deadly manhunt.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: Far more serious and less over-the-top compared to its various sequels, First Blood is one of the most harrowing and damning Vietnam War movies ever to be released. It’s dark, it’s violent, and it features one of Sylvester Stallone’s best performances.
Bloodsport (1988)
The Director: Newt Arnold
The Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb, Leah Ayres
What It’s About: A highly-trained United States Army captain travels to Hong Kong – not for combat, but instead to take part in a dangerous underground martial arts tournament.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: Though there is a decent enough story at the heart of Bloodsport, everyone comes to this gem of an ‘80s action movie for Jean-Claude Van Damme looking like a complete badass. We’re here for the fights.
Hard Boiled (1992)
The Director: John Woo
The Cast: Chow Yun Fat, Tony Leung, Teresa Mo
What It’s About: After his partner is gunned down in Hong Kong, Inspector "Tequila" Yuen Ho-yan (Chow Yun Fat) goes on a one-man mission to find and take out the gun smugglers with blood on their hands.
Why It’s One of the Best Movies Streaming: One of the most decorated collaborations between John Woo and Chow Yun Fat, Hard Boiled is a bullet-ridden, blood-soaked, and action-packed crime flick like no other.
Fun Comedies
Are you ready to laugh so hard your sides are going to hurt?
Meet The Parents (2000)
The Director: Jay Roach
The Cast: Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Blythe Danner
What It’s About: What starts out as a fun and exciting weekend with his girlfriend’s family quickly turns into a paranoia-filled, high-stakes nightmare after a male nurse gets off on the wrong foot.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: Meet the Parents is one of the funniest movies of the 2000s, but also one of the most anxiety-inducing films imaginable. Hilarious scenes and cringeworthy moments are aplenty in this Ben Stiller classic.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
The Director: Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones
The Cast: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam
What It’s About: King Arthur and his knights set off on an epic adventure to find the mythical Holy Grail. However, the Black Knight, a man-eating rabbit, and other obstacles stand in their way.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: If you’ve never watched a Monty Python movie or show, you’re in for a wild, nonsensical, and utterly hilarious journey. If you are familiar, you know what to expect.
Serendipity (2001)
The Director: Peter Chelsom
The Cast: John Cusack, Kate Beckinsale, Jeremy Piven
What It’s About: Ten years after having a chance encounter, two star-crossed lovers are forced to let fate decide what’s in store for them.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: There are a lot of great romantic comedies out there (many of which are streaming for free), but Serendipity is the only one where John Corbett plays a new age musician. On a serious note, John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale’s chemistry in this oft-forgotten rom-com is off the charts.
Coming To America (1988)
The Director: John Landis
The Cast: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, John Amos, Madge Sinclair, Shari Headley
What It's About: In search of a woman who will love him for who he is and not just his title, a foreign prince travels to America and runs into hilarious situations.
Why It's One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: Truthfully, I think everyone and their mother considers this one of Murphy’s best films overall, and for good reason. The comedy slaps every time and the jokes have never died. It continues to reign as one of the best ‘80s comedies and one I will always recommend, especially if it’s free.
Intense Horrors
Yup, already horrified by all of these:
The Return Of The Living Dead (1985)
The Director: Dan O’Bannon
The Cast: Clu Gulager, James Karen, Don Calfa
What It’s About: After accidentally opening a drum containing a corpse and a mysterious gas, a pair of warehouse workers start a zombie apocalypse.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: One of the best zombie movies of all time, The Return of the Living Dead is a hilarious, bloody, and punk-filled fight for survival.
The Evil Dead (1981)
The Director: Sam Raimi
The Cast: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker
What It’s About: Five friends staying at a remote cabin in the woods make the mistake of playing a recording that unleashes unimaginable evils and terror upon them.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead is as funny as it is terrifying, which is saying a lot. This low-budget 1981 horror film revolutionized the genre and introduced one of the all-time great horror icons: Ash Williams.
The Exorcist (1973)
The Director: William Friedkin
The Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb
Based On: The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
What It’s About: When a young girl starts acting in odd ways, her mother calls upon an exorcist to save the child and cast an evil spirit from their home.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: One of the best horror movies of all time, at least one of the scariest, The Exorcist still holds up after all these years. If anything, it’s more frightening and chilling than ever before.
Night Of The Living Dead (1968)
The Director: George A. Romero
The Cast: Duane Jones, Judith O’Dea, Marilyn Eastman
What It's About: A group of strangers are forced to take refuge together in order to survive the sudden onslaught of flesh-eating, reanimated corpses, while also struggling to survive each other.
Why It's One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: Romero basically defined the zombie genre as a whole, so this is the zombie movie to check out, but trust me, it’s really not that scary – at least in comparison to today’s zombies.
Fun For The Whole Family
Everyone could check out and have fun with these films:
Matilda (1996)
The Director: Danny DeVito
The Cast: Mara Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman
Based On: Matilda by Roald Dahl
What It’s About: A young genius blessed with psychokinetic powers aims to make a difference in the world around her, or at least stand up to bullies at her home and school.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: Matilda is a timeless family-friendly film that shows the powers of imagination, intelligence, and most importantly, empathy.
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018)
The Director: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
The Cast: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld
What It’s About: After being bitten by a radioactive spider, a gifted high schooler becomes the hero his city needs, but only after finding himself and his powers.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: One of the best Spider-Man movies, Into the Spider-Verse is eye-popping, emotional, and mind-bending.
Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (And Don’t Come Back!) (1980)
The Cast: Arrin Skellye, Daniel Anderson, Patricia Patts
What It’s About: As part of a foreign exchange program, Charlie Brown travels to Europe, where he and key members of the “Peanuts” gang find themselves on an adventure they won’t soon forget.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: If you’re looking for a great way to introduce your kids (or yourself) to Charlie Brown and don’t have an Apple TV subscription, this 1980 animated adventure will do the trick.
It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
The Director: Frank Capra
The Cast: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell
What It's About: A working man wishes that he had never been born, and an angel who is trying to get his wings comes to Earth to help him see what life would have been like if he never was.
Why It's One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: I mean, the film is an absolute classic and the perfect Christmas movie for the whole family to watch. What’s not to love about it?
Thrilling, Twisty, And Exciting Sci-Fi And Fantasy
In the mood for some old-fashioned escapism? Look no further than these sci-fi and fantasty stories.
The Mist (2007)
The Director: Frank Darabont
The Cast: Thomas Janes, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden
Based On: The Mist by Stephen King
What It’s About: After a mysterious mist falls upon a quiet Maine town, a group of locals attempts to survive in a grocery store as diabolical creatures await outside.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: The Mist has one of the most unsettling endings of all time, and everything up to that point is just as intense. One of the best Stephen King adaptations, make no doubt about it.
Stargate (1994)
The Director: Roland Emmerich
The Cast: Kurt Russell, James Spader, Jaye Davidson
What It’s About: A professor and Army colonel team up to unlock a mysterious portal that transports them to an Alien planet closely resembling ancient Egypt.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: One of the most ambitious, daring, and action-packed ‘90s sci-fi movies, Stargate has so much going for it. With James Spader and Kurt Russell co-leading, outstanding visuals (especially for the time), and some wild action set pieces, there’s a lot to love.
Krull (1983)
The Director: Peter Yates
The Cast: Ken Marshall, Lysette Anthony, Freddie Jones
What It’s About: A brave warrior, along with a ragtag group of warriors, bandits, shape-shifters, and a scene-stealing cyclops, sets out to save his bride from an evil entity hellbent on controlling the universe.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: Krull doesn’t get talked about nearly enough, and that’s a shame. It has some wonderful effects for the early ‘80s, an engaging story, and early appearances by Liam Neeson and Robbie Coltrane.
The Dark Crystal (1982)
With all these free movies, you’ll be busy for some time! And then after that, just think of all the other free movies you could check out. I think it’s time for a movie marathon.
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