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?
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.
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.
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
The Director: Sidney Lumet
The Cast: Al Pacino, John Cazale, Charles Durning
Based On: “The Boys in the Bank” by P.F. Kluge
What It’s About: After a botched bank robbery turns into a high-profile hostage situation, a young, idealistic, and inexperienced criminal finds himself in a perilous situation.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: Dog Day Afternoon is one of those classic crime flicks from the ‘70s that just grabs hold of you and doesn’t let go. It has masterful performances, inventive directing, and a story that just has to be seen.
Requiem For A Dream (2000)
The Director: Darren Aronofsky
The Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans
Based On: Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby Jr.
What It’s About: Four drug addicts attempt to pull themselves out of dangerous situations, only to be pulled further down the drain.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: Requiem for a Dream isn’t for the light of heart, but the distressing and gut-wrenching moments that make up this movie do a remarkable job of capturing the pain, suffering, and delusions of someone who just can’t quit.
The Apprentice (2024)
The Director: Ali Abbasi
The Cast: Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong, Maria Bakalova
What It’s About: Years before becoming a real estate magnate and pop culture icon, Donald Trump falls under the wing of Roy Cohn, a cutthroat attorney who ends up changing the impressionable man’s worldview.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: With outstanding performances from Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice is a fascinating, albeit difficult, movie to enjoy. Still, though, it’s worth seeking out.
Chinatown (1974)
The Director: Roman Polanski
The Cast: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Hillerman
What It’s About: After being hired to investigate a woman’s husband, a private eye soon becomes wrapped up in a city-wide conspiracy that could end up being the death of him, or at least his ruin.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: Often considered one of the best examples of film noir, as well as a must-see Los Angeles movie, Chinatown is one of those rare perfect cinematic experiences.
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!
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1982)
The Director: George Miller
The Cast: Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Kjell Nilsson
What It’s About: A mysterious stranger comes to the aid of a group of settlers in a vast wasteland as they find themselves being targeted by a hockey-mask-wearing warlord and his mob.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: Probably the most well-known entry in the Mad Max saga, this 1982 dystopian action flick is full of one great sequence after another, as well as one of the most ironic endings ever captured on film.
Demolition Man (1993)
The Director: Marco Brambilla
The Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Sandra Bullock
What It’s About: Decades after being frozen for his recklessness, a once-decorated Los Angeles police officer is brought back to life to find and nab the man he couldn’t beat all those years ago.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: Demolition Man isn’t necessarily a great movie, but it’s honestly some of the most fun you can have on the free streamers. Stallone and Snipes milk it from start to finish, leading to some of cinema’s most absurd moments.
Toy Soldiers (1991)
The Director: Daniel Petrie Jr.
The Cast: Sean Astin, Wil Wheaton, Lou Gossett Jr.
Based On: Toy Soldiers by William P. Kennedy
What It’s About: When a prestigious boarding school becomes the center of an international hostage crisis, it’s up to a group of wise-cracking and rebellious students to save the day.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: Toy Soldiers may have gotten lost in the shuffle of a busy 1991 (T2 and Point Break both came out that year), but this movie is just so much fun. With elements of Die Hard and Home Alone combined with killer performances from Sean Astin and Wil Wheaton, there’s so much to love here.
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?
Best In Show (2000)
The Director: Christopher Guest
The Cast: Catherine O’Hara, Jennifer Coolidge, Michael McKean
What It’s About: A documentary crew follows various entrants in the prestigious Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show to cover their stories and their connections with man’s best friend.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: Featuring one of the best performances from the late Catherine O’Hara (and everyone else involved), this hilarious mockumentary about the high-stakes world of dog shows is full of great and unforgettable moments.
Major League (1989)
The Director: David S. Ward
The Cast: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Wesley Snipes
What It’s About: A group of misfits, outcasts, has-beens, and never-was-beens are tasked with putting together a winning baseball season to prevent a greedy owner from moving the team.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: One of the best baseball movies of all time (not to mention a rowdy comedy), Major League is some not-so-clean fun.
Spaceballs (1987)
The Director: Mel Brooks
The Cast: Bill Pullman, John Candy, Rick Moranis
What It’s About: A pair of mercenaries rescue a princess and her trusty droid to stop an over-the-top space president from carrying out an offbeat yet devastating plan.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: If you’re a fan of Mel Brooks’ movies, you’ve probably watched this dozens of times over the years. That said, there’s never a bad excuse to revisit Spaceballs, especially with a sequel on the way.
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.
Intense Horrors
Yup, already horrified by all of these:
Scream (1996)
The Director: Wes Craven
The Cast: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette
What It’s About: A quiet California town becomes the center of a national news story when a masked killer begins attacking local residents and testing others.
What To Expect: A movie that reinvented horror as we know it, Scream is an incredibly violent and viciously funny slasher where anything can happen.
The Strangers (2008)
The Director: Bryan Bertino
The Cast: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward
What It’s About: A couple’s quiet vacation turns into anything but when they become the targets of three masked killers in the middle of the night.
What To Expect: Honestly, this is one of the scariest movies to come out in the past few decades, which is saying a lot. Filled with tension, anxiety, and pure terror, The Strangers will test you.
The Wicker Man (1973)
The Director: Robin Hardy
The Cast: Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Christopher Lee
Based On: Ritual by David Pinner
What It’s About: When the case of a missing girl brings a detective to a mysterious island filled with ritualistic pagans, he soon learns that he’s stumbled upon something far more sinister.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: The 2000s remake is pure comedy, but Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man is one of the most terrifying horror movies of all time. It’s unsettling, unforgettable, and a wild ride.
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:
Where The Wild Things Are (2009)
The Director: Spike Jonze
The Cast: Max Records, Catherine Keener, James Gandolfini
Based On: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
What It’s About: A young boy sails away from his room, his home, and his world to become the king of the “Wild Things” on a musical island full of walking, talking monsters.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: Though this movie seems to have come and gone with little fanfare, that doesn’t mean Spike Jonze's 2009 adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are should be forgotten. It has heart, laughs, and incredible performances from one of the most stacked casts of the 21st century.
Lost In Space (1998)
The Director: Stephen Hopkins
The Cast: Gary Oldman, William Hurt, Matt LeBlanc
What It’s About: A family travels to a star system in hopes of finding a suitable home for humanity, only to find themselves in a life-or-death situation after the mission goes awry.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: Don’t be fooled by the low Rotten Tomatoes score, because Lost in Space is a ton of fun. The actors seem to be having the times of their lives, the story is fun, and the late-90s visuals have a certain vibe to them.
The Burbs (1989)
The Director: Joe Dante
The Cast: Tom Hanks, Carrie Fisher, Bruce Dern
What It’s About: Home on a week-long vacation, a stressed-out, over-stimulated, and neurotic suburbanite becomes convinced his new neighbors are actually vampires. But are they?
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: The Burbs features one of Tom Hanks’ most ridiculous characters, some outrageous twists and turns, and a level of charm you don’t see too often these days. Plus, Ray Peterson’s freakout is the chef’s kiss.
Little Shop Of Horrors (1986)
The Director: Frank Oz
The Cast: Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Levi Stubbs
Based On: The Little Shop of Horrors by Howard Ashman
What It’s About: A mild, meek, and well-meaning florist is forced to do the dirty work of a man-eating plant with an insatiable appetite for flesh and blood.
What To Expect: Little Shop of Horrors is one of the wildest, silliest, and oddest musicals to come out of the ‘80s. Everything about this movie simply works!
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.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
The Director: Steven Spielberg
The Cast: Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, William Hurt
Based On: “Superboys Last All Summer Long” by Brian Aldiss
What It’s About: A young android programmed with the ability to love embarks upon an epic journey to find a place where he belongs and can feel love.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: Originally supposed to be a Stanley Kubrick movie, A.I. Artificial Intelligence is a thoughtful, ambitious, and visually impressive sci-fi epic that touches on so many universal themes.
War Of The Worlds (2005)
The Director: Steven Spielberg
The Cast: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Justin Chatwin
Based On: War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
What It’s About: With the end of the world on the horizon, a father attempts to escape an alien invasion with his estranged kids.
Why It’s One Of The Best Free Movies Streaming: A Steven Spielberg alien movie starring Tom Cruise? Say no more…
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.
With all these free movies, you’ll be busy for some time! After that, just think of all the other free movies you could check out.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
