With streaming services continually raising their prices, it’s harder than ever today to find quality content on a budget. Fortunately, YouTube remains free (at least partially). And no, it’s not just for short clips! YouTube has an under-appreciated library of ad-supported free movies and TV shows available to all users.
Sure, it’s not as good of a library as you’ll find on any of the paid streaming services, but there are still a few gems in the mix worth your time. We search the library every month to show you the best free movies on YouTube right now.
Looking for more stuff you can watch for free? Check out our guides to the best free shows on YouTube and the best sites for watching free movies online.
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Arrival2016
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Crawl2019
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My Cousin Vinny1992
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The rare hard sci-fi film that’s also a critical success, Arrival was nominated for eight Oscars for its innovative take on an alien “invasion.” As mysterious spacecraft touch down all over the world, an elite team is put together to investigate whether the interlopers mean peace or war.
Language expert Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is one of the first to enter a ship to serve as an intermediary between the creatures and the military. But what she discovers is far more complex than simply war and peace.
A mix of ecological and creature horror, Crawl sees a massive hurricane hit a small Florida town. There, Haley (Kaya Scodelario) ignores evacuation orders to search for her missing father (Barry Pepper).
When she finds him injured in the crawl space of their home, they soon become trapped by the rising floodwaters. But that’s the least of their worries because the flood has swept a massive alligator into their house.
A classic legal comedy, Joe Pesci stars as Vincent Gambini, the ultimate fish out of water when he travels from Brooklyn to rural Alabama to serve as the free counsel for his cousin Bill (Ralph Macchio) and his friend Stan (Mitchell Whitfield) after they’re mistakenly charged for murder.
Vinny just passed the bar on his sixth try and is determined to win his first case, even if he’s not remotely welcome in the Deep South. He and girlfriend Mona Lisa Vito (Marisa Tomei) navigate culture shock and the legal system to get Bill and Stan off the hook.
Someone at YouTube has very deftly picked up on the renewed interest in Jeffrey Dahmer by getting the rights to stream My Friend Dahmer. This is based upon the true story of John “Derf” Backderf (Alex Wolff), a cartoonist who was the closest friend that Jeffrey Dahmer (Ross Lynch) had in high school. In this adaptation of Backderf’s graphic novel, he and his fellow outcasts befriend Dahmer, but they aren’t blind to his bizarre behavior. However, they couldn’t have predicted that the awkward young man that they knew would go on to become one of the most infamous serial killers of the last century. It’s also a tragic tale, as no one notices how monstrous Dahmer has become until it’s far too late to stop him.
A seminal entry for American horror cinema, George A. Romero’s classic horror movie follows seven people who find themselves trapped in Pennsylvania as the terrifying walking dead surround them. They have to try to survive without understanding the terror that lurks outside.
The movie has been noted as the first zombie film, and its influences can be seen in everything from 28 Days Later to Shaun of the Dead. Romero’s debut — he wrote, directed, edited, and acted in the film — made him into a superstar, quickly revolutionizing the genre on a budget of a mere $114,000.
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