With cord-cutting at an all-time high, streaming services have become more important. Netflix, Max, Amazon, Prime Video, and Hulu offer countless hours of movies to watch with the push of a button. However, these services continue to raise prices, which doesn’t bode well for bank accounts.
YouTube, however, offers a wide selection of free movies. The movies are ad-supported, but that’s a fair trade-off compared to other streamers that cost north of $10 a month. If this is your first time using YouTube to watch movies, we have curated a special guide with recommendations for various genres. Check out our selections below.
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. If you’re willing to pay, read these guides on the best new movies to stream and the best movies on Netflix.
First Blood (1982)
61%
7.7/10Most actors would kill to have one iconic part in their career. Sylvester Stallone is lucky enough to have two: Rocky Balboa and John Rambo. The latter character originated in First Blood, one of the first noteworthy action movies of the 1980s. Vietnam War veteran Rambo is devastated to learn that his former comrade passed away from cancer. The brooding Rambo walks into Hope, Washington, hoping to get a hot meal and be on his way. The town’s sheriff, Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy), hates drifters and arrests Rambo after the soldier refuses to leave.
When the cell guards try to torture Rambo, his PTSD from Vietnam kicks in, and he escapes the station, fleeing to the woods. Sheriff Teasle organizes a manhunt to find Rambo, but the military man proves to be an elite tactician as he evades capture. Stallone cemented himself as an action icon for his portrayal of Rambo, a role he went on to play four more times.
Furious 7 (2015)
67%
7.1/10In Furious 7, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker), and the rest of the crew are finally free after receiving pardons for their past crimes. However, their return to normalcy is cut short by Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), the brother of Owen (Luke Evans), whom Dom defeated in Furious 6. Deckard wants revenge for what happened to his brother and sets out to make Dom pay for his sins.
To get to Deckard, Dom must help Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell), the leader of a special covert ops team. If Dom retrieves a surveillance computer program called God’s Eye, Mr. Nobody will help take down Deckard. The action-packed sequel is best known for its emotional tribute to Walker, who died two years before the film’s release.
Legally Blonde (2001)
59%
6.5/10Reese Witherspoon set out to show you how valuable Elle Woods can be in Legally Blonde. Elle (Witherspoon) is the queen bee at her school. She’s pretty, rich, and popular. Elle dreams of marrying her boyfriend, Warner Huntington III (Matthew Davis). However, Warner doesn’t believe Elle is a serious woman, so he breaks up with her. Motivated to win Warner back, Elle decides to apply to law school.
Elle is much smarter than she appears, and after vigorously studying for the admission test, she passes and gets accepted to Harvard Law School. Upon arrival, many of her peers judge Elle because of her it-girl personality. However, don’t judge a book by its cover, as Elle works on proving her doubters wrong.
Point Break (1991)
59%
7.3/10Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze square off in Kathryn Bigelow’s excellent action thriller, Point Break. Former college quarterback Johnny Utah (Reeves) is a hot-shot FBI agent who teams with veteran agent Angelo Pappas (Gary Busey) to catch a group of bank robbers known as the “Ex-Presidents.” The duo hypothesizes that the robbers are surfers, so Utah goes undercover within the beach community, searching for more information.
While posing as a surfer, Utah meets Bodhi (Swayze), the eccentric leader of a group of surfers. As Utah spends more time with the surfers, he develops a genuine bond with the free-spirited Bodhi. However, this complicates Utah’s mission, blurring the lines between his new friends and his job.
I Kill Giants (2018)
74%
6.1/10My Friend Dahmer (2017)
68%
6.2/10Someone at YouTube has very deftly picked up on the renewed interest in Jeffrey Dahmer by getting the rights to stream My Friend Dahmer. This serial killer movie 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.
The Illusionist (2006)
68%
7.6/10Night of the Living Dead (1968)
89%
7.9/10A 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.
