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Streaming services provide thousands of movies for consumers to watch every month. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and Max are some of the top streaming services on the market. However, these services have monthly fees. If you subscribe to all four services, then it will cost you a pretty penny. If you’re looking for alternative streaming options, try YouTube, which offers free movies with ads.
YouTube does not have the expansive libraries of Netflix, Paramount+, or Disney+. However, YouTube offers many films in multiple genres, including drama, comedy, action, adventure, thriller, and horror. Several of these films are even considered iconic classics. To help guide your choice, we curated a list of the best free movies to watch on YouTube this month.
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.
Tropic Thunder (2008) [New]
Metacritic: 71%
IMDb: 7.1/10
Rated: R
Duration: 107m
Genre: Action, Comedy, Adventure, War
Stars: Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black
Directed by: Ben Stiller
Forget Iron Man. Tropic Thunder is Robert Downey Jr.’s best role of 2008. A group of egotistical actors — including washed-up Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller), drug-addicted Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), and ultra-serious method actor Kirk Lazarus (Downey) — are brought together to star in a Vietnam War film.
Director Damien co*ckburn (Steve Coogan) drops the actors in the jungle and plans to catch their performances through hidden cameras. Unbeknownst to the actors, Damien accidentally kills himself. To make matters worse, the actors encounter a real drug-dealing gang who commit real acts of violence. Can these actors use what little skills they have to escape the jungle and reach safety?
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) [New]
Metacritic: 89%
IMDb: 8.3/10
Rated: R
Duration: 108m
Genre: Science Fiction, Drama, Romance
Stars: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst
Directed by: Michel Gondry
If you could erase your memories of a former love, would you? In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, there is a procedure making it possible to do this. Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) is heartbroken to learn that his ex-girlfriend, Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet), signs up for the procedure to remove him from her memories. Depressed, Joel decides to do the same.
While asleep during the procedure, Joel relives his memories with Clementine, which reminds him how much he once loved her. As his memories slowly fade away, Joel fights to keep the spirit of Clementine alive. The movie is a beautiful and painful representation of love, loss, and how we choose to move on.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) [New]
Metacritic: 67%
IMDb: 7.9/10
Rated: PG-13
Duration: 103m
Genre: Drama
Stars: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller
Directed by: Stephen Chbosky
Charlie (Logan Lerman) is a gentle but socially awkward teenager about to face the biggest challenge of his life: high school. Planning to skate by high school unnoticed, Charlie luckily makes friends with two outgoing seniors: the kindhearted Sam (Emma Watson) and her rebellious stepbrother Patrick (Ezra Miller).
With Sam and Patrick in his life, Charlie comes out of his shell, realizing there’s more to life than burying your head in books and standing on the sidelines. But Charlie suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, and his condition only worsens as the school year reaches its end. Before Charlie can help others, he must learn how to forgive himself.
Point Break (1991)
Metacritic: 59%
IMDb: 7.3/10
Rated: R
Duration: 122m
Genre: Action, Thriller, Crime
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze, Lori Petty
Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow
Keanu 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)
Metacritic: 74%
IMDb: 6.1/10
Rated: PG-13
Duration: 106m
Genre: Fantasy, Drama
Stars: Madison Wolfe, Imogen Poots, Sydney Wade
Directed by: Anders Walter
This fantasy film follows Barbara Thorson (Madison Wolfe), a young girl who finds solace from the realities of her difficult family life by retreating into a magical world where she is the greatest giant fighter the world has ever seen. But as the giants’ threat to her world grows, Barbara finds help from her new friend Sophia (Sydney Wade) and her school counselor, Mrs. Mollé (Avatar: The Way of Water‘s Zoe Saldana).
My Friend Dahmer (2017)
Metacritic: 68%
IMDb: 6.2/10
Rated: R
Duration: 107m
Genre: Drama, History, Crime
Stars: Ross Lynch, Alex Wolff, Anne Heche
Directed by: Marc Meyers
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 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)
Metacritic: 68%
IMDb: 7.6/10
Rated: PG-13
Duration: 110m
Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Thriller, Romance
Stars: Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Biel
Directed by: Neil Burger
The Illusionist beat the similarly themed film, The Prestige, to theaters by about two months, but Christopher Nolan’s movie is the superior of the two. Regardless, The Illusionist has its charms, largely in the core trio of Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, and Paul Giamatti. When they were young, Eduard Abramovich (Norton) and duch*ess Sophie Von Teschen (Biel) had a passion for each other that her parents forbade. Upon adulthood, Edward reinvented himself as Eisenheim The Illusionist and reunited with Sophie before she could be married to the malevolent Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell). When Sophie is murdered, Chief Inspector Walter Uhl (Giamatti) is unnerved when Eisenheim appears to be able to summon Sophie’s spirit at will.
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Metacritic: 89%
IMDb: 7.9/10
Duration: 96m
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Stars: Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman
Directed by: George A. Romero
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.
