With the best streaming services at our fingertips, finding something to watch can feel more like a chore than a treat – not to mention the rising costs of all of those subscriptions. But great cinema doesn’t have to come with a price tag. The best free streaming services, like Plex, Tubi, and Pluto TV, are quietly stocked with quality films, ready to stream without spending a thing.
This week, we’re diving into the eerie, the enigmatic, and the emotionally intense. From claustrophobic cave explorations to surreal sci-fi loops, and a moody, vampiric love story that lingers long after the credits roll, these films are all unsettling and enthralling for different reasons.
So if you’re craving something a little off-kilter, beautifully bleak, or just downright creepy, this lineup delivers. All four films are critically acclaimed with Rotten Tomatoes scores over 85%, and best of all – they’re completely free to watch.
The Cabin in the Woods (Pluto)
Release date: 2012
Rotten tomatoes score: 92%
Length: 95 minutes
Director: Drew Goddard
Main cast: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams
If you think you know how this one goes, think again. The Cabin in the Woods starts with a familiar setup, it follows the story of five college friends who head into the forest for a weekend away. So far so standard, right? But it quickly flips every horror cliché on its head. What begins as a classic slasher ends up taking a wild, and rather meta, turn.
Written by Joss Whedon (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame) and Drew Goddard, it’s clever, self-aware, and unexpectedly funny, with a cast that includes a pre-Thor Chris Hemsworth. And let’s just say that horror fans will have a blast spotting the tropes – and watching them implode. Honestly, the less you know about this one, the better.
The Descent (Roku, Tubi, Plex)
Release date: 2006
Rotten Tomatoes: 87%
Length: 99 minutes
Director: Neil Marshall
Main cast: Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, Nora Jane Noone
As a warning, this movie has tiny caves, grief, claustrophobia in spades, oh and flesh-eating creatures. Essentially, The Descent takes a bunch of our worst nightmares and cranks them up to eleven. It follows the story of a group of women on a caving expedition when things go horribly, horribly wrong. Because not only do they become trapped underground, they soon realize they’re not alone…
What starts as a survival thriller quickly becomes something far more terrifying as the group comes face-to-face with a strange breed of underground predators. But it’s not just the monsters that make The Descent so chilling, it’s the tension, the betrayal, and the terrifying darkness. This is a modern horror classic that doesn’t let you breathe.
Only Lovers Left Alive (Pluto)
Release date: 2014
Rotten Tomatoes: 86%
Length: 122 minutes
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Main cast: Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Anton Yelchin, Mia Wasikowska, John Hurt
Forget garlic, creepy castles and jump scares, Only Lovers Left Alive is a vampire movie for the romantics. Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton play Adam and Eve, two vampires who are centuries old and drift through modern life with elegance and ennui.
Directed by Jim Jarmusch, this is a slow, dreamy film about art, time, and love that won’t die. It’s more moody than menacing – think sunglasses at night, long drives through empty cities, and musings on humanity’s decline. It’s hypnotic, stylish, strangely soothing and, as you might have guessed already, a little pretentious.
The Endless (Tubi, Kanopy, Pluto, Plex)
Release date: 2018
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
Length: 111 minutes
Director: Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson
Main cast: Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, Callie Hernandez, Tate Ellington
There are cult movies, and then there are movies about cults that bend space and time. The Endless is a bit of both. It follows two brothers who return to the mysterious commune they escaped from years before, only to find that the group’s strange beliefs might not be so delusional after all.
Directed by and starring Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, this low-budget gem quietly unravels into a reality-warping sci-fi mystery full of eerie loops, cosmic dread, and big existential questions. It’s understated but endlessly intriguing – a must-watch if you like a blend of sci-fi and horror that’s slow-burning and strange.
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