With some of the best streaming services continuing to raise prices, we’re always on the hunt for the best movies streaming for free, and this week we’ve got a fresh selection of great flicks that won’t cost you a dime, including an entire trilogy! Gear up for new sequel releases with the OG classics, start spooky season early with a modern horror icon, stream the template for one of 2025’s biggest shows and sit back and enjoy some laughs – all without spending a penny.
Each film in this list is available to stream totally free on at least one of the top ad-supported platforms like Hoopla, Plex, Kanopy or Pluto TV and beyond, and while you may have to sit through a few ads, there’s no lengthy subscriptions, no monthly bills and no remembering to cancel any free trials. So, read on to check out my pick of the top movies to stream across some of the best free streaming services this week.
1) 28 Days Later (Pluto TV)
Release date: 2002
Rotten Tomatoes score: 87%
Length: 113 minutes
Director: Danny Boyle
Main cast: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Megan Burns, Brendan Gleeson
Age rating: R
Once tied up in rights related streaming limbo, Danny Boyle’s zombie classic is now freely available, in every sense.
Starring Cillian Murphy in one of his earliest roles, the film sees Jim (Murphy) awake from a coma to discover a world in which a rage virus has caused society to collapse. After meeting other survivors – including Naomi Harris’ Selena and Brendon Gleeson’s Frank – the group head out on a road trip across England to a supposed safe zone, which turns out to be anything but once they meet a team of soldiers led by Christopher Ecclestone’s menacing army Major.
While the film certainly looks dated by today’s standards – Boyle shot on consumer-grade camcorders – the grainy standard definition video gives the film a documentary-like feel which makes it all the more terrifying as the shakycam carnage unfolds. If you’ve only seen the recent 28 Years Later, you’ll likely find the original a very different beast, but one that’s equally as much of a trippy and intense experience.
2) Fanboys (YouTube, Plex (from Aug.12))
![Fanboys - Official® Trailer [HD] - YouTube](https://i0.wp.com/img.youtube.com/vi/OdoJujK7hSs/maxresdefault.jpg?w=696&ssl=1)
Release date: 2009
Rotten Tomatoes score: 57%
Length: 90 minutes
Director: Kyle Newman
Main cast: Jay Baruchel, Dan Fogler, Sam Huntington, Christopher Marquette, Kristen Bell
Age rating: PG-13
Dumped straight onto DVD in most territories, Fanboys is an underrated comedy that deserves more love.
The film follows a group of friends and Star Wars, well, fanboys, who, upon learning their terminally ill friend Linus (Christopher Marquette) will likely not live to see the release of Star Wars: Episode I, endeavor to steal a rough cut of the film… from Skywalker Ranch. What follows is the usual cross country comedy fodder, with a little bit of nerd culture thrown in, including picking a fight with some Trekkies. Think Road Trip meets Big Bang Theory.
As with most gross-out comedies of the era, some of the laughs have dated badly, but the film still makes for a hugely entertaining 90 minutes of comedy and is an interesting throwback to a time before Disney beamed Star Wars into our eyes 24/7. And among all the crassness, there’s a surprising amount of heart with themes of friendship and regret well handled. The bittersweet ending will have you reaching for the tissues, and prepare yourself for a killer final line.
3) The Naked Gun (Kanopy)
Release date: 1988
Rotten Tomatoes score: 88%
Length: 85 minutes
Director: David Zucker
Main cast: Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalbán, George Kennedy
Age rating: PG-13
With Liam Neeson’s Frank Drebin Jr. cracking up theaters, there’s never been a better time to reacquaint yourself with the original catastrophic cop.
From spoof master David Zucker and based on the hilarious Police Squad TV series, The Naked Gun sees Leslie Neilson reprise his role as the bumbling police lieutenant, this time tasked with foiling a plot to turn people into assassins via mind control. Also starring Ricado Montalban as the villainous Vincent Ludwing and Priscilla Presley as love interest Jane Spencer, the film sees Drebin blunder his way through the investigation.
Packed full of some of the most iconic gags committed to film, The Naked Gun delivers in both physical slapstick and quick fire verbal comedy, with Nelisen’s deadpan performance an absolute joy. Two sequels – and the upcoming re-quel – followed, and if you’re keen for more of Drebin’s misadventures, the third installment, Naked Gun 33 ⅓: The Final Insult can also be streamed for free on Hoopla.
4) Terrifier Trilogy (Hoopla)
Release date: 2016-2024
Rotten Tomatoes score: 63% / 87% / 78%
Length: 85 minutes / 138 minutes / 125 minutes
Director: Damien Leone
Main cast: David Howard Thornton, Samantha Scaffidi, Lauren LaVera, Elliott Fullam
Age rating: Unrated
An absolute treat for horror fans but it’s no trick – you really can stream the entire Terrifier trilogy totally free.
Spawned from a handful of short films, the first (barely) feature length installment in Damien Leone’s gory franchise is a fairly straightforward 80s-inspired slasher following a handful of unlucky souls crossing paths with depraved murderer Art the Clown (David Thornton) on Halloween Night. Very low-fi, the film is essentially an exhibition for Leone’s hugely impressive and extremely gory practical effects, with a paper thing plot pulling together the scenes of slaughter.
Terrifier 2 is where the franchise really kicks off, very much abiding by the Randy Meeks rules of a sequel: “the body count is always bigger (…) the death scenes are always much more elaborate” and in this case, the runtime inflated to over two hours. The carnage on display will make even the most seasoned gore hound wince, but where the sequel really shines is its deepening of the mythology surrounding Art the Clown and victim-turned-accomplice Vicky (Samantha Scaffidi). Terrifier 3 delivers a solid dose of festive fear with its Christmas setting and sees part two’s main players return, including final girl Sienna Shaw, played by Lauren LaVera, who masterfully troubles the Curtis and Campbells of the world for the scream queen crown.
5) Boiling Point (The Roku Channel, Kanopy, Hoopla, Pluto TV, Fandango, Plex)
Release date: 2021
Rotten Tomatoes score: 99%
Length: 92 minutes
Director: Philip Barantini
Main cast: Stephen Graham, Vinette Robinson, Alice Feetham, Hannah Walters, Malachi Kirby, Taz Skylar
Age rating: R
If you were as gripped by Netflix’s Adolescence as the rest of us, then the same team’s earlier effort is a must see.
Once again starring Stephen Graham, this time as troubled head chef Andy Jones, Boiling Point is Philip Barantini’s first use of the single take technique, giving us an intense, real-time look inside a professional kitchen/upscale restaurant. Revolving mostly around a Food Hygiene inspection during a busy service, the film is painfully relatable to anyone who has served time in the hospitality industry, taking in everything from difficult customers, food critics, kitchen conflict and ultimately, the pressure of delivering a perfect guest experience every time, no matter what chaos is unfolding behind the scenes.
Somewhat overshadowed by the similarly themed The Bear, the show (and its spin-off TV series, which can be streamed free on The Roku Channel) is a masterclass in direction with the ‘oner’ capturing every gripping moment as Andy’s dreams of a successful restaurant start to fall apart over the course of a single service.
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