Wanna watch classic horror movies for free this Halloween? Tubi TV is your answer

Netflix, Prime, and Hotstar all offer a wide range of international horror flicks, but of course, they come at a subscription price. However, if you wish for an option that is lighter for your pocket, Tubi TV can offer several iconic horror flicks for your watchlist.

From cult classics such as Night of the Living Dead to even iconic “trash horror” such as Corona Zombies, Tubi’s horror catalogue is quite diverse and the best part is, of course, the content is free to watch and 100% legal. 

But what is Tubi in the first place? It was back in 2014 that the streaming service was founded in Los Angeles. Since its inception, Tubi has provided content that is absolutely free deriving its revenue mainly from advertising (with four to six minutes of ads displayed usually after an hour of streaming). 

These ads are still not that frequent and sometimes, one can stream an entire film without such breaks. In this sense, Tubi TV is definitely better than the free version of YouTube on which 2 to 3 ads (some even being unskippable) have become quite common for any video. In India, even MX Player has some free movies to offer albeit with a ton of ads. 

As it is a free platform, one can expect several B-grade or direct-to-DVD movies showing up on Tubi. Still, sometimes, Tubi can also showcase some black-and-white classics that are now in the public domain. This is the reason why one can stream films by Charlie Chaplin and Alfred Hitchcock on Tubi.

With the service’s genres ranging from action, comedy, drama, to even anime (and a handful of Indian films), Tubi’s most diverse genre is arguably horror. 

The black-and-white classics: Nosferatu, the first ever-vampire film, has been a timeless classic for horror buffs and cinema students. Completing a century this year, the 1922 classic by German auteur FW Murnau was an unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker’s literary classic Dracula. But there was a catch.

As British historian Ronald Bergan wrote in The Film Book, “Murnau plundered Stoker’s 1897 novel without permission and an action for breach of copyright was brought against him”. Stoker’s estate eventually won the lawsuit with Murnau losing the copyright and Nosferatu coming into the public domain. 

Nosferatu is just one of the many horror classics that have made their way to Tubi TV’s film library. As iconic as Nosferatu was, another public domain trendsetter from Germany that audiences can stream on Tubi TV is The Cabinet of Dr Caligari which revolves around a hypnotist employing an innocent man to embark on a murderous rampage. The 1920 silent film is widely regarded as “the first true horror film” and film historians note how it was perhaps the first film to employ a plot twist in its ending. 

Jumping over a few decades, another historical classic includes 1959’s House on Haunted Hill that starred Vincent Price (the man behind that creepy voiceover in Michael Jackson’s Thriller music video). Centering upon a “haunted house party”, the film’s spooky sets included props like plastic skeletons and flying bats, common elements in carnival haunted mansions. 

The horror maestros: One of Tubi’s most prized possessions continues to be George A Romero’s Night of the Living Dead that defined the zombie sub genre for years to come. The 1971 black-and-white talkie was Romero’s first feature which the then-31-year-old filmmaker made on a shoestring budget with an emphasis on cost-efficient filming. For instance, the blood in the film was just dark chocolate syrup while the flesh that zombies consumed included leftovers from a butcher shop!

While Romero lacked the budget, his script was as creatively rich as possible. Employing a black hero (Duane Jones) to add undertones of a racist America was quite revolutionary for a film that people expected to be just about zombies killing humans. As Night of the Living Dead didn’t really have a major studio backing its distribution, it is not surprising that it didn’t have any copyright following its release. 

For those who are even more interested in Romero’s future work, Tubi also offers some of his other directorial credits such as The Crazies, Two Evil Eyes, Season of the Witch, and There’s Always Vanilla. 

Coming back to the racism that Night of the Living Dead seeks to address, it is a common (and proven) cliche that most of the minority characters in horror films are the first ones to die. This trope is however changing as new-age black voices like Jordan Peele are coming out with subversive horrors such as Get Out and Us. 

But Tubi also offers a glimpse at a time when black actors began owning their own narratives. So, while 1973’s Scream, Blacula, Scream focuses on a black vampire (played by William Marshall), there’s also Blackenstein from the same year is a black take on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Even though both of these films are directed by white men, the presence of a largely black cast did help in changing representation in the horror of that decade.

Another 70s-era master of horror whose early work is streamable on Tubi is Wes Craven, the twisted genius behind some of the most popular Halloween watches, Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream. One of his scariest and most anxiety-inducing works continues to be his sophomore film, the 1977 horror The Hills Have Eyes. 

Instead of incorporating his pop culture icons like Freddy Krueger or Ghostface, Craven relied on a family of cannibalistic savages to tell his story of a family road trip gone wrong. Both The Hills Have Eyes and its 1984 sequel are on Tubi. 

The B-grade classics and “shitpost” movies: While directors like Craven and Romero might be regarded as horror titans, another legend from the other side of the spectrum was Ed Wood. Involved in writing, directing, and starring in some of “the worst films of all time”, Wood’s horror films from the 1950s were marred by hammy acting by non-professional actors, low-budget affects, and totally absurd concepts that can be classified as “shitpost memes” by the Gen-Z.

But there is definitely something alluring behind Wood’s passion to keep on making films despite all the negative reviews. While he would have intended to terrify audiences, his B-grade flops definitely make for amusing horror comedies. Tubi offers two of his classics: Plan 9 From Outer Space and Glen or Glenda.

While the former is a sci-fi horror around aliens visiting Earth and raising an army of zombies, the latter is a surprisingly conscious take on transgender acceptance with its narrative of a man undergoing a sex-change operation. Despite Wood's noble intentions, just the trailers of these films alone would show you how the acting is Razzie-level bad. 

These 50s-era films aren’t the only ridiculously over-the-top picks of which Tubi has a plethora to offer. The plot or production details aren’t even necessary as the unique titles are pretty self-explanatory. Have a look at a few cases in point: Blood Orgy of the She-Devils, Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies, Robot Ninja, Post Apocalyptic Commando Shark, The Evil Bong, 4 Milfs vs Zombies, Corona Zombies, Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter!

It wouldn’t be surprising if meme-able Indian horror flicks like Jaani Dushman and 1920 too make it to Tubi one day!

A dash of international horror: While a large chunk of Tubi’s horror picks are in English, there are also a few foreign options, mainly in Italian and Japanese. 

Many horror fanatics might have watched The Ring but it is the Japanese original Ringu that is considered as the real deal. A reporter’s investigation into cursed video tapes led to one of the scariest films of all time and it continues to hold its status to this day. Not only is Ringu on Tubi but the streaming platform also offers its sequels Spiral and Ringu 2 as well as its prequel Ringu 0: Birthday.

If the Ringu franchise has given you enough goosebumps, Tubi users can also go for light-hearted Japanese options such as the absurdly-titled B-movie Bloody Muscle Body Builder In Hell which was marketed as the Japanese version of Hollywood’s The Evil Dead.

When it comes to Italian horror, Tubi’s offerings are more in the classic territory with the psychological horror Suspiria (that later received an equally acclaimed Amazon Prime remake in English) and campy monster features like The Werewolf vs The Vampire Woman (spoiler alert: both die in the end). 

Tubi TV films can be streamed on Tubi’s website in India.