Tubi is a free streaming service that you can use at any time, any place, without a subscription. All you do is go to the website, search for what you want to see, and enjoy it without paying a dime. All you have to do is watch a few ads.
If you’re tired of paying month after month for services like Netflix, HBO Max, and more, Tubi and other free streaming services could be the answer. Tubi even makes original content, and some of it is very entertaining.
Why Lowlifes is worth your time (no spoilers)
Lowlifes is a fun iteration on classic horror tropes
One of the best reviewed original movies on Tubi is Lowlifes, a 2024 horror film from directors Tesh Guttikonda and Mitch Oliver. It is well worth the price of admission, and again, the price of admission is free. But seriously, Lowlifes is at least as clever, fun, and gory as some of the bigger horror films coming out in theaters these days, if made for way less money.
Lowlifes begins by introducing us to a Los Angeles family out for a drive in the country in their RV: there’s the clean-cut patriarch Keith (Matthew MacCaull); nurturing mother Kathleen (Elyse Levesque); disinterested teenage daughter Amy (Amanda Fix); and overeager younger brother Jeffrey (Josh Zaharia). The lot of them encounter a couple of locals named Vern (Richard Harmon) and Billy (Ben Sullivan), who should immediate remind audiences of suspicious country folk from movies like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes.
If this movie were made in the 1970s or ’80s, we’d be in for a story about the straight-laced family trying to survive while the bloodthirsty hillbillies hunt them down. But Lowlifes knows that you’ve seen those kinds of movies before, and is ready with twists aplenty. Eventually the action moves to a rural house where the urban and rural families circle each other before the whole movie descends into a violent bloodbath in the third act.
Lowlifes is patient, funny, and bloody
It’s a throwback to an earlier age of horror, but made for modern sensibilities
The best thing Lowlifes has going for it is the element of surprises. I won’t spoil anything in this article, but the plot starts twisting pretty early on and doesn’t stop until the end. The central conceit recalls Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, a 2010 horror-comedy that puts its own twist on the city-slickers-vs-crazed-hayseeds trope, only Lowlifes has way less comedy and much more drama.
And it gets away with it. In a horror movie like this, we’re always kind of waiting for things to escalate into an orgy of violence, and Lowlifes doesn’t leave us hanging (those squeamish at the sight of blood are advised to take precautions), but the movie also takes time to build up its characters. The dynamics between the members of the LA family are surprisingly complex, with father Keith emerging as someone who does not like when his control over the unit is threatened. Amy is at the age where she’s looking for identity apart from her family; she makes a connection with the teenage Savannah (Brenna Llewellyn), a member of the rural family, which complicates things later on.
Lowlifes shows a lot of patience in building things up before the blood starts to fly. When it does, we know the stakes and pay rapt attention.
There is some humor, too, as there often is in these kinds of splatterfest films. There’s something about brutal death and one-liners that just go together. Lowlifes satisfies on both counts.
High-minded Lowlifes
Come for the blood, stay for the class consciousness
The current trend in Hollywood is to make “elevated horror” movies. Think about films like Weapons or Sinners, which are horror movies complete with vampires and witches and geysers of blood, but they’re made with a stylishness that wouldn’t be out of place in an arthouse, and they have lots of resources at their disposal.
Lowlifes is scrappier than that. It doesn’t have much money to work with, but the script is intelligently written so the drama only plays out in a couple of locations. The focus is on the characters, who are written well enough so we don’t care about the lack of pyrotechnics.
Also, the movie does have a few deep thoughts on its mind, including some commentary on class that’s hard to miss. It borrows from the elevated horror trend in that way. But it’s also just a good time that will keep you entertained all the way through. And at just an hour-and-a-half long, it’s not going to take up too much of your time.
I can’t believe these movies are free on Tubi
These are the best free movies I found on Tubi, but there are heaps more for you to search through.
The riches of Tubi
Lowlifes does have a few knocks against. Some people didn’t like the ending, which harkens back to the kind of bleak slasher films of the ’70s and ’80s. If you’re someone who wants a happy ending, know you might not get it here, but this is hardly the first time a horror film has ended in a slightly nihilistic way. The people who enjoy that kind of thing, and there are many of them, will be right pleased.
Also, it’s just fun to find a good movie to watch that’s completely free, and this is just one of the hidden gems you can find on a service like Tubi.
- Release Date
-
April 11, 2024
- Runtime
-
90 minutes
- Writers
-
Al Kaplan
- Producers
-
Brad Luff, Michael Shepard, Jon Kaplan, Roger Lay, Jr., Allen Lewis, Charles Cooper, Eric Carnagey
-
-
-
Brenna Llewellyn
Savannah
-
