The Best Serial Killer Movies and TV Shows on Free Services

What it's about: Dexter Morgan, a blood spatter pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police also leads a secret life as a serial killer, hunting down criminals who have slipped through the cracks of justice.

Where to Watch: 1 episodes (1%) are available to watch free online (Showtime). 96 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Showtime). 96 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime). 96 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: 1986 Gyunggi Province. The body of a young woman is found brutally raped and murdered. Two months later, a series of rapes and murders commences under similar circumstances. And in a country that had never known such crimes, the dark whispers about a serial murderer grow louder. A special task force is set up in the area, with two local detectives Park Doo-Man and Jo Young-Goo joined by a detective from Seoul who requested to be assigned to the case.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix).

What it's about: The true story of the investigation of the "Zodiac Killer", a serial killer who terrified the San Francisco Bay Area, taunting police with his ciphers and letters. The case becomes an obsession for three men as their lives and careers are built and destroyed by the endless trail of clues.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle & PopcornFlix), stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix, CBS All Access & 1 other) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play, Prime Video & 4 others).

What it's about: Spoiled billionaire playboy Oliver Queen is missing and presumed dead when his yacht is lost at sea. He returns five years later a changed man, determined to clean up the city as a hooded vigilante armed with a bow.

Where to Watch: 5 episodes (3%) are available to watch free online (The CW). 160 episodes (95%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 168 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Swedish thriller based on Stieg Larsson's novel about a male journalist and a young female hacker. In the opening of the movie, Mikael Blomkvist, a middle-aged publisher for the magazine Millennium, loses a libel case brought by corrupt Swedish industrialist Hans-Erik Wennerström. Nevertheless, he is hired by Henrik Vanger in order to solve a cold case, the disappearance of Vanger's niece

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix), stream on a subscription service (Fandor, Sundance Now & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: The exploits of FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who investigate X-Files: marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. Mulder believes in the existence of aliens and the paranormal while Scully, a skeptic, is assigned to make scientific analyses of Mulder's discoveries that debunk Mulder's work and thus return him to mainstream cases.

Where to Watch: 3 episodes (1%) are available to watch free online (FOX). 218 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Hulu). 206 episodes (94%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (BBC America & FOX). 219 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: A modern-day drama about a crime-solving duo that cracks the NYPD's most impossible cases. Following his fall from grace in London and a stint in rehab, eccentric Sherlock escapes to Manhattan where his wealthy father forces him to live with his worst nightmare - a sober companion, Dr. Watson.

Where to Watch: 11 episodes (7%) are available to watch free online (CBS). 153 episodes (99%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu & CBS All Access). 153 episodes (99%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: Five friends visiting their grandfather's house in the country are hunted and terrorized by a chain-saw wielding killer and his family of grave-robbing cannibals.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix, Prime Video & Shudder) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Prime Video & Vudu).

What it's about: An elite team of FBI profilers analyze the country's most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next moves before they strike again. The Behavioral Analysis Unit's most experienced agent is David Rossi, a founding member of the BAU who returns to help the team solve new cases.

Where to Watch: 3 episodes (1%) are available to watch free online (CBS). 281 episodes (88%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & CBS All Access). 315 episodes (99%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: An emotionally scarred highway drifter shoots a sadistic trick who rapes her, and ultimately becomes America's first female serial killer.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix, Tubi, Vudu & 1 other), stream on a subscription service (Sundance Now) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A man struggles with memories of his past, including a wife he cannot remember, in a nightmarish world with no sun and run by beings with telekinetic powers who seek the souls of humans.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects—and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But will Light succeed in his noble goal, or will the Death Note turn him into the very thing he fights against?

Where to Watch: 37 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Crunchyroll, Tubi & Vudu). 37 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Hulu). 37 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (Google Play, Prime Video & 2 others).

What it's about: After a 13-year imprisonment for the kidnap and murder of a 6 year old boy, beautiful Lee Guem-ja starts seeking revenge on the man that was really responsible for the boy's death. With the help of fellow inmates and reunited with her daughter, she gets closer and closer to her goal. But will her actions lead to the relief she seeks?

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix & Tubi) & stream on a subscription service (Shudder & Kanopy).

What it's about: Loner Mark Lewis works at a film studio during the day and, at night, takes racy photographs of women. Also he's making a documentary on fear, which involves recording the reactions of victims as he murders them. He befriends Helen, the daughter of the family living in the apartment below his, and he tells her vaguely about the movie he is making. She sneaks into Mark's apartment to watch it and is horrified by what she sees -- especially when Mark catches her.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix & Tubi) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Google Play & YouTube).

What it's about: Complete strangers stranded at a remote desert motel during a raging storm soon find themselves the target of a deranged murderer. As their numbers thin out, the travelers begin to turn on each other, as each tries to figure out who the killer is.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle), stream on a subscription service (CBS All Access) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: A man accidentally gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour. Finding himself will be the first of a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Notorious serial killer Joe Carroll, after being found guilty of murdering 14 female students on the Virginia college campus where he taught literature, escapes from death row. The FBI calls former agent Ryan Hardy to consult on the case, as he was the one responsible for Carroll’s capture in 2003. Ryan, working closely with an FBI team, including Mike Weston and FBI Specialist Debra Parker, piece together the ever-growing web of murders orchestrated by the devious Carroll.

Where to Watch: 45 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (IMDb TV). 45 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: A killer is released from prison and breaks into a remote home to kill a woman, her handicapped son and her pretty daughter.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Shudder) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 2 services (Google Play & Prime Video).

What it's about: While walking home one evening, Sam Dalmas, an American writer living in Rome, witnesses a violent struggle between a young woman and a black-coated figure in an art gallery. Dalmas attempts to intervene but is caught between the gallery's electronically operated glass doors, leaving the woman bleeding from knife wounds. Questioned by the police, the shocked author attempts to recall every detail regarding the incident. Convinced that there is an aspect of the crime he cannot recall, Dalmas begins his own investigation - putting himself and his girlfriend Giulia in line as the killer's potential victims...

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix & Tubi), stream on a subscription service (Fandor & ConTV) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Google Play).

What it's about: The sequel to House of 1000 Corpses – the Firefly family are ambushed at their isolated home by Sheriff Wydell and a squad of armed men guns blazing – yet only Otis and his sister, Baby, manage to escape the barrage of bullets unharmed. Hiding out in a backwater motel, the wanted siblings wait to rendezvous with their errant father, Captain Spaulding, killing whoever happens to stand in their way.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (IMDb TV), stream on a subscription service (Shudder & Tribeca Short List) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The true story of Richard Kuklinski, the notorious contract killer and family man.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle, PopcornFlix, Tubi & 2 others) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 2 services (Prime Video & Microsoft).

What it's about: When Lonnie Franklin Jr. was arrested in South Central Los Angeles in 2010 as the suspected murderer of a string of young black women, police hailed it as the culmination of 20 years of investigations. Four years later documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield took his camera to the alleged killer’s neighborhood for another view.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Hulu) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Google Play & YouTube).

What it's about: A mentally unhinged factory worker must decide whether to listen to his talking cat and become a killer, or follow his dog's advice to keep striving for normalcy.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A police chief about to retire pledges to help a woman find her daughter's killer. Based on a story by Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Prime Video & Microsoft).

What it's about: When a new murder victim is discovered with all the signs of Jigsaw's hand, Detective Eric Matthews begins a full investigation and apprehends Jigsaw with little effort. But for Jigsaw, getting caught is just another part of his plan. Eight more of his victims are already fighting for their lives and now it's time for Matthews to join the game...

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Slightly disturbed and painfully shy Angela Baker is sent away to summer camp with her cousin. Not long after Angela's arrival, things start to go horribly wrong for anyone with sinister or less than honorable intentions.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix, Tubi & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Shout Factory TV) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: A seemingly mild mannered man -- who has just murdered his entire family -- quickly adopts a new identity and leaves town. After building a new relationship with a widow and her teenage daughter, he struggles to hide his true identity and maintain a grip on reality.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix & Tubi), stream on a subscription service (Cinemax), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Cinemax) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 2 services (Prime Video & Vudu).

What it's about: The son of a notorious serial killer becomes an acclaimed criminal psychologist who uses his unique insight into how killers think to help the NYPD.

Where to Watch: 5 episodes (45%) are available to watch free online (FOX). 10 episodes (91%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 5 episodes (45%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (FOX). 10 episodes (91%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 3 services (Google Play, Vudu & YouTube).

What it's about: Based on real-life events, this psycho-thriller is set in the provincial Hungary of the 1960s, when a series of atrocious murders shock the small town of Martfü. A psychotic killer is on the prowl, who continues to slaughter young women while an innocent man is wrongly accused and sentenced for crimes he could never have committed. A determined detective arrives on the scene and soon becomes obsessed with the case while under pressure from the prosecutor to see a man hang. Stuck in the suffocating social, political and psychological world of socialist Hungary, we soon find ourselves entangled in a web of intricate conspiracy and disturbing drama.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: When Ann, husband George, and son Georgie arrive at their holiday home they are visited by a pair of polite and seemingly pleasant young men. Armed with deceptively sweet smiles and some golf clubs, they proceed to terrorize and torture the tight-knit clan, giving them until the next day to survive.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Forensic psychologist Alex Cross travels to North Carolina and teams with escaped kidnap victim Kate McTiernan to hunt down "Casanova," a serial killer who abducts strong-willed women and forces them to submit to his demands. The trail leads to Los Angeles, where the duo discovers that the psychopath may not be working alone.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A unique look inside the mind of an infamous serial killer with this cinematic self-portrait crafted from statements made by Ted Bundy, including present-day interviews, archival footage and audio recordings from death row.

Where to Watch: 8 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi). 8 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer (1993) is a documentary film about Aileen Wuornos, made by Nick Broomfield. It documents Broomfield's attempts to interview Wuornos, which involves a long process of mediation through her adopted mother Arlene Pralle and lawyer, Steve Glazer.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (SnagFilms & Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Sundance Now) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: What starts as a YouTube video going viral, soon leads to problems for the teenagers of Lakewood and serves as the catalyst for a murder that opens up a window to the town's troubled past. Everyone has secrets. Everyone tells lies. Everyone is fair game.

Where to Watch: 1 episodes (3%) are available to watch free online (VH1). 29 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 3 episodes (10%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (VH1). 29 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A martial arts instructor working at a police academy gets imprisoned after killing a man by accident. But when a vicious killer starts targeting martial arts masters, the instructor offers to help the police in return for his freedom.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Hiyah & Shudder) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Prime Video & 2 others).

What it's about: Three college students, Phil, Ed, and Henry take a road trip into Mexico for a week of drinking and carefree fun only to have Phil find himself a captive of a group of satanic Mexican drug smugglers who kill tourists and whom are looking for a group of new ones to prepare for a sacrifice.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: American Gothic is an American horror series created by Shaun Cassidy and executive produced by Sam Raimi. The show first aired on CBS on September 22, 1995, and was canceled after a single season on July 11, 1996.

Where to Watch: 5 episodes (23%) are available to watch free online (NBC). 17 episodes (77%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 22 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The adventures of young H.G. Wells and his time machine.

Where to Watch: 12 episodes (86%) are available to watch free online (CW Seed). 1 episodes (7%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 11 episodes (79%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (Google Play, Prime Video & 3 others).

What it's about: A serial killer kidnaps a young boy after murdering his mother, then raises him to be his accomplice. After years in captivity, the boy must choose between escaping or following in his captor's bloody footprints.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a subscription service (Tribeca Short List) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Prime Video & Vudu).

What it's about: Desperate to repay his debt to his ex-wife, an ex-con plots a heist at his new employer's country home, unaware that a second criminal has also targeted the property, and rigged it with a series of deadly traps.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix, Tubi & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, ConTV, Shudder & 1 other) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: A small, seemingly innocuous plastic reel of film leads surveillance specialist Tom Welles down an increasingly dark and frightening path. With the help of the streetwise Max, he relentlessly follows a bizarre trail of evidence to determine the fate of a complete stranger. As his work turns into obsession, he drifts farther and farther away from his wife, family and simple life as a small-town PI.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle), stream on a subscription service (CBS All Access) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: A troubled young man is drawn to a mythical place called Midian where a variety of monsters are hiding from humanity.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Shout Factory TV) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Google Play & Prime Video).

What it's about: Set in Stalin-era Soviet Union, a disgraced MGB agent is dispatched to investigate a series of child murders -- a case that begins to connect with the very top of party leadership.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A serial killer brutally slays and dismembers several gay men in New York's S/M and leather districts. The young police officer Steve Burns is sent undercover onto the streets as decoy for the murderer. Working almost completely isolated from his department, he has to learn and practice the complex rules and signals of this little society.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: One rainy night in an arms factory near Shanghai, a young female worker accused of stealing a box of bullets from the ruthless Boss Ding (Liu Kai Chi) is violently killed in a game of Russian roulette. Half a month later, a series of inexplicable deaths takes place in the factory, where the victims are shot but no bullets are found. Rumors of a deadly curse begin to spread in the factory, terrorizing the workers there. So, eccentric police inspector Song Donglu (Lau Ching Wan) and his hot-blooded, gunslinging partner Guo Zhui (Nicholas Tse) are sent in to investigate the mystery of the phantom bullets...

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (Google Play, Prime Video & 2 others).

What it's about: When hundreds of videotapes showing torture, murder and dismemberment are found in an abandoned house, they reveal a serial killer's decade-long reign of terror and become the most disturbing collection of evidence homicide detectives have ever seen.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi) & stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix).

What it's about: A tough, renegade cop with a gay sidekick is dispatched to take down a serial killer who has been targeting police officers.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle & IMDb TV) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Twenty years ago in the sleepy mining town of Valentine Bluffs, a fatal mining disaster occurred on Valentine's Day while some of the crew was decorating for a party. The sole survivor of the accident killed the remaining crewmembers and warned the town not to celebrate Valentine's Day again. When a group of teenagers decides to defy that order, a murderous maniac in mining gear begins dispatching townsfolk in bloody and creative ways.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle & PopcornFlix), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).