Popcornflix Review

Genres and channels

The three main categories you’ll find on the homepage of Popcornflix are movies, TV shows and viral vids. Scrolling down the movies category, you’ll find sub categories such as new arrivals, most popular, Popcornflix originals and staff picks. Movie genres are also explored – you’ll find titles organised into drama, action, horror, comedy, thriller and so on. Here’s an idea of the kind of movie content you’ll find on Popcornflix:

• Drama – Juice, American Beauty, Without Evidence, Labor Pains
• Action – Ember Days, Beyond, Dangerous Attraction, Star Trek II: The Search For Spock
• Horror – Megasnake, Witches: The Darkest Evil, What The Waters Left Behind, Mosquito Man
• Thriller – The Beast of Xmoor, Cold Deck, Wasp Woman, A Mother’s Testimony
• Comedy – The Gridiron, Dinner for Schmucks, Much Ado About Nothing, 7 Chinese Brothers
• Romance – What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, Wuthering Heights, Alex of Venice, Miss Conception
• Sci-Fi – The Tribe, Night Of Something Strange, The Dark Stranger, The Chosen
• Mystery – Dead Body, Raging Angels, Cold Deck, Reality Check

With TV shows, you can find a range of genres – and most of the titles are old-school content. Here’s an idea of what you can expect:

• Family and Kids TV – Barney Google & Snuffy Smith, Popeye and Son, Little Angels, Cool McCool
• Drama TV – Queer As Folk, Underbelly, Penance, Hunter, A Woman Named Jackie
• Reality TV – Hell’s Kitchen, Fight Club, Chef Abroad, Professor Green: The Forgotten Class
• Action/Adventure – Coast Guard Florida, The Legend of Zelda, Davey Hughes Untamed, Air Force One Is Down
• Comedy – White Teeth, Beaver Falls, Roseanne, 3rd Rock From The Sun

Popcornflix’s viral vids section is particularly interesting. Whatever you’re into and whichever mood you may be in, it’s more than likely that this selection can cater to it. From inspiring tales of success through adversity to funny cat videos, there’s an option for you. The four main channels are FailArmy, Storybooth, The Pet Collective and People Are Awesome. Here’s an idea of the titles available to browse:

• FailArmy – Gamer Problems, Tattoo Trouble, Fails of the Week, Best Friends Day
• Storybooth – Worst Prom Date Ever, I Fled My Country, I Got Caught Plagiarising, I Love Truth Or Dare
• The Pet Collective – Best Pets Of The Week, Soccer Stars, The Great Outdoors, Race Ya To PetCon
• People Are Awesome – Domino Art, Extreme YoYo Tricks, How’d They Do That?, Walnut Wood Bear Carving

For original content, Popcornflix is also a good source. Top titles include Clandestine, The Passing Season, Face2Face, September Morning, Split, Apocalypse Child, Ponchao, Small Town Santa, Teacher of the Year and The Beast of Xmoor.

Top Popcornflix shows and movies

7 Chinese Brothers – This comedy film chronicles the story of Larry, who is honest but a slacker and constantly under the influence. He takes a job at his local Quick Lube in order to support himself and his dog Arrow, and attempts to hit on his new boss while he’s there. Directed by Bob Byington, the cast includes Jason Schwartzman, Alex Karpovsky, Olympia Dukakis and Stephen Root.

The Gridiron – This comedy movie is based on a true story. It follows the journey of aspiring athlete Derek, who wants to find a sport he can master. However, every time he’s tried, he has failed. He refuses to quit and introduces a new local sport, where he and his team become hometown heroes. Directed by Gary Delaney, the cast features Andrew Harrwood Mills, Dorsey Levens and Michael Dixon.

The Amazing Wizard of Paws – This family film tells the story of young Bobby Spade, who finds out that his dog Ozzy is actually 600 years old and once belonged to a powerful wizard. He finds himself on a crazy adventure with the aim of achieving his family’s destiny. Directed by Bryan Michael Stoller, actors in the cast include Tiny Lister, Yvette Rachelle and Paula Devicq.

The Beast of Xmoor – This horror movie sees Georgia drag her boyfriend Matt to the English countryside with hopes of proving the legendary beast of Exmoor exists. Heading out to explore with cameras, the pair meet Fox, an eccentric hunter who agrees to be their guide. He believes in the beast, and says it has tasted human flesh, now hungering for more. Directed by Luke Hyams, the cast includes Nick Blood and Melia Kreiling.

Beyond – This action thriller movie follows the rocky relationship of Cole and Maya. The pair are attempting to survive in a world where the human population has been wiped out by an alien attack. Directed by Joseph Baker and Tom Large, the cast members feature Richard J Danum, Paul Brannigan and Gillian MacGregor.

Djinn – In this horror movie, an Emirati couple return home determined to put the traumatic loss of their baby behind them. However, once they’ve returned they begin to question whether their neighbours are human or shape shifting demons known as Djinn. Directed by Tobe Hooper, the cast includes Aiysha Hart, Paul Luebke and Razane Jammal.

Americana – This drama film sees a film editor who is constantly inebriated attempt to discover why his movie star sister was murdered. Directed by Zachary Shedd, cast members feature Jack Davenport, David Call and Kelli Garner.

200 Miles – This documentary short chronicles the story of ultra marathoner Eric Gelber. The athlete attempted to run a record 200 miles around Central Park, New York, in order to raise awareness and one million dollars for MMRF – the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. Directed by Sam Bathrick, the cast includes Eric Gelber and Tani Gelber.

Streaming quality

The picture quality on Popcornflix has not been established in terms of an exact resolution. As you may expect with a free streaming service, it doesn’t appear to offer any titles in HD, UHD or 4K quality.

For the most part, users have stated that buffering or crashing often happens with titles, although they will persevere due to the fact they can stream movies for free.

We will update this review in the future if we hear any news on Popcornflix improving their streaming quality. For now, though, you can expect a resolution which probably matches a standard DVD stream.

Customer support

As Popcornflix has a parent company – Screen Media Ventures, LLC – this is the place people are most likely to find customer support.

Indeed, the Popcornflix About page describes Screen Media Ventures, LLC, as one of the leading motion picture distributors for digital, television, home video and theatrical releases.

To contact Screen Media Ventures, LLC, Googling the name takes you to a site which redirects to Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment at the time of writing.

There is a Contact Us page at the bottom of the site which comprises some email addresses and a web form that can be filled in.

To contact Popcornflix directly, navigate to their social media to see what the options are. There is an email address listed on the Facebook page, plus the option to message the page directly.

There is also a Twitter page, but it does not have the option to directly message the account – so you would have to @ them and hope for the best!

Free trial

As Popcornflix is a free streaming platform, there is no need to include a free trial feature as part of its offering. Instead of trialling a paid platform, users can simply watch ad-supported content right from the start.

Plans and pricing

Popcornflix is completely free as a service. As it’s an ad-supported video on demand streaming service, which is shortened to AVOD, these commercials are what brings in revenue for the platform. Of course, it then follows that you will need to watch ads at some point during your time on Popcornflix. While there isn’t too heavy a load to deal with, you will have to put up with some if you don’t want to pay for a subscription service.

Despite the fact that there are no paid accounts with Popcornflix, it’s still possible to make an account. You can stream content without logging in, but if you do sign up for free with the platform, you can sync your streaming across multiple devices. Furthermore, you can populate a watchlist of movies and TV shows you’d like to watch at some point in the near future.

Competitors

One of Popcornflix’s main competitors is Sony Crackle. Both platforms are similar in the way they are set up, as they are ad-supported video on demand streaming services, but while there are some features which may look familiar, there are also some key differences.

Popcornflix makes a point of putting out original movies, which is something Sony Crackle doesn’t do. However, Sony Crackle does offer exclusive programming, such as popular series by Jerry Seinfeld, Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee. Ultimately, your choice here will depend on whether you prefer the original movies from Popcornflix or the exclusive shows from Sony Crackle.

When it comes to platform support and device compatibility, Sony Crackle has more options available, but the user interface for both is quite similar. Furthermore, the perks related to signing up for a free account with both services are nearly identical, as you can benefit from pausing shows and coming back to them later, sync content across multiple devices and so on.

Is Popcornflix worth it?

Popcornflix is a good option for cord cutters who don’t want to pay for a streaming service. There is something for everyone, whether you want to watch a classic film, horror movie, kids TV or a viral video. The interface is simple and easy to navigate, and there is a range of original movies available to get stuck into. You can also sign up for a free account to sync your watch history and bookmark content to watch later. Overall, Popcornflix is a solid choice when it comes to free streaming services.