Which one’s Night, and which one’s Patrol? (CREDIT: IFC Films/RLJE Films/Shudder)
Starring: Justin Long, Jermaine Fowler, RJ Cyler, Freddie Gibbs, CM Punk, YG, Flying Lotus, Dermot Mulroney, Jon Oswald, Nicki Micheaux
Director: Ryan Prows
Running Time: 104 Minutes
Rating: R for Intense and Frequently Stylized Violence and Gore
Release Date: January 16, 2026 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: In the world of Night Patrol, it’s pretty much all-out war between the LAPD and the city’s black residents. Now, it’s not exactly a unique insight to claim that the police are disproportionately targeting people of color. But director Ryan Prows’ vision amplifies the conflict to the max with a conspiratorially supernatural bent. The action mostly centers around Ethan (Justin Long), a patrol officer following in his father’s footsteps, and his partner Xavier (Jermaine Fowler), a former Crip member who’s basically been disowned by his family. They get caught in the middle of a conflagration that comes to an over-the-top head when a simple car search quickly escalates into murder. Soon enough, Ethan finds himself lured within the dark underbelly of the titular patrol, while Xavier must decide who he will align himself with as his community rises up and makes its final stand.
What Made an Impression?: What Monsters Be These?: Night Patrol is one of those movies that’s kind of tricky to review, as there’s a reveal about a third of the way through that could be considered the premise, or a surprise twist. (Or both!) Thus, I can’t really get into specifics without severely spoiling the whole shebang. So if you want to be fully unspoiled, stop reading right now and come back later. But for those of you who don’t mind a tease here and there, I’ll say that if you saw Sinners and wished that it had been in modern day SoCal instead of the 1930s American South, then Night Patrol might just be the movie for you. It’s not exactly the movie for me, though, at least not as much as Sinners was, as that period piece approach did quite a bit of the thematic legwork for the bloodsucking reveal. Maybe this sort of genre mix could have worked in Night Patrol‘s milieu as well, and what we’ve got isn’t nothing. But this particular mashup of supernatural and gritty struck me as a minor triumph at best.
Taking It to the Limit: The climax of this wild movie stretches far beyond the horror genre as it takes its battle onward and upward. It cribs quite a bit from superhero flicks, with some iconography in the vein of Superman, Iron Man, and Chronicle (that last reference point rounding it out with a more verite spin). It also gives off some Predator vibes and rambles on about a bunch of creepy folklore. It’s a throw-all-the-spaghetti-at-the-wall strategy that’ll certainly grab your attention, though chances are you’ll be wishing it were a more coherent, cohesive sum of its parts.
Night Patrol is Recommended If You: Want to Smell All the Asphalt in Your Horror Flicks
Grade: 3 out of 5 Generational Secrets
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