To ignore history is to imprison yourself in repetitive cycles. Even worse, to make presumptions based solely on what you’re told is to doom yourself to being a keystone cause of those cycles continuing. This is a key component in the new horror thriller from filmmaker Ryan Prows (Lowlife), Night Patrol, which incorporates aspects of historical and cultural conflict that some may find triggering, while others may find ridiculous. Having had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest 2025, Prows’s Night Patrol, often cold and extremely cruel, is gearing up to advance into cinemas, bringing with it an agenda of violence from which none will remain unscathed.
RJ Cyler as Wazi Carr in NIGHT PATROL. Photo courtesy of Shudder.
Every community has their secrets; every community has their lore. For siblings Xavier and Wazi Carr (Jermaine Fowler and RJ Cyler), theirs led to one escaping The Courts and becoming a police officer and the other following the family line of joining and staying in the Crips, each for their own respective reasons. But when Wazi becomes the witness to a crime perpetrated by the LAPD’s gang unit known as Night Patrol, differences will have to be put aside in order to try to prevent a bloodbath of retribution.
Jermaine Fowler as Xavier Carr in NIGHT PATROL. Photo courtesy of Shudder.
It’s clear that screenwriters Tim Cairo (Lowlife), Jake Gibson (Lowlife), Shaye Ogbonna (The Chi; Lowlife), and Prows understand the significance of a story’s opening. Cold open, prologue, text intro, voice over — all of these things communicate a specific need as well as convey the direction or intention of a tale. In this case, Night Patrol’s prologue features a cold, sterile white room with a figure handcuffed to a table, wounded and hunched over, as they are met with a law enforcement officer (LEO) who offers them no solace, no comfort, and no concern. The downside of the sequence is that we now know that, that character is “safe” in the narrative until the wound occurs. Granted, we don’t initially know if this moment is the actual beginning of the story, from the middle, or approaching the end, but, once the film cuts to chapter one, with confirmation received, we now understand the clock that’s about to start ticking. Beyond the fate of that specific character, though, this prologue establishes the film’s view of law enforcement and it’s not pretty. At a time when most don’t realize that the origins of local law enforcement are rooted in controlling slave populations in the South or that U.S. Border Agents have a history of standing in front of vehicles in order to create situations to justify violent action or that the perpetuation of stereotypes is yet another means of keeping a populace separated against each other instead of unified against a greater (enemy) force, Night Patrol puts it out there plainly — there are no good cops. Not within the current system as it functions. In this opening, rather than ensuring that the introductory character is given emergency care, they’re harassed for bleeding in the room. Night Patrol has a specific agenda and viewpoint and it pulls no punches in seeking to accomplish its narrative and thematic goals.
L-R: Justin Long as Ethan Hawkins and Nicki Micheaux as Ayanda Carr in NIGHT PATROL. Photo courtesy of Shudder.
Consider the following. As demonstrated in the marketing, the central characters involved align either with Bloods, Crips, or LAPD. The intention, one might presume, is to tie into established tropes regarding police brutality within a community and gangs (just like the mob) being an organization meant to create community and uplift its members, even as violence is a component of its function. Prows seems intent on placing the LAPD as the core opponent, using the mystique of night to induce a specter of enhanced violence and malevolence within the presentation of the LAPD. Much in the way that some cultures incorporate masks, makeup, or particular dress to elicit terror from their enemies, these officers grabbing metal fangs is an accoutrement meant to communicate several things without confirmation of their potential narrative unnaturalness: law enforcement members are frequently parasitic, a task force using vampiric imagery isn’t interested in upholding the law but a specific ideology, and fear is the best weapon they have. Frankly, it doesn’t matter if Night Patrol is filled with ghouls, ghosts, vampires, or an average human, their embracing of vampiric culture and tropes doesn’t signify anything other than bloodletting and ethnic cleansing. Much in the same way that modern LEOs have come to embrace the Punisher logo (not realizing that it’s cannon in the comics that Frank Castle views such adoration as a failure to uphold their oath to protect and serve), the adornment of fangs speaks as much to the shit-baggery of these fictional LEOs who are just looking for permission to commit violence under the guise of lawful protections. That’s what law enforcement has become, even when some try to stand up for their communities, there remain enough who prefer the status quo, who desire violence over peaceful conflict resolution, that even if one survives the night, there’s always the next day when you can get got. Even when Night Patrol veers fully into the horror thriller aspects, the sharpest part of its teeth remain fully on the condemnation of society’s uplifting of law enforcement as anything other than a systemic rot that will never go away until, as the tagline suggests, we “defang the police.”
Center: CM Punk/Phil Brooks as Deputy in NIGHT PATROL. Photo courtesy of Shudder.
There’s plenty to be explored within Night Patrol and this review has danced around quite a bit in order to keep things spoiler-free. If you want a bit of a taste, this film is like Sinners (2025) meets Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995) meets Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) in the way it intermixes history, cultural relevancy, ethnic belief systems, and humor (plus color schemes) amid targeted violent action. The character paths explored by Cyler (The Harder They Fall; One Spoon of Chocolate), Fowler (Sorry to Bother You; Terrestrial), and Justin Long’s (Coyotes; House of Darkness) Officer Ethan Hawkins overlap in that Ethan and Xavier are initially partners, both with their own intentions for Night Patrol, and that Wazi connects all of them through an inciting incident. These three are distinct from each other in their choices and characterizations, but are still the same in that they wish to break the chains that they appear to have been born wearing thanks to the sins of their fathers. Additionally, their respective arcs are meant to demonstrate that the best of intentions may still lead you to hell and that a single bad apple will, in fact, spoil the bunch; however, by embracing your cultural strength, there is a chance at survival. This is, perhaps, the best aspect of Night Patrol because the script makes it quite plain that the embracing of community (not blood) is what gives an individual the power to rise up against demonic forces (real or imagined). That through community, there’s a chance for the least of us to survive and that we all deserve the chance to do so. The script also points out the Sisyphean task living is and that the scales are almost always tipped against you by design, so what you do in this life matters, even if it shifts the weight by the smallest margin. Finally, be sure to gird your loins: when the violence comes, it doesn’t mess around, choosing abrupt subversion and total devastation whenever possible.
L-R: Justin Long as Ethan Hawkins and Jermaine Fowler as Xavier Carr in NIGHT PATROL. Photo courtesy of Shudder.
Don’t mistake the above to suggest that Night Patrol is all substance and no style. It’s full of style. In some cases, one might come away thinking it’s got far more style than substance as it seeks to balance tones and intentions while also keeping the audience on-guard. Thankfully the performances from the central cast, as well as the support from Nicki Micheaux (Lowlife), Phil Brooks/CM Punk (Girl on the Third Floor; Zootopia 2), and Freddie Gibbs (Down with the King), ensure that this reality-adjacent world stays grounded even at its most elevated. And this film dares to go places that audiences may not be ready to explore or be interested in journeying toward in light of recent LEO escalations. Maybe that’s why it’s getting released in January, because it offers something different from a lot of the cinematic fare that’s mostly award titles undergoing their regular post-2025 eligibility run. And Night Patrol is different in that it doesn’t give a damn how you feel about anything and it isn’t afraid to ensure you know it.
In select theaters January 16th, 2026.
For more information, head to the official Night Patrol website.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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