‘Night Patrol’ Review: Gangsters vs. Vampire Cops Should Be Cooler Than This

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Vampires remain a consistently popular horror trope, and Night Patrol deserves recognition for offering a fresh take on them, considering how many vampire stories have been told over the years. However, despite a promising start and some clever ideas, the film doesn’t fully develop its potential.

This movie follows the LAPD’s Night Patrol, a tough anti-gang unit known for their extreme tactics. New officer Ethan Hawkins (Justin Long) joins the team, but his partner, Xavier Carr (Jermaine Fowler), is upset he wasn’t included. Meanwhile, Xavier’s brother, Wazi (RJ Cyler), is still involved with the Crips gang, the same one Xavier used to be a part of. This connection pulls Xavier into the dark secrets of Night Patrol, as they start targeting people he cares about – and it turns out, they’re actually vampires.

Director Ryan Prows and his co-writers try to pack a lot into Night Patrol—perhaps too much. The film centers around a mysterious Night Patrol, revealing their true purpose and a hidden plan, all while featuring a surprising alliance between the Crips and Bloods gangs. These rivals must join forces to fight vampire cops and protect their community. This setup creates a bold and compelling story, functioning as a clear metaphor for police targeting of Black communities. The film effectively uses recognizable imagery to deliver a powerful message at times.


RLJE / Shudder

One interesting thing is that the gang members in the film already believe in the supernatural. There are some fun scenes with Freddie Gibbs, who plays the gang leader Bornelius, and his crew discussing the possible threats they might face. Bornelius briefly mentions past encounters, which I wish the movie had explored further. I especially liked how he prepared for a fight by grabbing both guns and a battleaxe—I’d love to learn more about when and why he used it! Overall, the film seems hesitant to fully commit to its more fantastical elements, keeping things a little too grounded instead.

The characters aren’t always clearly defined, particularly Ethan and Xavier. Ethan starts out doing something truly awful to join Night Patrol, but the film later tries to make us feel sorry for him by explaining why he joined. There’s a scene where he even acknowledges the bad reputation cops often have and says he wants to change that. This creates a contradiction – he seems to believe it’s okay to do bad things for a good cause – but the movie never really addresses this hypocrisy or explores it in a meaningful way. It feels like a potentially powerful idea that’s ultimately left unexplored.


RLJE / Shudder

The show touches on Xavier’s interesting background – his transformation from a gang member to a police officer – but mostly to highlight his mother Ayanda’s disapproval. It doesn’t delve deeply into Xavier’s own internal struggle with reconciling his past and present. While Long and Fowler are both engaging actors, the series feels like it introduces several promising ideas without fully developing them.

The film starts strong with effective scene-setting, but loses steam as the story expands. It becomes uneven, with some awkward transitions. A lot of dialogue sounds dubbed in – characters often appear to be speaking lines that weren’t originally filmed – suggesting the story might have been changed during production, or that the filmmakers worried the audience wouldn’t understand what was happening.

The movie aims for a sleek, visually striking style, but doesn’t quite achieve it. It shares some similarities with Blade – the film’s producer, David S. Goyer, also wrote Blade – and features a story about a large group of vampires living in modern cities. However, Night Patrol fails to establish a unique identity of its own. Some action sequences, like close-ups of characters supposedly running when they’re clearly standing still, come across as silly rather than exciting.


RLJE / Shudder

Phil Brooks, also known as CM Punk from WWE, and Dermot Mulroney star as the main vampires. Brooks, a dedicated horror enthusiast, seems to be thoroughly enjoying his role, and his background as a wrestling villain helps him play the hateful character, “Sarge,” convincingly. However, Mulroney’s character, the leader of the Night Patrol, isn’t given much to do beyond a reveal that doesn’t make a strong impact.

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Gibbs and Micheaux deliver the strongest performances. Gibbs perfectly embodies the world-weary Bornelius with a calm and practical demeanor. Micheaux truly shines as Ayanda, arguably the most compelling character in Night Patrol. Ayanda is powerfully independent and doesn’t hesitate to express her anger towards Xavier, even confronting him physically. Importantly, she’s also knowledgeable about the supernatural, drawing on her Zulu heritage to fight vampires herself. The series could have explored this background even further, but Micheaux convincingly portrays Ayanda as a capable and determined fighter.


RLJE / Shudder

The film Night Patrol has a moment that perfectly illustrates its biggest weakness: strong ideas that aren’t well-executed. A key character dies much earlier than expected, a scene that should have been impactful and raised the stakes. However, the death feels surprisingly empty, almost as if the filmmakers could have simply left the character out of the story altogether. Not only is there a missed opportunity to create a genuine sense of loss, but the character’s death lacks any lasting consequences or resolution.

The ending of Night Patrol tries to be thrilling, but it doesn’t quite succeed – it feels more silly than scary. It’s disappointing, because the movie had all the right ingredients to be genuinely frightening.

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2026-01-14 23:48