Police violence, gang warfare, and racism mixed with vampires gives Night Patrol plenty of interesting ground to cover, even if it chooses not to.
The latest vampire flick arriving this year is looking to put an interesting twist on the classic genre. It takes the familiar trope of cops versus gangs, where white supremacy is also at play to target specific groups.
Night Patrol (2025)
Directed By: Ryan Prows
Written By: Shaye Ogbonna, Ryan Prows, Tim Cairo, and Jake Gibson
Starring: Jermaine Fowler, Justin Long, Freddie Gibbs, RJ Cyler, CM Punk
Release Date: January 16, 2026
Rather than a drama/thriller, however, we’re adding in the supernatural, as it turns out the LAPD’s Gang Task Force unit (dubbed night patrol) is filled to the brim with blood-sucking vampires. So not only do they feel they’re above the law and can do whatever they want, they’ve got demonic power on their side to do it!
But of course, this isn’t something the general public is aware of. That’s where our three main characters come in. Wazi (RJ Cyler) was born into the Crip gang life and growing weary of it all. When he witnesses night patrol murder the girl he’s with (a member of the rival Bloods), he finds himself thrust into a war that’s been ongoing for centuries.
Then there’s his brother, Xavier (Jermaine Fowler) who left the gang life behind and is now a police officer. He’s partnered up with veteran officer Hawkins (Justin Long), whose father is a legend at the agency. He wants into night patrol, hoping to uncover the truth behind his dad’s death. All of these characters come together as the cadre of vampires in Night Patrol decide to drain an entire community (Wazi’s) of their blood, to store for later.
There’s a lot of fun things going on here, with plenty of great humor steeped in that specific LA culture, and more than enough carnage to satisfy those creature feature horror fans. I particularly liked how the film establishes itself right off the bat. It knows not to take itself too seriously, and lets the absurdity of certain things cut loose. This keeps the fun level high while allowing for full suspension of disbelief when things manage to get even wilder.
For all it’s fun, however, it misses out on the chance to explore things a little deeper. It taps into the themes of police violence/racism, showing the need to come together for something bigger, and trusting in your cultural roots. There are also some points made about being better than the legacy you’re expected to have and doing what’s right regardless. It just doesn’t do a whole lot with those things, which makes some of the final act more confusing/frustrating than it should be.
Night Patrol hits the ground running and doesn’t give audiences much chance to catch their breath. Its snappy pace and relatively short runtime (just a smidge over the 90 minute mark) ensures things are constantly moving forward and keeping you engaged. The problem, however, is the story needs a little bit more exposition. It’s almost counter to the idea of typical creature features, but Night Patrol has some really interesting lore elements that are barely tapped into.
Namely, the big caveat is the idea that there are certain groups/gangs in LA who know the police force—specifically the Night Patrol—are some sort of supernatural entities. The Bloods are essentially conspiracy theorists who deal with lizard people, demons, and other such things, while the Crips retain some of the older knowledge about demonic creatures and how their ancestors dealt with them.
It makes for a fun bit of world building that these kind of things are just accepted even as the characters we follow are learning about it, or coming to realize the stories they’ve heard growing up are true. The problem, however, is that’s as much as the film dives into it. It’s surface level exposition, giving audiences a cool setup without expanding on it.
Don’t get me wrong, I very much enjoyed how the film sprinkled these tidbits throughout the film. Dropping them at natural points that build on things without feeling like it’s breaking credulity. It’s perfectly setup for something more, but never gives us that. Hell, it doesn’t really give Wazi this information either.
He largely disbelieves the “Zulu shit” his mother has taught him, almost until the very end. Even by this point he seemingly accepts things just because he’s out of options. Since our perspective is largely limited to him (at this point in the film), we don’t have the opportunity to actually learn more.
As for learning things through the other main characters…well…we can’t. I won’t get into the why’s of it all to avoid spoilers, but they eventually become dead ends when it comes to delving deeper into both the lore and other story points that I wish would have been expounded on.
Even on a smaller level things needed a little bit more explanation. The vampires themselves are a bit different from the movie ones we’re accustomed to, but the film doesn’t really explain the “rules” surrounding them. Sunlight doesn’t seem to have the normal effect, crosses don’t do much, and even a stake to the heart doesn’t always do the trick.
These are neat aspects that keeps the tension high as the characters try to survive, but neither is it clear what does work against them. It’s more frustrating as there’s a specific moment in the film where they talk about knowing the answers to these questions, but don’t actually share them with the audience. Instead, we have to intuit certain things, with some things only becoming a little more clear with only minutes left.
As a result, it feels like the movie is just making up things as it goes along; making story choices out of convenience rather than adhering to an overarching plan. Which is a bummer because you can tell there’s a lot of thought put into these things with how certain things are seeded throughout…they just aren’t expanded on enough on the screen.
This really holds the film back from being more than it is. There’s still reason to watch and enjoy, but by the time the credits rolled I found myself wanting more, and not in the “need a sequel” kind of way, but in that it felt like there were a few missed opportunities.
