Beyond Fest, CM Punk, Dermot Mulroney, Fantastic Fest, film festivals, Flying Lotus, Freddie Gibbs, horror, Jermaine Fowler, Justin Long, Keenon Dequan Ray Jackson, Los Angeles, movies, Nicki Micheaux, Night Patrol, Phil Brooks, reviews, RJ Cyler, Ryan Prows, YG, Zuri Reed
February 25, 2026
by Carla Hay
Directed by Ryan Prows
Culture Representation: Taking place in the Los Angeles area, the horror comedy “Night Patrol” features a predominantly African American and white cast of characters (with some Latin people) representing the working-class and middle-class.
Culture Clash: Members of the Crips gang and the Bloods gang are targets of white racist cops, who are vampires trying to get the Crips and Bloods to kill each other.
Culture Audience: “Night Patrol” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and horror comedies that aren’t scary or funny when making social commentaries about racism and violence from gangs and cops.
The truly awful horror comedy “Night Patrol” is as horribly racist as the racism it’s trying to lampoon, in this wretched story about gang members versus white supremacist cops. The movie is filled with atrocious dialogue, cringeworthy acting and a weak plot with more gore than scares. The movie’s social satire falls flat in every single way.
Directed by Ryan Prows, “Night Patrol” was written by Prows, Tim Cairo, Jake Gibson and Shaye Ogbonna. The movie had its world premiere at the 2025 edition of Fantastic Fest and subsequently screened at the 2025 edition of Beyond Fest. “Night Patrol” takes place in the Los Angeles area, where the movie was filmed on location.
Normally, it’s not necessary in movie reviews to mention the racial demographics of the movies’ directors and screenwriters. However, regarding this terrible “Night Patrol” movie about white supremacist racism against African Americans, it’s important to mention that Prows, Cairo and Gibson are white, and Ogbonna is African American. “Night Patrol” is extremely tone-deaf when it comes to racism and how the movie depicts African Americans.
“Night Patrol” also has the outdated tone of a subpar 1990s gangbanger movie. The trailer for “Night Patrol” already gives away about 80% of the movie’s flimsy plot. Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) patrol officers Xavier Carr (played by Jermaine Fowler) and Ethan Hawkins (played by Justin Long) work in a tough, crime-ridden area of the city. Unbeknownst to Xavier, Ethan wants to join a secret sect of the LAPD: white supremacist cops who are vampires. Xavier eventually finds out Ethan’s secret.
These vampires are led by Ethan’s deceased/undead father Sarge (played by Dermot Mulroney), who was a “legend” in the LAPD. Sarge’s chief henchman, who does most of the dirty work on the streets, is an unnamed deputy (played by Phil Brooks, also known as CM Punk), who is a stereotypical menacing thug. Ethan has to go through an initiation process, in order to be accepted into this secret sect of racist vampire cops. The racist vampire cops want to blame their murders on the gangs, so the rival gangs can kill each other in revenge murders.
In the beginning of the movie, this sadistic deputy and his cohorts (who all work at night) stop and question a young African American couple in a car that’s parked in a remote area. The man’s name is Wazi (played by RJ Cyler), the woman’s name is Primo (played by Zuri Reed), and they are having a forbidden romance because Wazi is a member of the Crips gang, while Primo is affiliated with the rival Bloods gang. Before the cops arrived, Wazi has proposed marriage to Primo, who declined the offer because of this gang rivalry. When the vampire cops arrive, they murder Primo, while a terrified Wazi escapes and runs away.
Wazi also happens to be the younger brother of Xavier, who used to be in the Crips, but Xavier turned his life around and became a cop. It doesn’t take long for the gang members to find out about the vampire cops and fight back. The gang-affiliated people who get involved include Wazi; Ayanda (played by Nicki Micheaux), the mother of Wazi and Xavier; Primo’s older brother Bornelius (played by Freddie Gibbs), the leader of this faction of the Bloods; and Bloods members Three Deuce (played by Flying Lotus) and Tripp (played by Keenon Dequan Ray Jackson, also known as rapper YG).
The rest of “Night Patrol” is just a series of violent chase scenes, sloppily staged fights and shootouts, bad jokes and an over-use of the “n” word racial slur. The visual effects are not impressive and often look tacky. And the movie’s ending looks very lazy and unfinished. “Night Patrol” misses the mark on every single level. Worst of all, the movie’s social satire wrapped in a vampire horror comedy doesn’t have any bite. It just has the stink of a rotting corpse.
RLJE Films and Shudder released “Night Patrol” in U.S. cinemas on January 16, 2026. The movie was released on digital and VOD on February 10, 2026. Shudder will premiere “Night Patrol” on April 17, 2026.