Night Patrol

by Mike McGranaghan

Night Patrol has a significant plot twist a little more than halfway through. The trailer and poster strongly allude to that development. It’s fine if you know in advance, but if you can avoid finding out, do so. In that spirit, when it comes time to talk about the twist, I’m simply going to write [REDACTED] and hope you’ll trust me when I say it’s something cool.

The premise is that the LAPD has a special unit known as the “Night Patrol” that operates independently of the law, openly killing gang members and harassing anyone they don’t like. They’re currently focused on the Black residents of a housing project. Hawkins (Justin Long) is a cop yearning to become a member of the group, and his partner Carr (Jermaine Fowler) comes from those projects. Further complicating the matter is that the Night Patrol doesn’t consist of regular police officers. No, these cops are also [REDACTED].

A whole lot is going on in the film, much more than I’ve even described. There’s a subplot involving Carr’s little brother Wazi (RJ Cyler), who saw the Night Patrol kill someone, and his mother (Nicki Micheaux), who knows a lot about Zulu mysticism. (That becomes very important later on.) Dermot Mulroney is in the cast, too, as the Night Patrol’s leader, although to say anything more specific about his function would spoil yet another twist.

Director Ryan Prows (Lowlife) is doing something here that’s akin to what Ryan Coogler did with last year’s Sinners. Both films offer commentary on issues pertaining to race yet do it within the context of genre cinema. In this case, Prows is taking on the long history of LAPD racism, telling a story about Black communities being targeted and the unity it requires to fight back. This thematic substance is always at the story’s center.

Around that center is some of the wildest, craziest mayhem you’re likely to see onscreen in 2026. Night Patrol can safely be categorized as a horror film, thanks to the [REDACTED] angle. Hawkins and Carr find themselves in the midst of a brewing full-scale war between the police and the residents of the projects. Bloody carnage and supernatural occurrences are backed up by a macabre sense of humor that pokes its head in at opportune moments. Especially memorable is the big finale, in which the action becomes so gloriously over-the-top that you might feel yourself experiencing an adrenaline rush.

Prows and cinematographer Benjamin Kitchens bring visual innovation to the tale. After Hawkins undergoes a change, he’s often shown in a stretched image that adds an eerie undertone. The cops’ POV is ominously shot in the negative. A very long, but very important, conversation scene is accomplished by having the camera in the center of a circle of actors, spinning around to whomever is speaking at any given time. These and other stylistic devices infuse the film with manic energy.

Night Patrol is going to divide people because of that energy. It may be too relentless for some viewers. Fans of go-for-broke genre movies, on the other hand, will be thrilled by the audaciousness that’s on display throughout. I certainly was.

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