Disclaimer: I’m a blind film critic. I did not have access to available audio description for this title.

While it isn’t a factor in my actual grade, one has to wonder if right now, cops behaving badly is a film that will rake in the audience.In the midst of what is at the very least the tragic and unnecessary loss of life of 37 year old Renee Gold, and at best a critical failure of our system, a strong representation of denial of Vivian rights, and a textbook example of excessive force that lead to the death of a mother of three at the hands of an armed federal agent, Night Patrol seems to be stumbling into the wrong release date. With protests, increasingly violent responses to them, and just last night a protestor being shot in the leg (albeit while wielding a shovel), I’m not sure how entertained everyone wil be by this. or perhaps, as we are merely days away from a Melania documentary I’m sure will shatter box office records, the audience for this film is the other side of the coin. They are the people you see online saying Renee got what she deserved, believing a woman like her just suddenly became a domestic terrorist, and continuing to relish in the suffering of immigrants, in a country defined by immigration. Quite likely everyone who relishes this has benefitted from an ancestor emigrating to this country at some point, as our indigenous population is just not very large. Again, manifest destiny and all that. The audacity of privilege.

So, wanna see a morality tale pitting some bad cops against some gang members? I’m sure some people do, because they’re the kind of people who read between the lines, and enjoy the prospect of seeing what are ultimately racist white vampire cops feeding upon black gang members and their surrounding community. It is intentional that there are gangs involved here, because it makes that pill easier to swallow. When Ryan Prows directed and co-wrote the script, I’m sure there wasn’t such striking intentionality. most films are unfairly a byproduct of their times, and this is not the first film to use this power dynamic. It makes it easier to see bloodshed, because no matter which side you root for, damn near everyone here is morally ambiguous on the scale, some clearly more than others. Our two leads, Justin Long and Jermaine Fowler, are partnered together, and the earnestness in them is appealing. Quickly, things go south, the pairs new partnership is tested, and they find themselves struggling to stay morally clean in a dirty world, again, full of vampires.

The positives here are that the acting was fine. I like how Justin Long is being pushed into less and less nerdy roles, as his role here is pretty strong, masculine, and capable. Fowler, who spends a lot of time in comedy too, works rather well as the black cop looking for upward mobility in a system designed to keep him at the lowest rung of the totem pole. Supporting cast includes Dermot Mulroney, who at least has the presence to pull off what he’s asked to do, and RJ Cyler, an actor far better than the roles he’s given. Anyone who hasn’t seen his breakthrough work in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl needs to, especially casting agents, because he could really benefit from a meaty dramatic performance instead of genre films and television series.

I didn’t have audio description, because IFC doesn’t provide it. However, I feel confident in my determination that this isn’t good. I picked up all the unfortunate undertones this film was putting down, even if it tries to turn that car around as much as possible by having a bit of fun on both sides. it feels like someone is trying to approximate blaxplotation, because they heard what it was, maybe saw some clips, and a poster of Richard Roundtree. To me, this feels exactly like the old fashioned January horror titles, which used to drop in a dead zone never to be heard of again. The audio description primarily will define the horror elements, and connect me to what is likely a lot of gore. I’m not score this film fresh because it is gory.

I also just aggressively hate the score. It feels like pause screen music on a video game. It sounds like some public domain loop they put in during an early cut of the film before the actual score arrives. It is one of the least interesting scores I’ve ever heard, and for an action horror film set in the projects, it feels out of place. Like, I could see it being the score to some low budget Skinemax title from the 90’s, but it neither feels current in terms of time or appropriate for he place. If I did a worst of the year in terms of scores, this would definitely make the cut for 2026.

There’s promise in the characters played by Long and Fowler, and the ensemble around them seems game for what is a rather uncomfortable collision of tropes, which sadly isn’t releasing at the best time for such a composition. Possibly, it might seem more favorable on a different date, but Collateral Damage had to move following 9/11, and that didn’t make it a better film, it just made it a bad film with a new release date. Shuffling this around can’t help change that it feels like we made vampire cops racist, because it is hard to hate vampire cops on principle alone? And then, their prey is black people, predominantly at least, some in gangs. I suppose, again, because it is easier to watch morally flexible characters getting slaughtered? Maybe I’m putting too much responsibility on a horror title, but as this genre keeps elevating itself, it is becoming more and more evident that we can have horror and gore, and also creative new ideas, fresh direction, and award worthy storytelling. 2025 saw the rise of Sinners, Frankenstein, and Weapons, three horror titles named in many top 10 lists, and racking up awards. The game is changing, the tropes are tired, and audiences embrace new not old.

Night Patrol is a victim to its release date, but even with a shift, it would still be a cops behaving badly horror title, leaning on dying tropes, albeit with a strong cast, but a pervasively awful score that feels like being on hold. I’m hanging up now.

Rotten: 4.8/10