Night Patrol (2025)

Night Patrol — Release Date: 16 January 2026.
Directed by Ryan Prows, starring Jermaine Fowler, Justin Long, Freddie Gibbs, RJ Cyler, YG, Nicki Micheaux, Flying Lotus, Phil Brooks, and Dermot Mulroney. Produced by Phantom Four Films, the film is an American horror thriller that blends urban crime drama with supernatural and conspiratorial horror elements.

Set in Los Angeles, the story follows a police officer who finds himself reassigned to a specialised task force operating in the housing projects where he grew up. The return to familiar territory is marked by unresolved personal history, fractured loyalties, and a deep mistrust of institutional power. As he reconnects with the community that shaped him, the officer begins to sense that the task force he has joined is concealing something far more dangerous than routine corruption.

The narrative unfolds at the intersection of law enforcement, community memory, and systemic neglect. As night patrols grow increasingly tense, the protagonist uncovers signs of a hidden agenda that threatens the very residents the police are meant to protect. What initially appears to be a crime-control initiative gradually reveals darker motives, pushing the film into psychological and horror territory. Fear emerges not only from physical danger, but from the realisation that authority itself may be compromised.

Ryan Prows’ direction emphasises atmosphere, paranoia, and moral unease rather than conventional procedural structure. Co-written with Tim Cairo, Jake Gibson, and Shaye Ogbonna, the screenplay layers social tension with genre escalation, allowing horror to surface through secrecy, violence, and the erosion of trust. The film uses the urban nightscape as both setting and metaphor, framing darkness as a space where power operates unchecked.

An ensemble cast anchors the film’s shifting tone, blending grounded performances with heightened genre intensity. Music composed by Pepijn Caudron reinforces the film’s oppressive mood, supporting a slow-burn escalation rather than abrupt shocks. The result is a thriller that operates as both genre entertainment and social nightmare.

Premiering at Fantastic Fest ahead of its theatrical release, Night Patrol positions itself within contemporary horror cinema that fuses political anxiety with genre storytelling. The film examines fear not as an external invasion, but as something embedded within systems, neighbourhoods, and histories that refuse to stay buried.