Night Patrol Trailer Drops And Sinks Its Fangs Into Horror Fans
The night shift just got a whole lot bloodier. The first official trailer for Ryan Prows’s vampire cop thriller Night Patrol has dropped, and horror fans are already sharpening their stakes in excitement. The film hits cinemas on January 16, 2026, but if the trailer is anything to go by, this one is going to bite hard and leave a mark.
Night Patrol comes from Ryan Prows, the director who gave us the chaotic brilliance of Lowlife and contributed to the stylish carnage of VHS 94. If there is one thing Prows does extremely well, it is taking a familiar idea and twisting it into something wild, weird, and wonderfully unhinged. And this time, he has vampires, corrupt cops, street gangs, and a lead character whose childhood is about to come back to haunt him in the most literal way possible.
The trailer shows the story of an LAPD officer who returns to the housing projects where he grew up, only to discover that a supposedly elite police task force is hiding something very sharp toothed and extremely illegal. In a rare turn for a vampire film, our hero must team up with the local gangs he once kept at arm’s length if he hopes to survive what is lurking in the shadows. Think Training Day meets From Dusk Till Dawn, but with Ryan Prows pumping enough adrenaline into it to make your pulse race.
The cast is another reason the trailer is blowing up online. CM Punk, known to the taxman as Phil Brooks, steps into the world of supernatural crime. Wrestling fans already know Punk can act from promos alone, but he proved he had genuine horror chops in the cult favourite Girl on the Third Floor, where he fought demonic slime, haunted walls, and the consequences of being a less than ideal husband. Seeing him in a gritty vampire thriller feels like the natural evolution of his post wrestling career.
Joining him is Justin Long, who at this point has become horror’s most beloved chew toy. After suffering through dental trauma in Tusk, spending a nightmarish vacation in Barbarian, and recently impressing in Coyotes (which we reviewed and loved for its clever mix of survival horror and creature chaos), Long shows no sign of slowing down. In Night Patrol he plays Hawkins, a legacy recruit stepping into a world he is definitely not prepared for. According to early festival reactions, he is once again impeccable, proving he can bounce effortlessly between comedy, terror, and sheer disbelief.
The rest of the cast rounds out in style with Jermaine Fowler, RJ Cyler, Freddie Gibbs, YG, Flying Lotus, Dermot Mulroney, Jon Oswald, and Nicki Micheaux all adding their own energy to the mayhem. This is the kind of ensemble that suggests Prows is going for both grit and personality, with enough style to match the savagery.
Fantastic Fest teased just how wild this film gets, calling it not only outrageous but also a politically charged plunge into the underbelly of the LA police system. And honestly, the trailer confirms that. Beneath the blood, fangs, and neon drenched chaos, there is clearly something simmering here about power, corruption, and the lines people cross when nobody is watching.
Credit also goes to the writing team, many of whom collaborated with Prows on Lowlife. Shaye Ogbonna, Tim Cairo, and Jake Gibson return to help build this strange, savage world of gangsters, cops, and creatures of the night. Their previous work proved they can mix gritty realism with explosive absurdity, so expectations for Night Patrol are sky high.
With the trailer out in the wild, anticipation is only going to grow. January releases are often a dumping ground for horror films studios do not believe in, but Night Patrol looks the opposite. This one could easily turn into a fan favourite, a meme factory, and possibly the start of a franchise if it sinks its fangs into the box office.
For now, watch the trailer, stock up on garlic, and brace yourself for the most dangerous police shift ever put on film.
