Night Patrol grabbed eyes, mine included, with its concept of being a vampire cop movie, but it can’t escape the issue that blood tastes sweet at first and sours the deeper we drink.
I love the concept. There is something cool about a vampire task force, street gangs that are aware of their supernatural surroundings, having to worry about mortal dealings, and what else might lurk in the shadows. Threats coming from all sides. We have characters with troubled backgrounds, reasons for looking into these events, and things start quite heavy, pulling viewers in. This Scared Straight scene in the school is wild, setting a tone for a film that wants to take a bigger bite than the monsters it’s using.
There are a lot of ideas floating around here, backed up by some good direction from Ryan Prows. Not only does the movie seem to like it raw, but Night Patrol wants to flirt with a few bigger sociological concepts as well. The ideas of how the average person sees law enforcement, racism, and what our past means when we try to get things back on track are all brushed up against, while not being expanded on. These creatures aren’t just corrupting the community they’re sworn to protect, they’re literally feeding off it, using them as cattle.
The story itself feels somewhat off, in the sense that a few things aren’t explained that might have helped keep us invested, and the narrative doesn’t have a strong focus, losing sight the more it goes on. Even though the premise is strong, creating a potent mixing of the genres, we lose a lot in basic storytelling. It’s hard to figure out who the main character is at times, but the protagonist, who sets many of these events into motion by giving a family heirloom to the girl he has fallen for, never has time to deal with that revelation. In the same way, another important player also has an extensive familial trauma that is revealed, and practically dropped later on, no personal conclusion or catharsis for him or us. In a way, the movie avoids obvious conclusions by doing this, but also doesn’t necessarily satisfy either.
There are so many ideas left on the table, pathways closed off that felt worth exploring. Instead, the supernatural nature of the film has been steadily building, but it goes a bit off the rails in the last few minutes. There’s even a decent wrap-around, a scene shown in the beginning that we aren’t quite sure when it takes place, but it comes back interestingly, only to strand us with a finale that doesn’t quite work. So much of the narrative feels unfinished. Most of the good guys die with unanswered questions, especially concerning their motivations. My favorite character is killed off a little over halfway through, and a few people go out quickly, and only a couple do so with a bang. So many parts of this experience feel almost there, close to being right.
Night Patrol is pretty brutal, just not much of a horror movie. There’s plenty of blood and death, but nothing too scary, and the tension fades after the first few scenes. Hell, these vampires have to put in their metal fangs when they’re ready to feed, an aspect that will likely have many fans raising an eyebrow. It’s not a new concept, but something that sticks out here in a weird way.
There are also a couple of cheaper-looking shots, especially toward the end when two of the main characters are running away and making their final stand. Some aspects appear to be intentionally campy, but too few to tell if they were that way on purpose. There is some humor in spots as well, a couple I kind of appreciate, like when the gang members are discussing their “conspiriocracies” (I too question the spelling of this word). The writing isn’t amazing here, or even particularly clever, but some of the dialogue had me chuckling.
The acting isn’t too bad either, at least for the main characters, with Justin Long as the standout. There are some real hints of chemistry; it makes a few of these relationships work, even with small amounts of screen time. Little things like the cops being bored and stopping to do push-ups together. My only real issue is that it was hard to buy Long as a convincing cop at first. Also, for those wanting to see CM Punk (Phil Brooks) be a dickhead vampire here, you get that as his attitude makes up for his relative inexperience as an actor.
The film was also shot with interesting aesthetic choices in mind. I loved the poster art and some of the promotional imagery, but not everything helps elevate the visual presentation. It’s divided by acts, which use these stark white title cards. The style is fine, just not helpful to the overall story, coming off as more of an abrupt pause than anything significant. The vampires’ sight we see through is similar, being odd more than enhancing the experience, creating a jarring night vision that felt more like a black and white distraction rather than a cool look or insight into them.
Night Patrol Review: Final Verdict
This movie had a lot of producers – David S. Goyer was one, that man can’t stay away from vampires – so no clue how many cooks were in the kitchen, so to speak, but I sincerely think a little more focus on the vision would have made it much better. There are plenty of good things to be found in the movie. It just doesn’t expand on the things I was more interested in, and I just can’t see myself revisiting this film anytime soon.
SCORE: 6.5/10
As News’s review policy explains, a score of 6 equates to “Decent.” It fails to reach its full potential and is a run-of-the-mill experience.
Disclosure: The publisher provided a screening link for our Night Patrol review.
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