Going into 2026, I’ve found myself genuinely optimistic about the state of horror in a way I haven’t felt in a while. Not the cautious “maybe this year won’t be a disaster” optimism, but the kind that comes from looking at a release calendar and thinking, “Oh, someone actually cooked (to borrow a word from my daughter’s lingo).”

Between monsters, big franchise swings and some gloriously weird ideas bubbling up, the genre feels like it’s stretching its legs again, instead of just jogging in place. After a few years of legacy sequels playing it safe and original films getting buried by algorithms, 2026 is shaping up to be a year where horror remembers it’s allowed to be bold, messy and unapologetically fun.

A lot of that excitement comes from what’s on the horizon.

I’m especially intrigued by The Bride! which looks ready to lean hard into gothic horror. Werwulf feels like it could finally give us a feral, mean werewolf movie again with mud and blood, front and center. Meanwhile Scream 7 has the potential to either crash and burn spectacularly or remind us why this franchise still matters. That mix of risk and reinvention is exactly what I want right now. So, when a new release like Night Patrol hits the calendar, it’s stepping into a year where expectations are already high and horror fans like me are watching closely, hopeful and maybe just a little too ready to believe again.

Night Patrol is a gritty horror film from director Ryan Prows that blends street-level crime with supernatural terror. Justin Long stars as Ethan Hawkins, an LAPD officer recruited into a special night task force led by a cold, no-nonsense deputy played by Phil Brooks (WWE superstar CM Punk). What initially looks like a chance to make a real difference quickly curdles into something far darker when Ethan realizes the unit is hiding an unthinkable secret.

The task force is made up of vampires using their badges as cover, stalking the city and spilling blood under the guise of law enforcement. Their predatory actions ignite a brutal gang war that sends shockwaves through the community, placing Wazi, (RJ Cyler) directly in the crossfire.

That optimism may have also been my downfall, because watching Night Patrol felt like realizing the bar I set for 2026 horror might have been a little too high. On paper, this should have worked. The film clearly wants to be a collision of Sinners and Training Day, blending supernatural horror with the rot of a corrupted police unit and the moral free fall that comes with unchecked authority.

It’s an enticing pitch, one that promises tension, danger and something sharp to say about power.

Unfortunately, Night Patrol never fully commits to any of its ideas, leaving the horror muted and the corruption frustratingly undercooked. For a movie built around the revelation that a police task force is secretly made up of vampires, it’s surprisingly restrained, constantly pulling back just when it should be leaning into the madness.

The film gestures toward big ideas about power, authority and communities caught in the crossfire but rarely digs deep enough to give those themes real weight. The corrupted unit is clearly evil yet never examined with the bite (literally) needed to make them truly unsettling, leaving the gang war and vampire mythology running side by side with a weak connection between them.

That lack of focus becomes most apparent in the climax, which introduces yet another supernatural element seemingly out of nowhere. While it finally gives Wazi a chance to fight back, it feels less like a payoff and more like a last-minute attempt to raise the stakes. Though lightly hinted at earlier, it was never positioned as important enough to carry the ending, and its sudden prominence only muddies an already crowded narrative.

Instead of delivering a cathartic escalation, the finale underscores the film’s central problem: Night Patrol keeps introducing interesting ideas but never gives any of them enough room to fully breathe.

One would expect a film with actors like Justin Long, Jermaine Fowler and Dermot Mulroney to at least deliver some standout performances. Unfortunately, while everyone involved turns in perfectly passable work, none of it rises anywhere near the level you’d expect from this caliber of talent. The performances feel restrained by the material, leaving little room for the actors to dig in or elevate the film beyond what’s on the page. It’s not bad acting by any means, just frustratingly forgettable, given how much more these actors are capable of, when given something stronger to work with.

One area where Night Patrol undeniably shines is its cinematography. The film does an excellent job capturing the gritty, lived-in inner-city world of Los Angeles, bathing alleyways, housing projects and night streets in harsh neon and deep shadows. There’s a tangible sense of place here, one that grounds the supernatural elements in a reality that feels authentic and worn down. Even when the story falters, the visuals consistently sell the mood, making the city, itself, feel like an active, oppressive presence rather than just a backdrop.

In the end, Night Patrol lands at two out of five stars for me. There’s a strong concept, solid visuals and a cast capable of much more, but the film never fully commits to its own ideas, leaving the horror muted, the themes underdeveloped, and the finale adding clutter instead of clarity. More than anything, it feels like a missed opportunity, less a bold statement and more a cautionary tale at the very start of a year I had high hopes for.

It doesn’t doom my optimism for 2026 horror, but it does serve as a reminder that great premises and the right influences mean little without conviction, sharpening my desire for the rest of the year to deliver horror that takes real risks, trusts its audience and isn’t afraid to go all in when it has something worth saying.