Interview With Filmmaker Jeff Knite And Star Felissa Rose For ‘The Omicron Killer’

Jeff Knite’s The Covid Killer is probably the Covid horror movie you didn’t know you needed, but its sequel, The Omicron Killer, is most definitely the Covid slasher flick you didn’t know you needed.

A Copycat Serial Killer goes on a rampage to prove he’s even more deadly than the original. The media redubs him The Omicron Killer.

To celebrate the release of the film, I chat with writer and director Jeff Knite, and star Felissa Rose, about working together on the film, the horror genre, what’s up next, and more!

PopHorror: The Omicron Killer was a lot of fun so I’m excited to speak with you both today.

Jeff Knite: Thank you!

Felissa Rose: Thank you! That’s beautiful.

PopHorror: My first question is for Jeff. How did it feel to step back into the world of The Covid Killer?

Jeff Knite: It wasn’t really stepping back. I went from The Covid Killer right into The Omicron.

PopHorror: Oh wow!

Jeff Knite: There was no break.

PopHorror: What inspired the story of The Omicron Killer?

Jeff Knite: The original was The Covid. I was at a bank, and I was in line and I had my Covid mask on, and I was thinking, man, everybody is wearing these masks. Anybody could walk up to the teller and rob the place and you wouldn’t know who it was until the last minute. Nobody could say anything. So, that was my idea originally, about a guy robbing banks, but as an independent filmmaker I thought that’d be too expensive, so I changed it from a bank robber to a killer.

PopHorror: It could be anybody behind those masks, especially if it’s someone you’re just meeting or someone you don’t know and you don’t recognize any part of them, if they change their hair. Sometimes I wear glasses, sometimes I don’t. Like you’re not going to know who it is.

Jeff Knite: Exactly!

PopHorror: It gives you this anonymity to do whatever.

Jeff Knite: You can do whatever you want. That was my thing, the fear of not knowing who’s approaching you. Could be a killer, a thief, you know…

PopHorror: Yeah, absolutely. Felissa, how did you become involved with the project?

Felissa Rose: I had worked on a film called Stream with one of the producers, Chris (Guttadaro), and he called me and said, “Hey, I have this really fun script and I think a character that you’ll sink your teeth into and enjoy, and you should speak with the director, Jeff Knite. The two of you I think would get along really well. New Yorkers…” I think our first film conversation, Jeff, we were immediately like, “I feel like I’ve known you forever! We’ll have the best time!” Right?

Jeff Knite: Yup! Absolutely. We grew up in the same place so…

PopHorror: I think that’s what it’s like all the time with you, Felissa.You make friends everywhere you go.

Felissa Rose: I feel so grateful for that. I’ve met so many wonderful people like Jeff, and everyone on that set was so super fun. I mean, Jeff, wasn’t that like the greatest week?

Jeff Knite: It was so fun that entire week. We were shooting mostly in the cemetery, which was weird.

PopHorror: I have to say my favorite part was when Felissa said, “Excuse me young man, do you think you should be cursing?” That seems like something you would say, and I thought it was perfect.

Felissa Rose: All of Jeff’s words, verbatim on the page. We never strayed.

Jeff Knite: You improvised a little bit.

Felissa Rose: So little, like here and there. There are movies that you go to and it’s like everything’s changed that day and you’re improvising the entire scene. This was really a tight script.

Jeff Knite: She stuck to the script, she just put her own Felissa flavor on it.

Felissa Rose: I like that, Jeff. We’ll have to hashtag that.

PopHorror: I like that too. Jeff, how did you convey your vision to your cast and crew?

Jeff Knite: Well, some of them I didn’t have to, like Felissa. When you read it, like she said, you read her character, it pretty much conveys itself. She’s a snarky, badass, kind of an asshole character, and she did a good job. But other people, I would have to talk to them. I would have to pull them to the side. We would rehearse and they would give me their version of the character and sometimes it wouldn’t fit, and then I would have to tell them what I wanted them to do. Then sometimes we would meet in the middle. 

PopHorror: Felissa, was there anything that you were adamant about bringing to your character?

Felissa Rose: I was just going to say, kind of going back to the question you asked Jeff about him being the director and his directing style. He was so hands-on, which is the greatest gift an actor can have in a director because it’s so much more fun when you collaborate together. I think, like he said, I just wanted her to be – I love that word snarky – as snarky as can be. He wrote some quick-witted little jabs. My best friend Debbie was on set, and he wrote such a fun part for her playing my sister, and we played off each other. I think bringing Debbie was my great gift.

Jeff Knite: Yes, Debbie wasn’t supposed to be in the movie, her character.

PopHorror: I love that! I think snarky works for you, Felissa. I love the word snarky; I use it all the time. I think casting you in a role like that with the snark and yelling, I don’t know. It looks so natural for you, for some reason. It’s what we’ve come to expect. 

Felissa Rose: I think it makes it more fun! You want to know the truth? I don’t really like playing nice people. They’re so boring. You’re like, “Hi, how are you? Good to see you.” I just had a film come out and I played a nice person and I cringed. 

PopHorror: It’s that Felissa flavor!

Jeff Knite: Felissa flavor!

Felissa Rose: More fun!

PopHorror: This question is for both of you. The horror genre has evolved a lot over the years and it’s become a box office powerhouse. Why do you feel people connect with horror?

Felissa Rose: I would have to say that horror – which is my favorite genre and I think it’s the greatest from the big umbrella of horror itself and then to all the subgenres like slashers, and house invasion, which is my favorite, paranormal – you’re on this incredible ride. In regular life, you’re not watching people chase each other with machetes and hatchets and all that, so you’re actually buckling up and getting into the ride like a roller coaster. You go up and down and you deal with all of the emotions, and it’s just so fun. There’s nothing like it because you sit at the edge of your seat. You get scared and I love that jump feel. They’re just amazing movies that are incredibly exciting and captivating. You get into the universe, and you don’t want to leave. It’s relentless and it’s super awesome.

Jeff Knite: I love her answer because I didn’t know I was a horror fan until a few years ago. I’m looking through my DVD collection one day and I’m like, I have a lot of horror movies! I didn’t even consider myself a horror fan until I realized how many Jason, Freddy, Conjuring… All these movies that I had on my wall. I guess I really am a horror fan. I think what she said is right because with horror, you can do so much more. It’s not just like a little niche. You can do a lot of things in horror, like you can make a ghost story. It could be spiritual, it could be a straight up slasher flick, it could be a true story about a serial killer. There’re so many ways you could go, like a comedy like Evil Dead. So I guess there’s so many things you could do within one genre that makes it fun, and it opens up into a bigger universe.

PopHorror: Well, welcome to the horror community! What I like about horror is, it creates a lot of conversation, and it lets you connect with people. I can tell you right now, I don’t usually make friends over a romantic comedy. That doesn’t stick with me, and we don’t talk about it afterwards. It’s the horror movies that we watch that we talk about later. They stick with you. That’s what makes you come back to horror.

Felissa Rose: We don’t do rom-com conventions! A horror convention is a community of love and joy, and it brings people together. We’re sentimental from the old films we weren’t supposed to watch when we were kids, back in the 70s, 80s for me. I wasn’t supposed to watch them, so I went to my cousin’s house for a sleepover. It brings up those emotions of excitement and fun and scared. It does everything for you.

Jeff Knite: Yes!

Felissa Rose: I’m very passionate about the genre.

Jeff Knite: It’s funny that she says that because people think that people into horror are just these sick bastards. I ran into this old lady, she’s my neighbor, and she goes, “What kind of movies are you doing?” And I go, “Well, I’ve been doing horror movies.” And she goes, “Oh, that’s unfortunate.” I go, “What do you mean?” And she goes, “Why do you want to do that for?” I’m like, “That’s what I like.” She goes, “Yeah, but those movies are really negative and that’s negative output that you’re putting out into the world.” I’m like, “Not really, you don’t know the community.” And she’s like, “Eh, let me know when you do something else.”

Felissa Rose: Yeah, that’s unfortunate but maybe now she’ll take a second look at a horror movie with a different perspective and different eyes. I say at every convention I go to, when I speak with people, how we connect on a level that’s so deep and profound and beautiful, and the love and inclusivity and embracing of everyone is like nowhere else in the world.

Jeff Knite: The horror fans are the coolest, most fun fans I’ve ever met in my life.

PopHorror: I’ve met some of my best friends, some of the best people… I got into doing this because I love horror. If it wasn’t for horror, I wouldn’t be doing any of this stuff and I would be sitting here by myself.

Jeff Knite: That’s awesome!

Felissa Rose: I feel the same way! I always say I was very insecure until I started doing conventions. I felt like, oh my gosh, I found my family! I felt like I was more myself and I met all of my best friends. All of my best friends are from conventions.

PopHorror: What is up next for you both? Is there a third installment coming?

Jeff Knite: Yes, but before the third installment I’m going to a spin off called Krazy Klowny. That’s a character that’s in the film right now.

PopHorror: So you’re making a whole franchise?

Jeff Knite: Yes! A universe as I like to call it. For Krazy Klowny, I have Felissa’s role. I already wrote it. I wrote a lot of stuff for the movie. I got Felissa’s, her and her whole cult in the movie. I’ve got a whole thread written out for them.

Felissa Rose: I love that! Thank you! It was just announced today that a movie I produced and acted in, Crust directed by Sean Whalen, just got distribution from Anchor Bay. I’m very proud. It’s at Berlin right now. I’m on the set of A Hard Place with my Craving family. I did Craving with them. I just did a movie with Joe Bob and Darcy called Slashercise last week. A lot of things in the pipeline, like Grind with Mark Cantu, and Deadly Endings. Deathwoods I do next month. It’s been really fun and really active. My gratitude is enormous. I’m so grateful for these amazing filmmakers like Jeff who have been so loving. 

PopHorror: Just one last question for you both. What’s your favorite scary movie?

Felissa Rose: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the original, is my all-time favorite movie. I have worshiped the film, the cast. It really was something that struck me back in the day when it came out. It was so scary. Still scary. And I just love that film. I love it.

PopHorror: That’s my favorite too!

Jeff Knite: I don’t have one favorite scary movie. I’m going to say my favorite horror franchise is A Nightmare on Elm Street. I can’t say which one I like the most.

Thank you so much to Felissa and Jeff for taking the time to speak with us. The Omicron Killer is playing in select theaters.