If you thought The Covid Killer was bad, wait till you experience The Omicron Killer. Indie auteur Jeff Knite directs, co-writes, and stars in this tongue-in-cheek homage to slashers and police procedurals. Set during the waning days of the Covid pandemic, we follow a lumbering murderer as he attempts to copy the patterns of the now dead Covid Killer. All the while not one, but two sets of detectives are trying to track the Omicron Killer down, a group of kids are trying to seek revenge on him for one of his murders, and a cult is attempting to resurrect his predecessor. As farcical as all of this might sound, The Omicron Killer is a pretty boring slog.

We open on our title killer, aka the Copycat Covid Killer (Paugh Shadow,) as he does his thing. Silent, brutish, and good with a crowbar, he is mistaken for being a victim at one of the scenes of his many crimes and is sent to the hospital. Meanwhile, Captain Louise Callahan (Lynn Lowry) guides bumbling detectives Jimmy (Jeff Knite) and Healy (Johnny Careccia) in hunting down Omicron/Copycat.

In yet another storyline, Empress Edie (Felissa Rose) and her clan occultists keep sneaking into a cemetery to resurrect the original Covid Killer at his grave. Hot on their trail are Detective Danny Sanchez (Gabriel Ricardez) and his younger partner who are both chasing these robe-wearing weirdos while investigating the recent spat of homicides. The irony is that for all that is happening here, I can’t express how dull it all is.

The humor consists of deep-cut references to horror and hamfisted punchlines. One character, Dr. Frueger (Richard Bernstein) wears a red and green striped sweater under his coat. In another scene, Jimmy suggests that he and Healy comb the room for clues. Healy pulls a comb from his pocket and offers it to Jimmy. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, these are the gags.

There are a few bright spots, for sure. While I still have no idea why she and her group were trying to bring the COVID killer back to life, I will say that Rose‘s performance as Empress Edie had me chuckling. She is an actor with a great presence and tons of energy. She matches the absurdity of her scenes and that, in turn, makes you buy into what’s happening. This is a passion project. I can only imagine that making this pic was a hoot. The cast is a great ensemble with a genuine sense of comradery. The fun, sadly, rarely leaves the screen to infect the audience, if you will pardon the expression.

In the end, Knite tries to tell too much story with The Omicron Killer. There are too many subplots and too many threads that lead nowhere. So many interesting things were quickly touched on and then discarded. The concept of mirroring viral mutations as physical serial killers is done in name only.

For what it’s worth there is a lot of creativity and a love for the craft on the screen. The Omicron Killer just needed more focus, a direction to go in, and some editing.