An Interview with Justin Price, Director of Kill Code

by Mike Haberfelner

July 2026

Films directed by Justin Price on (re)Search my Trash

Your new movie Kill Code - in a few words, what's it about?

Kill Code is a cyberpunk dystopian action film set in the near future, after a second civil war and a third world war have reshaped society. The prison system has been overrun, crime is out of control, and a powerful tech corporation has created what they believe is the solution: deadly watches placed on criminals that force them to eliminate assigned targets in order to receive an antidote and survive. At the center of the story is Elera, played by Franzi Schissler, a cyber-enhanced agent working inside the system who begins to realize this program is much bigger than prisoners. If these watches go nationwide, they become a way to control the population, decide who lives, who dies, and who is disposable. So the film really follows Elera as she tries to topple Harvey Keitel’s character, Eion, and his corporation, with the help of her partner, played by Tyrese Gibson.

With Kill Code being a dystopian science fiction film, is that a genre at all diear to you, and some of your genre favourites?

Absolutely. Cyberpunk, dystopian science fiction, and near-future worlds are some of my favorite spaces to work in because they allow you to talk about the past, the present, and the future all at the same time. You can deal with real issues — technology, class, crime, government, corporations, race, survival — but you can do it through a world that feels heightened and cinematic. That’s what I’ve always loved about films like Blade Runner. They create a world that feels unfamiliar at first, but the longer you sit with it, the more you realize it’s actually talking about us.

We were fortunate to have David L. Snyder, the Academy Award-nominated production designer who worked on the original Blade Runner with Ridley Scott, around the film, and hearing his stories about the way they built that world was incredible.

What I love about the genre is that it gives you room to build something visually exciting while still saying something. I wrote Kill Code years ago, and at the time some of the ideas felt more distant — civil unrest, world war, tech companies gaining too much control, viruses, quarantine, population control. Then life started catching up to some of those anxieties. That’s what great science fiction can do. It can feel like escape, but also feel like a warning.

(Other) sources of inspiration when writing Kill Code?

Blade Runner was definitely a major inspiration. Ridley Scott is one of my favorite filmmakers because he can build worlds that feel massive, detailed and completely lived-in. Then you look at someone like James Cameron or Christopher Nolan, and what inspires me about them is how they make large-scale films that still feel personal. They understand spectacle, but they also understand emotion, structure and mythology. But honestly, one of the biggest inspirations was Franzi Schissler herself. This movie would not exist in the same way without her. At that time, I was dealing with grief, the world was changing, and creatively I felt pulled in a lot of different directions. You start asking all these business questions — should I write horror, comedy, faith-based, action, something smaller, something bigger, something for streaming, something for theaters? And Franzi basically told me, “Just write what you feel.” That unlocked the film for me. Kill Code became an amalgamation of a lot of what I was feeling and seeing at that time — grief, race relations, conversations around law enforcement, technology, jobs, international conflict and what the future might look like if the wrong people controlled the tools meant to protect us.

You have to talk about Kill Code's rather unique look, and how was it achieved?

The look came from a lot of conversations between myself, Franzi Schissler, who is also a producer on the project, my business partner Latavius Powell, and the department heads. We really talked about what this world should feel like before we talked about what it should look like. I didn’t want it to feel like a generic future. I wanted the world to feel stylish, dangerous and grounded. For example, even with the agents and tactical characters, I didn’t just want basic bulletproof vests or standard black tactical gear. I wanted something more high-fashion, more totalitarian, more designed — something that felt like a corporation had turned authority into branding.

We also played with color as a form of classism. In areas like Northeast Hall, the world is more desaturated, worn down and grounded — almost with a Children of Men type of energy. But when you get into Noelle’s club, the colors explode. You get the neon, the purples, the blues, the warmth, the seduction, the class divide. That contrast was very intentional. As the film gets closer to the end and the world starts collapsing, those visual languages begin to bleed into each other. The desaturated world and the neon world start blending together. So the look was not just about making something cool. It was about using color, costume, lighting and production design to show how fractured that society had become.

Kill Code is also a very action-heavy movie - so do talk about the fight scenes in your film for a bit!

The action was a huge part of the movie, and Franzi Schissler was incredible. She did so much of her own stunt work, and she really committed to the physicality of the role. We had a stunt team for safety, especially for explosions and anything that could put an actor in real danger, but Franzi came in with the mindset of “I’m going to do the work.” One of my favorite sequences involved a long take where her character is using these cyber-enhanced gloves that allow her to control metal and bullets. I didn’t want her to just walk into a room and start shooting people, because that didn’t feel like the world we had created. So the action had to be more creative. She had to understand the bullet dynamics, the stunt team had to react to those moments, and then everything had to happen in rhythm — the bullet moves, the stunt performers go down, she gets grabbed, breaks out, hits another guy, flips someone, lands another hit, does a fan kick. And she’s actually doing a lot of those movements herself.

What made it even more interesting is that we were shooting in a real house that we could not destroy. The owner was there, the furniture was real, the space was limited, and we had to create the feeling of a destructive, brutal action scene without actually tearing the place apart. So we were working closely with the stunt team, the property department, and the camera team to figure out how to move around the furniture, how to sell impact, and how to make the scene feel dangerous while still protecting the location.

Tyrese Gibson was also amazing in those action moments. I remember going to him and saying, “If you don’t feel comfortable handling the rubber gun or doing some of the physical beats, we can always bring in a stunt double.” And he immediately said, “No, I do this.” That was so cool to see. The stunt guys were into it, the crew was watching, and he fully committed. He gets grabbed, takes hits, gives that energy back, and it made the action feel more visceral and connected.

For me, the fight scenes could never just be action for action’s sake. Every fight had to tell you something about the characters, the world, or the pressure closing in around them.

A few words about your overall directorial approach to your story at hand?

The way I look at directing is that every film is an opportunity to leave something behind — almost like a painting, a sculpture or a time capsule. You don’t know how people are going to interpret it over the years, but you hope there’s enough inside of it for people to revisit it and discover something different each time. With Kill Code I wanted to express a perspective without telling the audience exactly what to think. Of course, the movie comes through my lens, my emotions and my worldview, but I was very careful not to make it feel like a lecture. I wanted the audience to feel guided through the world but still have room to decide what it means to them. That was something I talked about with the actors as well. I remember Jacob Artist, who plays Kyron, asking me what I wanted to see from the character, and I told him I wanted the film to feel like something people could watch twenty years from now and still piece together their own feelings about what we were seeing as a society at this moment. To me, that is what great science fiction does. It challenges you to look inward, look backward and look forward all at once.

My style is very rooted in world-building. I love films like Avatar, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Legend and those wide-sweeping epics where the world has its own rules, its own logic, its own rhythm. When you create a strong enough world, the audience understands how to live inside it. I also love films like John Wick, where there is realism in the training, the guns, the choreography and the physicality, but there is also a mythology around the character and the world. You accept the world because the filmmakers have committed to it. That is what I wanted with Kill Code. I wanted to blend grounded action with something more surreal, more stylized, more heightened.

I’m also very big on subtext. I don’t always want to explain everything directly. For example, when Elera walks into a room and can handle grown men physically, I don’t want to stop the movie and explain every scientific reason why. The audience sees early on that she is not a normal person. She has cybernetic enhancements, she has these gloves, people react to her differently, and she moves without fear in situations where other people would be terrified. I like giving the audience those pieces and trusting them to put it together. Some people want every answer handed to them, and I understand that. But for me, I love when a movie gives you enough to think about, enough to debate and enough to discover on a second watch. That was my approach here — build a world, create the emotional truth, layer the subtext and let the audience feel their way through it.

With Harvey Keitel, Tyrese Gibson and Framk Grillo, you have three heavy-hitters in key roles in Kill Code - so what was it like working with them, and how did you get them even?

Legendary. Harvey Keitel is a legend. Tyrese Gibson is a legend. Frank Grillo as well. These are people whose work I genuinely admire, so to have them involved in Kill Code was humbling and, honestly, soul-stirring. When you work with people who have dedicated their lives to the craft at that level, you feel it. You feel the experience, the discipline, the understanding of camera, character, timing and presence. These are not people who just show up and say lines. They bring a lifetime of work into the room with them.

With Harvey, there is a certain weight that comes with him. He has been part of some of the most important films in American cinema, so when someone like that responds to your script, it gives you confidence. Not ego — confidence. It reminds you that the material is connecting beyond just you.

Tyrese brings something very different but equally powerful. He brings culture with him. People know him from music, from Baby Boy, from Fast & Furious, from so many moments that are already part of people’s lives. So when Tyrese steps into the world of Kill Code, he gives the movie a connection point that audiences immediately understand.

And the way we got them really comes back to the material. The story kept finding believers. When you are making something at this level outside of the traditional studio system, you need people to respond to the writing, the vision, and the ambition. Harvey responded to the script. Tyrese responded to the world and the character. Frank Grillo brought his own intensity and credibility. Franzi Schissler carried the emotional center. Jacob Artist brought humanity and vulnerability to Kyron. So for me, the cast came together because people saw that Kill Code was not just another action movie. It had a world, it had ideas, it had emotion, and it had something to say.

Do talk about the rest of Kill Code's cast, and why exactly these people?

The cast was everything, because with a world like Kill Code, every character has to feel like they belong to that world. You can’t just cast people who look good standing there. They have to carry history, pressure, emotion, and danger.

Brett Cullen, who plays Sawyer, is an amazing talent. He brought so much humanity to a character who could have easily just been seen as a man on a path of bloodlust. Sawyer is violent, yes, but Brett understood the grief underneath that violence. He understood the father, the loss, the regret and the obsession. I remember he took a photo with me and said something like “I took a picture with Nolan, so I’m going to take a picture with you. My wife told me to take a picture with the director.” That was one of those moments that really humbled me, because you’re working with people who have been around greatness and understand the process at such a high level.

Jacob Artist, who plays Kyron, was another one where once I saw him, I felt like there wasn’t much else to debate. From the headshot to the audition, he just understood the emotional weight of the character. Kyron needed to feel vulnerable, street-smart, scared, angry, funny, and human all at once. Jacob brought that. He had presence, but he also had this emotional accessibility that made you care about him.

And Franzi Schissler — I can’t say enough about her. She is a star. She carries the emotional weight of the film, the physical weight of the film, and she is holding the center opposite actors like Tyrese Gibson, Harvey Keitel and Frank Grillo. That is not easy. Very few performers can bring that kind of physicality while still carrying the dramatic responsibility of the story. There were days where she was doing fight scenes, kicks, stunt work, emotional scenes, and we were still dealing with Covid-protocols and the pressure of production. If she got sick, if she got hurt, if she twisted an ankle, the whole movie could be affected. And she never let that pressure become an excuse. She would say, “I’m good. I’ll pull through. I’m not going to let you down.” I will never forget that. The care, the discipline, and the love she put into the role was incredible.

Then you have actors like Federico Antonio, who brought such great energy and comedic relief as Patrick. I remember his audition and how much he believed in the role. He was willing to travel for it because he connected with the material. Nick Loren brought a real presence and professionalism. J.J. Soria brought intensity to Daxon. Sescily Connell brought something memorable and dangerous to Noel. Brian Kurlander was great. Everyone brought something specific.

It was important that the cast represented different walks of life and different energies inside this world. The movie needed to feel populated by real people, not just background characters moving around a sci-fi setting. Working with Donald Finbrake and the team, looking through names, auditions, headshots and finding the right people — it was a great process. Mississippi also had a strong talent pool, and we found people who really cared about bringing this world to life. I’m extremely proud of the cast. It is a big ensemble, but everyone brought texture, commitment and their own identity to the movie.

A few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?

The on-set atmosphere was great. We shot during Covid, so there was a lot of pressure around safety protocols, testing and making sure people felt protected. It feels strange talking about that now because 2020 and that period almost feel like another world, but at the time it was very real. Every day, you were trying to make an ambitious film while also making sure the production could keep moving safely. But even with that pressure, the atmosphere was filled with love. There was a real sense that people cared about what we were making. I remember talking to background actors and extras, and some of them said they had never felt that comfortable on a set or felt like the world around them was that alive. And you can see it in the movie. People were not just standing there waiting for a check. They were creating life inside the frame. That meant a lot to me. Even if someone was just moving through the background, picking something up, crossing from left to right or reacting to the chaos around them, it never felt lazy. It felt like everyone was collaborating to make the world believable.

The crew was amazing too. Antonio Powell was helping lead the way, and we had a great team piecing things together. Being able to talk with people like David Snyder, the department heads, the production team, the art team, the wardrobe team, the stunt team — it felt like everyone was interpreting the vision and adding to it. That is one of the most beautiful things about filmmaking. You start with something in your head, but then it becomes bigger because other people bring their talent, their ideas and their passion to it. I knew people by name because it felt like a family environment. By the time we got to the wrap party, I was genuinely excited to see everyone and thank them, because they had given so much. The atmosphere was really that: everyone believing we were making something special. And for me, that was life-changing.

The $64-question of course, whee can Kill Code be seen?

Kill Code comes out July 24. It will be available to purchase digitally on platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV / iTunes, Fandango at Home and the major places where audiences normally purchase films. That will be the first window for the movie. After that, I believe it will move to an exclusive subscription-based platform a month or two later, but for now, July 24 is the date, and digital purchase will be the first way people can see it.

Anything you can tell us about audience and critical receptiion of Kill Code?

So far, the reception has been very interesting. I think the film challenges people a little bit, which I like. It is dystopian science fiction, but some people watch it and go “Is this science fiction, or is this today?” And I think that is part of what makes the genre so powerful. The movie deals with viruses, civil unrest, war, big tech, corporate control and survival, so naturally people are going to bring their own perspective to it. Some of the response has been mixed in the sense that it is a film people want to talk through and unpack, but I think that is a good thing. I would rather make something that sparks conversation than something people forget five minutes later.

One thing I have been very happy to see is people responding to Franzi Schissler’s leading performance. She really carries the film emotionally and physically. I have also seen people respond to the presence of actors like Harvey Keitel, Tyrese Gibson and Frank Grillo, because they really came to play. You can see that they showed up to act and to bring weight to the world.

For me, what means the most is when people recognize the world-building. David Snyder and Harvey Keitel both made comments that connected my work to Ridley Scott, and that is an enormous compliment. I hope to be the first Justin Price, but to have people recognize the ambition, the visual world and the cinematic effort behind the film means a lot.

Any future projects you'd like to share?

Yes — Omega. Omega is coming, and I am extremely excited about it. Franzi Schissler is leading that film as well, and she is also producing. It is coming out under the Baby Monster Media banner, and the film is already completed. We have already closed territories, including Poland, and we are in talks with other territories now. The goal is for it to be released early next year.

Omega is essentially a giant creature film, but it is also emotional and character-driven. It follows an operative whose sister is seemingly killed during a tsunami. Because she had been selling secrets to help make ends meet and get medicine for her sister, she is sentenced to prison time and sent to an island where prisoners are forced to work off their sentences. Once she gets there, she discovers that giant creatures live on the island, and the company running the facility has been experimenting on them. They are using these creatures for future products — medicine, regenerative treatments, beauty products, enhanced cosmetics, things like that. She begins to realize that the company’s experiments may be connected to the tsunami that destroyed her life. The film becomes about her trying to expose the company while they try to sink the island and erase the evidence. And at the center of it is this giant creature named Ollie, inspired by one of my favorite animals, the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey. Ollie protects the island, protects his friends and develops a real bond with her. It is a giant monster movie, but it has heart, emotion, scale and a relationship at the center that I think audiences are really going to connect with.

Your/your movie's webssite, social mndia, whatever else?

The Omega trailer is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh0T2elBXAw, and people can also find me on Instagram at @justinpricexx. @FranziSchissler can be found on Instagram as well. You can also find more through BabyMonsterMedia.com and PowellandPriceProductions.com.

Anything else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?

Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned)

The links below will take you just there!!!

Find Justin Price at the amazons ...   amazon.com   amazon.co.uk   amazon.de Looking for imports? Find Justin Price here ...   eThaiCD.com Your shop for all things Thai

I am also very excited for what comes next with Omega, Omega 2, Baby Monster Media, Powell & Price Productions and the team we are continuing to build. Franzi Schissler, Latavius Powell and everyone involved have been such an important part of this journey.

I also have to mention Latavius Powell, because without him believing in the project and helping greenlight it, we are not here. I am forever grateful for that. His belief in the project, his support and the work he does to uplift communities means a lot to me.

So really, I am just thankful. Thankful for the film, thankful for the people who believed in it, thankful for the audience, and excited for what is coming next.

Thanks for the interview!

© by Mike Haberfelner

Legal note: (re)Search my Trash cannot
and shall not be held responsible for
content of sites from a third party.

Thanks for watching !!!