Speed Demon star Katie Cassidy and director Jon Keeyes spoke with ComingSoon’s Tyler Treese about the new horror movie. The duo discussed the film’s unique handling of exorcisms, its themes, and revealed that more sequels are on the way if this does well. Speed Demon is out now in theaters, on demand, and on Digital.
“When Father Novak and Sister Lu board a train from Montreal to New York City, they weren’t prepared for the danger and evil that would pursue them. After the train is taken over by the demon Asmodeus, Father Novak and Sister Lu must battle possessed passengers on a runaway train with Sister Lu forced to overcome her faltering faith and perform the first exorcism done by a nun,” says the official synopsis.
Tyler Treese: Katie, you’re not playing a typical nun. When we meet Sister Lu, she’s lost her faith. She’s coming off what appears to be a one-night stand, and there’s cocaine on the table. Nuns can sometimes come across as generic characters because they don’t always have many avenues for self-expression, but your character is full of contradictions and unique story elements. What did you really like about this role?
Katie Cassidy: I liked her flaws. I liked that she had trauma and a rich backstory. I’ve mentioned this before, but I do a lot of script analysis and then build a detailed backstory for the character based on that. I try to get as specific as possible, and then when we’re on set, I let it go, trust that it’s there, and focus on being present in the scene.
Personally, I could relate to some aspects of her character, especially her abandonment issues and complicated relationship with her father. I also loved that she steps into her power throughout the movie. I love that she ultimately saves the day.
There were a lot of different elements that appealed to me. I also didn’t know much about Catholicism before this project, so researching it and learning more about that world was really interesting. I always enjoy learning, so it was educational as well.
Tyler Treese: Jon, there’s obviously a famous movie called Train to Busan that’s a train full of zombies. Now you’ve got a train full of possessed people. It’s such a simple but brilliant premise. What about the idea behind Speed Demon really stood out to you?
Jon Keeyes: Train to Busan is a phenomenal movie. For me, it broke a lot of genre conventions. It had action, horror, humor, and emotional depth all working together.
What I loved about Speed Demon was that it also broke conventions. You’ve got a runaway train, a nun, a priest, possession, exorcisms, and all these different genre elements colliding. We always knew exactly what kind of movie we were making. It was never intended to be a dark, brooding horror film. I’m a geek and a dork, and this was the kind of movie I’d want to watch.
We haven’t had enough fun, entertaining horror movies lately. I remember talking with my cinematographer, Austin, early in the process. One of his first questions was, “What are we making?” I said, “We’re making a movie that gets six people together on a Saturday night with a bowl of popcorn and lets them have a great time.” That’s exactly what we set out to make.
Katie, you broke out with horror films like When a Stranger Calls and Black Christmas, so fans are always excited to see you return to the genre. What excited you most about coming back to horror in a different form here?
Cassidy: Honestly, just returning to horror was exciting in itself. Like Jon said, this isn’t your conventional horror movie. The idea of performing an exorcism on a train is pretty unique. I liked that it was a contained story, and I loved that it was an ensemble filled with rich characters and interesting dynamics.
Most importantly, it was a really fun script. I wanted to do something fun while still staying within the horror genre, and this gave me that opportunity.
Jon, I wanted to ask about the possessed characters and their transformations. There are a lot of different ways you can approach possession on screen. Here, they’re still recognizably human rather than transforming into something completely different. Can you talk about that approach?
Jon Keeyes: I spent a lot of time thinking about that. Going all the way back to the old Buffy the Vampire Slayer days with facial morphs and transformations, I’ve seen that approach so many times. It didn’t feel right for this movie.
A lot of this story is about people confronting their flaws and their inner demons, so it felt appropriate to keep the demons human. I wanted the audience to still see the person underneath.
I worked closely with our FX makeup artist, Greer Gillespie. We discussed different levels of prosthetics, makeup, and visual effects. From the beginning, I knew I wanted the possessed characters to remain fairly human. By keeping them grounded, you can still see the person trapped inside struggling to break free, which ties directly into Sister Lu’s mission. She’s trying to save these people, and that only works if you can still recognize their humanity.
Katie, throughout the film, your character repeatedly rises to the occasion and does things she’s technically forbidden from doing by the church. There’s some really interesting subtext about gender roles and institutional restrictions placed on women. What interested you about that aspect of the story?
Katie Cassidy: I didn’t know much about Catholicism going into the project. I’m more spiritual than religious, so I learned a lot while researching the role. What’s funny is that I had already signed on before I learned some of those details, but once I did, I thought it added another really cool layer to the story.
I’d like to think everyone enjoys seeing a strong, powerful woman step up and save the day. At least on this train she does — let’s see what happens next [laugh]. I think it’s cool. I think it’s about time. I know it goes against traditional church doctrine, and Jon can probably speak to that more because he grew up Catholic, but in our movie, nuns perform exorcisms.
Keeyes: I grew up Catholic, although I don’t really practice anymore. Honestly, that aspect of the story was one of the things that attracted me to it. I’ve never believed that only men should be allowed to do certain things. That’s never been part of my philosophy.
Even as a filmmaker, I’ve always embraced strong female leads. My first movie was about a female serial killer. I love seeing women empowered. I love seeing them challenge cultural expectations and established doctrines.
Watching Katie find that power through Sister Lu and show that anyone can do anything if they believe in themselves was really inspiring. To me, that’s the ultimate message of the movie: believe in yourself. That was a huge reason I wanted to make it.
Jon, as Katie was alluding to, there’s a pretty wild sequel tease at the end. I loved the entire epilogue scene. Was that just a fun ending, or do you already have plans for a sequel?
Keeyes: We actually already have a script for the sequel that continues directly from where this movie ends.
On top of that, Domenico [Salvaggio], the writer, has treatments for movies three, four, and five. So we’ve either got enough material for an entire franchise or maybe even a television series one day.
That’s exciting. I love that. There are so many different directions you could take the series, especially after that ending.
Keeyes: I’m still pushing for submarine demons.
Cassidy: I love that. That’s hilarious.
Katie, you had a remarkable run as the character of Black Canary across the Arrowverse. Playing variations of the same character for eight years across multiple shows is something very few actors get to experience. What are you most proud of from your time there?
Katie Cassidy: It’s interesting because I actually played several different versions of the character.
I started as Laurel Lance, then she hit rock bottom and evolved into Black Canary. Then the character was killed off, and later I came back as her doppelgänger from Earth-2 on The Flash. So there were multiple versions of Laurel, and I think that ultimately benefited me as an actor.
If I had been playing exactly the same version of the character year after year, it might not have been as much fun. The different Earths and alternate versions allowed me to explore different sides of her. I had an absolute blast with that role and that series.
I’m proud of all of it. If I had to point to one thing, it’s probably how I handled being killed off. Of course, I was upset, but I understood it from a storytelling perspective. Killing off a major character sends everyone else’s story in new directions and creates opportunities for growth. Thankfully, they eventually brought me back, and I think everyone ended up happy with how it all turned out.
Thanks to Katie Cassidy and Jon Keeyes for taking the time to talk about Speed Demon.
