Speed Demon: Dir Keeyes, Cassidy on Supernatural Survival Horror Film

Posted in: Horror, Interview, Movies | Tagged: speed demon

Speed Demon: Dir Keeyes, Cassidy on Supernatural Survival Horror Film

Speed Demon director Jon Keeyes and star Katie Cassidy spoke to us about the supernatural film, feminist theme, VFX, William H. Macy & more.

Published Sun, 14 Jun 2026 18:08:08 -0500
by Tom Chang
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Article Summary

• Speed Demon director Jon Keeyes and star Katie Cassidy break down the supernatural horror’s runaway train premise.
• Katie Cassidy explains Sister Lu’s trauma, faith crisis, and the feminist power of a nun leading an exorcism.
• Jon Keeyes reveals how Speed Demon balanced practical effects and VFX to bring Asmodeus and the chaos to life.
• Keeyes and Cassidy discuss William H. Macy, ensemble casting, standout scenes, and plans for Speed Demon sequels.

When it comes to exorcisms, it's typically a patriarchal affair as male priests are often tasked to conduct them, especially in fiction. Director Jon Keeyes (Cult Killer) and star Katie Cassidy (Arrow) looked to change that with a script courtesy of Domenico Salvaggio (Die) in Maverick Film's Speed Demon. The film follows Father Novak (William H. Macy) and Sister Lu (Cassidy) as they 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. Keeyes and Cassidy spoke to Bleeding Cool about what they liked about Salvaggio's script, how Cassidy built Sister Lu's backstory, casting, VFX, and a TV series pitch.

Speed Demon Director Jon Keeyes and Star Katie Cassidy on Crafting Sister Lu's Journey Through Exorcism

BC: What intrigued you about Speed Demon, and what do you like about Domenico's script?

Cassidy: So for me, the character [of Sister Lu], given her backstory and the complications she had with her father and the trauma. I personally could relate to that, and then, of course, a nun giving an exorcism sounded really badass to me, and it was a world that I hadn't really…Catholicism is something that I learned a lot about, that I didn't know a lot about, so it was intriguing in general, and then, of course, the genre I was excited about, and Jon Keeyes, I was excited about. It was all a good package.

Keeyes: It all worked out, and that was the same thing. It was the extraordinary nature of the script and all the blending of genres. I mean, how often do you get to direct a movie about a runaway train with a nun and a priest with an exorcism, possession, and all those fun things? It was the fun nature of the script and all the things that we were going to be able to do with that story.

Katie, how has the role like Sister Lu challenged you with this feminist arc in this supernatural horror? What did you like working with Bill Macy?

Cassidy: For me, everybody has a different craft, if you will, when it comes to acting. I do script analysis and, based on that, I build a character's backstory. For Sister Lu, we would be here way too long for me to get into the details of what my backstory was, but having folders would be on folders. Jon and I talked a little bit about it, and then it's really launching, like letting go of all that work and then being present in the moment and actively listening. I almost sometimes feel like a vessel in a way to the universe when I'm acting. When we're there on the day in costume, we're in the seas; all of it feeds to this bigger thing, and then Bill Macy was obviously an incredible person to work with. He's an incredible talent, and he's an awesome, great human, so we had a really good time together.

Jon, how did the ensemble casting come together with Katie, Bill, John [Patrick Jordan], Sari [Arambulo], and Sabrina [Schlegel-Mejia]?

Keeyes: Katie, if I remember correctly, was already sort of circling the project when I signed on. Once I signed, Katie and I had some very specific thoughts about the script and some ideas that I wanted to do to increase the character development. So the first time Katie and I spoke on Zoom, we clicked immediately, and we had the same ideas on what we wanted to do with the movie and the characters. We jumped right into it together; it was like second nature. The producers then had gone after Bill, and I spoke with him, and it was funny.

I remember Bill sharing a story with us that he was a little uncertain if he wanted to do it. He was at a point where he was trying to get away from more violent movies, and he had shared it with one of his kids, and they were like, "Dad, you have to do this movie," so that's how Bill got in. The rest, we did a lot of auditions out of New York with people coming in. Then it just became a matter of finding the actors who brought something unique, original, and authentic to each one of the roles, and then following our guide that you know we're pairing the right people together to create this great ensemble. I'm super happy with how that turned out.

Was there an individual scene that stood out to both of you, maybe one that was more difficult to film than the rest?

Cassidy: I certainly know that the other world stuff was crazy for many different reasons, emotionally, and also, again, that's a lot of [Sister Lu's] father, trauma, backstory stuff. That, to me, was a challenge, but I think we did a great job, and I'm happy with all of it.

Keyes: Yeah, you guys did a great job. That's definitely been one of them. There was another one where there's a six-page scene in the bar car where it was originally scripted, and the way we started to rehearse, it was basically all the characters standing at the bar for six pages. We did the first run-through, and literally, everybody looked at each other and went, "Well, that sucks." Nobody's moving anywhere, and so we chatted for a minute, and I sent everybody off set. Austin [Schmidt], my DP, and I spent about 10 to 15 minutes figuring out how to re-block the entire scene, spread them all throughout the car, get movement, get walking around, and then brought everybody back in, and you guys picked it up immediately. Suddenly, we had energy, tension, and all of those things, but when we first blocked that scene, and we were first rehearsing the scene with everybody the way it was written, I was like, "Oh dear God! This isn't going to work!" That was a difficult one that ended up working out beautifully.

Jon, what went into the effects? How much did you want to think about planning into the practical effects side versus the CG side, and how it all balanced out?

Keeyes: That was one of the very first things I was fortunate enough to be there for many weeks before we filmed, and that was something I was working on initially. Austin was there. My VFX supervisor, Richard, was there, and we spent weeks upon weeks figuring that out. We knew everything. I mean, it was a train car set, so we knew that everything outside the window was going to be CGI, and we knew all the 3D stuff with CGI inside. We worked with Greer Gillespie, my effects makeup artist, whom I've done a lot of work with in the past, and so it was a matter of balancing out what we were going to get the most out of practically, which I knew was going to be the demon, and then what stuff did we want to do with VFX. We spent weeks sorting and working that out, and then, as we got into filming the VFX, Richard and his team got so excited with how the movie was turning out. They just kept throwing out more and more ideas. We just kept building each scene.

Given the ending, I was wondering if there was some form of a sequel or perhaps a trilogy in the back of your mind, in the works of planning?

Keeyes: It's not even in the back of our minds. Katie and I, we've got the second script, and Domenico, who wrote this, got at least scripts three, four, and five outlined, also [laughs].

Cassidy: Oh, I didn't know that. That's awesome!

Keeyes: We can carry this for at least five and then just keep it going.

Cassidy: Someone said to me, actually, Jon, the other day, which I thought was a good idea too. They were like, "What about doing Sister Lu as a TV show?"

Keeyes: Oh, that's been in my head continuously. Absolutely.

Speed Demon is available in theaters, on demand, and digital.

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