My quick rating - 4.1/10. Something made me smile when I read the premise of Speed Demon. A runaway high-speed train. A possessed passenger. A nun who has lost her faith. An exorcism performed at 300 km/h. It sounds like someone watched Speed, any Exorcist flick, and maybe one too many late-night horror marathons before deciding, "Why not all of them at once?"
The film opens with a dark, dreamlike sequence involving a little girl searching for her father before a woman jolts awake. It does not take long for Speed Demon to explain the trauma behind those nightmares. Nor does it take long to reveal that the woman is Sister Lu (Katie Cassidy), a nun struggling with both her faith and a drinking problem. Honestly, a horror movie nun carrying around enough emotional baggage to qualify for excess airline fees is pretty standard these days.
Once the train gets moving, we meet the collection of passengers who will spend the rest of the movie trying very hard not to die. There's a guy saying goodbye to his new girlfriend, who gives him a mysterious gift for the journey, a priest played by William H. Macy, and the scene-stealer of the entire film, young Sofia, played by Sky Vaux Fuller. Sofia is adorable, funny, and somehow tougher than half the adults onboard. Every time she appeared, the movie instantly became more entertaining.
The biggest surprise was how much I enjoyed the group dynamic. The characters are undeniably hokey, but there is a genuine charm to the way they interact. Sister Lu's dry humor helps, and the cast's chemistry keeps things watchable even when the story is running low on ideas. Their relationships ended up being my favorite part of the entire movie.
Unfortunately, Speed Demon falls into the trap of believing that constant action automatically equals excitement. The action scenes arrive frequently, but they become repetitive surprisingly quickly. Characters run up train cars. Then they run down train cars. Then somebody gets thrown across a train car. Then everyone runs through another train car. After a while, I felt like I had travelled the full length of this train more times than the conductor.
Visually, the film is polished and looks far better than many movies of this type. The production values are solid, and the train setting works well enough to maintain some tension. The problem is that all the style in the world cannot make up for a story that doesn't have enough depth beneath the spectacle.
And seriously, the ending. Not content with serving a generous helping of Hollywood clichés, Speed Demon grabs the entire bowl, asks for seconds, and somehow still finds room for an overly optimistic sequel tease.
Was it great? Not even close. But as a mindless horror watch after a long day at work, it gets the job done. No deep thinking required. Just demons, a train, exorcisms, and enough shots to qualify everyone on board for a pub crawl.
https://jackmeat.com/speed-demon-2026/
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