Speed Demon takes the traditional exorcist narrative and adds a lot of momentum. Sister Lu (Katie Cassidy, Accused: The Karen Read Story) and Father Novak (William H. Macy, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) are passengers on a train. Before they have gotten far, a powerful demon joins the trip.
Trains are a great setting for genre. Theoretically, the confined space leads to a sense of claustrophobia that heightens the tension. While Speed Demon never fully captures that feeling, having the action takes place between five train cars keeps a brisk pace. Little plot devices sometimes like passengers and the plan to stop the demon sometimes get forgotten, but there is always something going on.
Most of it is basic exorcist movie stuff; Sister Lu has lost her faith, a priest dies, infighting between the protagonists. The film will occasionally drop in comments about fighting against the patriarchy – a nun has never performed an exorcism before – but it’s more window dressing than anything else. Ultimately, Speed Demon is just a run of the mill story about a possession.
Until you get to the closing moments. A brief and unremarkable funeral scene leads to one of the best epilogues of any film this year. It involves some of the most powerful people in the world while hinting at a secret group controlled by the Vatican. When a character referred to as Madame Secretary talks about whisking a character away to “the House”, it is a jaw-dropping moment. If only all of Speed Demon went this hard.
Speed Demon premieres in theaters, digital, and on-demand May 31.
