1 of 5 | Sister Lu (Katie Cassidy) defends the passengers in “Speed Demon,” in theaters and digital video-on-demand Sunday. Photo courtesy of Maverick Film & Complex Corp.
Katie Cassidy said she was drawn to her role in Speed Demon, in theaters and digital video-on-demand Sunday, for her strength in overcoming her traumas. Cassidy plays Sister Lu, a troubled nun riding a train on which a passenger becomes possessed.
In the Catholic Church, only ordained priests and bishops are allowed to perform exorcisms. But, on the train, Sister Lu is the passengers’ only hope.
In a recent Zoom interview with UPI, Cassidy, 39, said Sister Lu’s character journey through the film appealed to her. Lu is a drug addict and alcoholic who finds her resolve along with her faith.
“I always love a good, strong, fierce female lead and hero,” Cassidy said, adding that she was able “to start somewhere with her being so broken and then the audience going on this journey with her when she steps into her power, if you will.”
Cassidy has appeared in several horror movies, including remakes of When a Stranger Calls, Black Christmas and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Though a fan, Cassidy said that was a coincidence.
“I do enjoy a good scare,” she said. “I also ironically just happened to start booking a bunch of horror movies.”
Before boarding the train, the audience sees Lu awaken with the remnant of her previous night. Through a brief prologue to the film, Cassidy said she developed a complete backstory.
“I understood how troubled she was when reading it,” she said. “Like any good character, they’re flawed and they have problems. It’s cool to see her put down the bottle and step into her strength.”
Cassidy said her backstory included details about her troubled relationship with her parents and seeking religion but still falling prey to bad influences. She also related to Lu being underestimated by priests and the passengers on the train.
The daughter of David Cassidy and Sherry Williams, Cassidy said she still has to prove herself even after establishing her own career for decades.
“It’s a constant in the industry I’m in,” she said. “From the family that I come from, I think some of my being a bit stubborn and just ambitious and driven as a person, I can relate to that having to prove yourself.”
Cassidy is also a producer of Speed Demon, directed by Jon Keeyes. She has also directed a short and an episode of her series, Arrow, after completing Warner Bros.’ Directors Program in 2019.
“I love telling story, bringing stories to life and doing it in a collaborative, creative way with other people,” she said. “Of course, I’m acting still and will continue to do so but it’s just another outlet to storytelling. They all lend to one another.”
Arrow turned into an eight-year job for Cassidy which included playing multiple characters and appearing in spinoffs The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. The end of Arrow coincided with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by industry strikes in 2023, making it more challenging to book subsequent roles.
“The industry’s been slower than it used to be,” she said. “As things grow and progress and evolve, I feel like it’s finally getting its footing back in a way.”
She completed this interview one day after returning from Budapest, Romania, where she filmed Ashes to Iron. Based on J.E. Laufer book Choices, Cassidy plays Kati Egget, the mother of Laufer.
Director Danny A. Abeckaser brought the film to Cassidy. Egget is still alive, now 99 in Montreal.
“I flew to Montreal and had lox and bagels with her,” Cassidy said. “This woman went through the Holocaust when she was 16 before the Hungarian Revolution. She lost her whole family and then went back to Budapest and then she went through the Hungarian Revolution.”
Having access to the real Egett enhanced the background work Cassidy already does for her roles.
“I had to just do the research on the time period, on politics,” Cassidy said. “I wanted to meet her, try to pick up a few mannerisms if I could from her and really just study that time and then just live in it once we were filming.”
