Critical Reception
"Speed Demon" received mixed reviews from contemporary critics. Davitt Sigerson of Rolling Stone stated that the "filler" content in Bad – including songs such as "Speed Demon", "Dirty Diana" and "Liberian Girl" – made Bad "richer, sexier and better than Thriller's forgettables." Sigerson described "Speed Demon" as being "the car song", commenting that the song "is a fun little power tale, in which Jackson's superego gives his id a ticket". Stephen Thomas Erlewine, of Allmusic, was negative towards the song, commenting that the albums "constitute" of "near-fatal dead spot on the record" were "Speed Demon" and "Another Part of Me", which were "a sequence that's utterly faceless, lacking memorable hooks and melodies".
Richard Cromelin of The Los Angeles Times gave Bad a good review. He remarked that the song "Speed Demon" would "zero" audiophiles on the "race car intro-Dimensional recording...." Eric Snider, of St. Petersburg Times, described "Speed Demon" as churning "along relentlessly". Jay Cocks, of Time, noted that Jackson did great "vocal stunts" on Bad's tracks like "Speed Demon" and "Dirty Diana" and described the two songs as "nimble and fanciful as any of his dance steps."
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