DreadCentral.Com had the opportunity to chat with Danielle Panabaker, here’s what she had to say:

Panabaker discussed why right now horror is the best film genre to be working in.

“Working on three horror films in a row wasn’t a conscientious decision for me actually,” explained Panabaker. “Right now, though, the horror genre seems to have better movies coming out these days, and I just responded to these three scripts when I read them. There’s a great quality to horror films today, and it’s just a different feeling when you’re working on a horror set. It’s a great acting experience.”

Panabaker spoke about how she connected to her character of Becca and what it was like collaborating with director Breck Eisner.

Panabaker said, “Becca is just your typical small-town girl. She’s very grounded and like any girl you’d see walking around in any of the places we filmed even. I wanted to make sure she wasn’t like a lot of the teenagers you see in horror films these days that you can’t stand or want them to get killed off. I wanted people to root for her.”

“We didn’t have a huge budget for The Crazies so I think the cast and the crew really banded together to make this work. Breck was great to work with; he gets so protective and involved with his actors. It was wonderful to work with him,” added Panabaker.

With The Crazies invading theaters next week, Panabaker chatted briefly about working alongside legendary director John Carpenter for his next thriller, The Ward.

“It’s still hard for me to believe I was in a John Carpenter movie,” explained Panabaker. “He’s such a great director who has always had a great vision for horror films, so to be a part of this project is amazing. It’s going to be an unbelievable movie. He really is an icon.”

More info about The Crazies and The Ward can be found here.

The Crazies opens in theaters on February 26, 2010. The Ward opens in theaters on September 24, 2010 (TBC).