How bloody and gory does it get? Does it earn its R?
Oh, yes, the movie definitely earns its R. I did a film about a year ago, the remake of Friday the 13th. That film had a lot of blood. It was really grotesque and it was almost back to those films from the ’70s and ’80s, the horror films with the low budgets that were just blood squirting everywhere. The Crazies doesn’t have that. It doesn’t have that campy, “Eww, blood everytwhere, that’s gross!” thing going, but it’s still terrifying. We definitely earn our R rating. I think it’s more about how scary these people are, the infected people, the Crazies. They’re terrifying, and what they do to people looks so real and authentic. Watching this movie is so difficult because, despite the fact that I’d read the script and was there when we made it, it’s so scary. There’s a scene in there where I really was concerned that Timothy might get hurt, because it’s grotesque and intense and scary. It’s pretty hardcore.
What was the toughest moment for you?
I have to say, being strapped to a table is a little claustrophobic. You can’t get up, and that’s scary. I was actually strapped in and I had to hope that if a fire alarm went off that somebody would remember that I was strapped down to this table. You’re going to ask why I’m strapped down, and it’s because the government has come into the town, the water has been tainted, people are turning into crazies, and they’re testing to see if Becca has become a crazy. So I have to be strapped down because you never know, for protection, more than anything.
One of your next films is called Weakness (2010). What’s that?
That was a really fun project for me. It was with a theater director out of New York named Michael Melamedoff. He wrote and directed it, and he’s such a wonderful individual. I had a great time working with him and really collaborating with him. It was on a much smaller scale than The Crazies. We made Weakness for very, very little money. It was more of a passion project and I was really excited to be working on it. I was in New York for a month in the summer, saw some shows. It was a great experience. I haven’t seen the finished cut yet, but I can’t wait to. I have a lot of faith in Michael as a director. That will probably be on the festival circuit when it’s done.
You’ve also wrapped another horror movie, The Ward, directed by John Carpenter. What can you say about your character?
She’s one of the patients at an institution, and the story is about six young women who are in this institution. She’s probably the most promiscuous of the women. She’s constantly flirting with the orderlies, and I think some of her deeper issues are seen through her acting out sexually.
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Danielle Panabaker has got a bad case of The Crazies IESB.Net talked to Danielle Panabaker about The Crazies and...
