After meeting Neve Campbell, I can vouch for the fact that she's nothing like the conniving, patchouli-oiled high-school rebel she plays in John McNaughton's swamp-noir blockbuster. On the contrary, Campbell seems quite the good-girl Canadian import -- the freshly scrubbed ingenue who's an idol to the Gen Y crowd for her six-year stint as orphan Julia Salinger on the soft-soap Fox series "Party of Five." Still, there's a razor blade or two beneath those auburn eyes. Not only did she have edge enough to kick some psycho ass in the "Scream" trilogy, but she can convince me on-screen that she reads Céline and smokes dope, all with the dearly departed Mark Sandman of Morphine crooning in the background.

In the indie feature "Panic," which stars William H. Macy as a hitman with a serious case of ennui and Donald Sutherland as his scumbag pop, Campbell plays Sarah, a wild young thing on the prowl for Macy's married heart. Loose and scrambled like an egg breakfast at Denny's, Campbell's character is affecting enough to make us want to see more of what she can do in less campy fare. Unfortunately, the film's original backer, Artisan, the house "Blair Witch" built, bailed on it, much to the chagrin of the nation's critics, who've loved almost everything about "Panic," Campbell included. Nevertheless, Campbell seemed happy enough to be promoting a film where she doesn't stab or get stabbed ad nauseam, even if it's meant a real battle to land the film in theaters. After opening in January in selected cities, "Panic" began reaching larger audiences in April via a staggered release that will wind down by the end of June.

Are you angry at Artisan for dropping the ball on "Panic"?

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I'm disappointed. I understand that at the time this film should have been released their publicity department had had a complete changeover, but it is one of those situations where you wish they'd had the courage. I wish they'd seen this film for what it is and allowed audiences to see it. The response we got at Sundance, for instance, was really great.

But Roxie Releasing has taken us on as their pet project, and they've been pushing for the release. And the press has been great. I don't want to get discouraged from doing projects that I believe in if they're not going to make money. That's not what it's about.

Compared to your roles in the "Scream" films and "Wild Things," this was a much smaller part for you. What attracted you to it?

I loved the character of Sarah, that she comes across as someone who's confused, and yet has a lot of confidence because she speaks before she thinks. That's beautiful to me in a lot of ways. She doesn't censor herself. She's very honest and upfront. I liked Sarah's audacity and her truth. She just is who she is; there's no "character arc."

As for the film itself, this is the closest to my taste in films that I've done. I grew up watching foreign films, arthouse films. My dad would take me to the cinema in Toronto every Wednesday, and we'd see a foreign film, something like "Babette's Feast" or "Cinema Paradiso." I didn't grow up with any American pop culture films. So it's funny that the films that have made my career are not really to my taste. It feels good to finally get closer to what I believe in. This film is about something. The other films are pure entertainment.

Are you and Sarah similar in any ways?

No, I've always been someone who almost thinks too much before she speaks. But I think it's a quality to strive for in some ways. I can be that way with my close friends, you know? But otherwise, I analyze way more than she does.

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