Reaction mixed in Sundance to 'The Killer Inside Me'

Michael Winterbottom, left, director of "The Killer Inside Me," poses with cast members Jessica Alba, center, and Bill Pullman at the premiere of the film at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, Sunday, Jan. 24, 2010. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

BY GENE TRIPLETT

Entertainment Editor

A big-screen crime thriller shot primarily in Oklahoma in spring 2009 with Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson and Casey Affleck in the lead roles has kicked up controversy at the Sundance Film Festival for its reportedly graphic and “ultra-real” depiction of violence against its female characters.

But Oklahoma Film and Music Office Director Jill Simpson said audience reaction to the film “The Killer Inside Me” was “split” during a question and answer session with director Michael Winterbottom following the movie’s premiere screening at the Park City, Utah event.

“There was a lady who was one of the first people to ask a question and then she basically was very vocal in her protest of the film and then got up and walked out and people were booing her,” said Simpson, who attended the screening.

There were also reports that Alba herself got up and walked out of the theater in the middle of the film, but Simpson said the actress had to leave early to catch a flight back to Los Angeles.

“That was predetermined before she got there, that she had to go back,” Simpson said. “So she came and was onstage before the film and then she had to go back to Los Angeles. I don’t know what the details were.”

The film is based on a novel by Anadarko-born pulp fiction writer Jim Thompson, about a West Texas deputy sheriff (played by Affleck) whose dull personality masks the mind of a sadistic serial killer.

Thompson was known for stark, noir-style stories told from a criminal point of view, including “The Getaway” and “The Grifters,” both of which became successful motion pictures.

Winterbottom reportedly defended “The Killer Inside Me” during the festival Q&A, saying, “It’s not only just about what a killer is like or how a killer behaves. It’s also kind of a very dramatic version of how we all are.”

Simpson admitted finding some of the more violent scenes in the film unexpectedly disturbing.