Winterbottom defends violent 'Killer'

Director Michael Winterbottom has reportedly defended scenes of graphic violence in his latest film The Killer Inside Me.

The controversial movie drew criticism in January at the Sundance Film Festival, prompting viewers and critics in the audience to walk out.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Killer Inside Me is based on a pulp fiction novel by Jim Thompson. The film features Casey Affleck's character Lou Ford mercilessly beating his prostitute girlfriend Joyce (Jessica Alba) and a woman named Amy (Kate Hudson).

"What I liked about Jim Thompson's books is that, though very much in the pulp fiction genre, he doesn't use the violence as entertainment - there is something shocking about the violence," Winterbottom told reporters.

He added: "For me that was the point of the violence in the film in a way - it is something very repulsive. In terms of how we depicted it, we were just trying to make it as close to the book as possible."

The violent film has left several critics predicting that it will never be able to find a major distributor.