Few directors have had a career as diverse as Michael Winterbottom. Not only has the British filmmaker directed one of the greatest series of all time — the comedy drama series The Trip — but he has also made war movies, documentaries, thrillers, comedies, and the single most sexually explicit film to ever receive a theatrical certification in Britain. With such a vast body of work, it’s understandable for many of Winterbottom’s movies to slip under the radar. Among the narrative features that have fallen into obscurity following their release is a noir thriller that opened to controversy in 2010 for its depiction of violence against women. The film’s legacy has further been tarnished because of the allegations surrounding its star, Casey Affleck.

The movie shocked audiences and critics, drawing adjectives such as “sickening” from at least one critic. It was a box-office bomb, grossing just $4 million against a reported budget of $13 million. However, the most interesting aspect about it is its long development history. Based on a 1952 book by Jim Thompson, the movie was once supposed to feature Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, and Elizabeth Taylor. The project was derailed after Monroe’s death, but an adaptation was eventually made in 1976. Years later, Quentin Tarantino and Andrew Dominik — the latter made the controversial Monroe biopic Blonde — were attached to a remake, with stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt attached at different times.

Find Out More About the Scandalous Noir

The remake was ultimately headlined by Affleck, Kate Hudson, and Jessica Alba. We’re talking about The Killer Inside Me, which began attracting controversy from the day it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. It was reported that an audience member at the premiere was so scandalized by the film that he got up from his seat and screamed, “I don’t understand how Sundance could book this movie! How dare you? How dare Sundance?” One critic noted that they had to step out of the theater after a particularly violent scene. It now holds a 56% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus reads, “The Killer Inside Me is stylish and beautifully shot, but Michael Winterbottom’s distance from his characters robs this often brutally violent film of crucial emotional context.” The movie recently left the Showtime add-on package on Paramount+, but is available on IFC Unlimited, AMC+, and Prime Video. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.