When the cast of "The Killer Inside Me" hit the red carpet on Tuesday at the Tribeca Film Festival, it seemed all the buzz was about the noir flick's violence. Jessica Alba, who plays the prostitute lover of Casey Affleck's character, was ready to defend any criticism that the violence might be gratuitous.

"Just getting into the head of someone who's so connected to her darkness ... she's quite a dark person, and she certainly instigated the darkness in Casey and provokes him to channel that," Alba told MTV News at the premiere. "It is violent against men and women, and [Casey's character is] a violent, cowardly person. This is fiction. ... If you tried to depict it in a beautiful way, it wouldn't be true to what it

The film, about a small-town sheriff who gives in to his sociopathic tendencies, also stars Kate Hudson, who plays the two-timing Affleck's girlfriend. Hudson said she was delighted to be cast again alongside Affleck, whom she co-starred with in the 1999 ensemble flick "200 Cigarettes." The actress called her scenes with Affleck in "Killer" "difficult," but said the pair couldn't get along better offscreen. "To work with Casey again ... we've known each other a long time," she said. "[We] grew up together basically in the business. It's nice."

Affleck, the flick's male lead, said he'd never been a huge fan of the film-noir genre. "It was never a big thing for me," he said. "Obviously, I like old movies. I like all kinds of movies. There are some people that are real super film-noir geeks, lovers, and I'm not one of those people. I like doing period movies. I love this period [the 1950s], and I actually love that part of the country — we filmed in Oklahoma, and it takes place in west Texas. I find it really fascinating. ... It's a little like fantasy time travel."