Hollywood star Jessica Alba felt alienated on the sets of new thriller The Killer Inside Me as the cast and crew refused to talk to her over the gory make-up.

The Sin City star, who plays a woman who is beaten beyond recognition by a psychotic killer, played by Casey Affleck, admitted her co-workers avoided her before she filmed the graphic scene because her make-up was so disturbing, reported Daily Express.

"(The shoot) was a couple of days. I was (emotionally) a complete mess. It was hot, and the latex (make-up) was hot. Nobody would talk to me; it made people around me really uncomfortable," said Alba.

But the 29-year-old actress has defended the violent moment, insisting it reveals her character's true nature. "It's the scene that tells you the most about her. She didn't hit back, she didn't fight, she just let him do it.

There's no hands in the air, no blocking it. It's a really disturbing movie, a really disturbing character - but it's supposed to be.

"It's supposed to be awful... I felt she had a death wish, because she was always egging him on and provoking him. She finally found a man who was man enough to go through with it," Alba said.