Kristen Stewart says she left the set of 'Crimes of the Future' with no idea what she was shooting, but loved the gory scenes

• Kristen Stewart stars in David Cronenberg's new film "Crimes of the Future."
• Stewart said she was confused about the film's plot during production.

Kristen Stewart stars as a rogue underground plastic surgeon in director David Cronenberg's new dystopian horror "Crimes of the Future," and during a press conference on Tuesday, the actor said she left the film's set each day with no idea what the movie was about.

Still, she was drawn to its gory physicality.

Stewart — who appeared alongside her costars Léa Seydoux and Viggo Mortensen at the film's premiere at Cannes Film Festival — said she initially voiced her confusion about the plot to Cronenberg during the casting process.

"I told him I have no idea what this movie is about, but I'm so curious and maybe we can just figure it out," she said.

Stewart added that when she was finally cast in the film, the confusion surrounding the movie's plot and its motivations didn't dissipate.

"We, the actors, spent every single day after work being like, 'What the fuck are we doing?' But then I watched the movie last night and it was so crystal clear to me," she said. "It so exposing, and it does feel like you're hacking up organs when you're making something, and if it doesn't feel that way it's not worth it."

The 32-year-old actor added that she "loves" David Cronenberg's films and "can't believe" that she got to star in "Crimes of the Future."

Set in the not-too-distant future in which the human body creates abnormal mutations of internal organs, "Crimes of The Future" follows a performance artist called Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen), who has his organs extracted by his partner Caprice (Léa Seydoux) in pseudo-sexual rituals for underground audiences.

Stewart plays an investigative surgeon who works for the National Organ Registry. However, she's quickly fascinated by Mortensen's Tenser and becomes obsessed with his body.

At a press screening that Insider attended on Monday at Cannes, several audience members walked out of the film during particularly graphic scenes. The film includes several gory moments, including an autopsy of a child. In one scene, Stewart's character proclaims that "surgery is the new sex."

At the press conference, Stewart praised Cronenberg's notoriously brutal filmmaking style.

"Everyone loves to talk about how his movies are difficult to watch and it's fun to talk about people walking out of Cannes screenings," she said. "But every single gaping, weird bruise in his movies, it makes my mouth open. You wanna lean in toward it. And it never repulses me ever. The way I feel, it is through really visceral desire and that's the only reason we're alive. We're pleasure sacks."

Variety reported that the film received a seven-minute standing ovation at its Cannes premiere.

"Crimes of the Future" is set for release in the US on June 3.