Writer/director Juanjo Avi’s short film Turno de Noche: The Wrong Place takes one blood-splattered turn after the other, constantly thwarting a viewer’s expectations in the process. Just when you think you have the short figured out, it veers off into another totally wild direction. This film is a gory and entertaining romp.

The short starts in overdrive and doesn’t really relent. The opening features a gagged woman, played by Cristina Mediero, running for her life. She’s chased by a masked killer, played by Rafa Teruel, who shoots her with arrows and inflicts various other harms upon her. Yes, the opening has torture porn vibes, but it streers away from that set-up after about five minutes, once the woman flees to a junkyard, where she encounters a worker, played by the film’s co-writer, José Casas. However, he doesn’t offer the salvation or safety the woman so desperately needs. Even the junkyard setting feels menacing, trapping the woman in what could be an even worse fate.

From there, the film takes another turn and Casas and Teruel’s characters fight each other. Yes, on paper, that idea sounds absurd, but it’s executed well and it’s entertaining as heck to watch. It’s gory and gruesome, and horror fans will likely lap it right up. Though there’s not much story covered in 15 minutes, including who these two men are, or who the captive woman is, it’s all still a delight to watch. If anything, the small cast and creators seem more interested in toying with a viewer’s expectations and subverting familiar genre threads.

Overall, Turno de Noche: The Wrong Place is a spectacle to behold, a bloody fight to the death between two awful men, with a woman caught in between. I would absolutely love to see this movie turned into a full-length film. To the delight of gore hounds, this short certainly doesn’t skimp on the bloodshed.