Former Doctor Who actress Karen Gillan steps behind the camera for a second time to write, star and direct in a new short horror comedy, Conventional. Gillan stars as a one-time screen queen Rachel Milligan, who is rapidly fading into obscurity and she’s not happy about it on bit.

Barely making a living on the convention circuit, Rachel begins to crack under the pressure of no longer being in the spotlight with gruesome results. The nine-minute short showcases a dark sense of humour from Gillan as a filmmaker and makes quite the impression. Gillan has a keen eye as a director, and while Conventional isn’t scary, the end results are tinged with dread and a gleeful sense of wickedness. After years being on the convention circuit with Doctor Who, Gillan clearly has had plenty of experience with the more enthusiastic fans. 

Conventional is part of a season of short horror stories from Fun Size Horror, a brand new short will be released everyday from now until Halloween. Meanwhile, Karen Gillan will be back on our screens next alongside Tom Hanks and Emma Watson in James Ponsoldt’s The Circle. After that she’s appearing with John Travolta and Ethan Hawke in Ti West’s In The Valley of Violence, then Gillan rejoins the Marvel Cinematic Universe for Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

Watch Conventional below.