10 More Shocking Horror Movie Monsters With Surprising Powers

2. Aylmer - Brain Damage

The Ruins
Palisades Entertainment

The 1988 horror-comedy centres around a young man called Brian, who finds himself in a bit of a pickle when he has a chance encounter with a brain-eating parasite called Aylmer. Aylmer isn't particularly mobile, so he latches himself to Brian's spine and politely orders him to walk around in public, so he can feed on strangers. Brian refuses to take innocent lives, compelling the worm-like beastie to take drastic measures.

But rather than hurting Brian, Aylmer does the complete opposite. Instead, the deceptive fiend hijacks Brian's cerebral cortex, causing him to experience pure ecstasy. Brian becomes so addicted to this euphoria, he agrees to carry out any of Aylmer's demands to re-experience it.

When Brian's conscience gets the better of him, he rips Aylmer from his body and refuses to help him. Instead of retaliating, Aylmer relies on a different strategy - waiting.

Sure enough, Brian suffers severe withdrawal, causing him to experience unimaginable pain and nightmarish hallucinations. Unable to cope, Brian begs Aylmer to come back so he can take the pain away.

Even though Aylmer could've killed Brian as soon as they crossed paths, he played the long game, using his powers to turn his host into a slave.

 
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James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows