This tiny wormlike creature isn't that much to get upset about at first glance, at least, not when it is resting quietly in the sand rather than entering someone's ear. However, in The Wrath of Khan we soon discover that the wriggly, not much longer than an eye, is in fact a devastating instrument of torture. They are extracted from between the plates on the back of a writhing squealing creature that turns out to be the grown up Ceti eel. We watch in horror as the eel is dropped onto Chekov's cheek and slowly crawls towards the ear. After an experimental poke, it slithers all the way in. As Khan charmingly explains, the eel will coil around the brain stem and grow within the brain, causing suggestibility, eventually madness and finally death. The screams that emit from Chekov and Terrell as the eels make their way into their skulls are chilling. It seems to be able to sense when their human hosts are contemplating rebellion and ramp up the torture accordingly. The last decade has seen a number of films based solely on physical torture, but actually this sort of scene is far more effective. You can't see what the eel is doing, but you can see the enormous amount of pain it is causing. You might speculate, but you can't quite get rid of the feeling that it's probably worse than anything you're imagining.
I'll watch anything, so long as it has a juicy plot, a couple of twists and hopefully a few scares. My favourite films include The Fugitive, The Last Starfighter and The Secret In Their Eyes. Television wise, I'm a big fan of the Nordic Noir, Sherlock and Doctor Who. All the classics!
