Can Only Move the Eyes: Difference between revisions

{{quote|'''Arnold:''' And why... why can't I move, there, there must be some logical reason for all this?

'''Creedence:''' Shut up! }}

* ''[[Iron Man (film)|Iron Man 2]]'' had this when Vanko hacked into the [[War Machine (Comic Book)|War Machine]] suit with Rhodey inside.

{{quote|'''Rhodey:''' Whoa, whoa, whoa... ''(aims his minigun at Tony)''

* Pvt Jenkins, in the ''Halo'' novel ''The Flood'', retains his consciousness when infected by the flood due to some biological quirk. He retains only minimal control over his body.

* In the ''[[Animorphs]]'' series, infestation by [[Brain Slug|Yeerks]] sometimes works this way: strong-willed or desperate hosts can rebel against their Yeerks (especially when the Yeerk is under duress itself), often leading to arguing with and/or hitting oneself. In a more literal example, Visser One describes a game she used to play with one of her hosts where she would relinquish control of one body part and see how long it took the host to find out; in one case, the body part the host could move was her eye. {{spoiler|The host nearly kills them both by closing the one eye on the freeway, thus denying Visser One depth perception.}}

* In [[Iain M Banks]]' SF novel ''[[The Culture/The Player of Games|The Culture]]'', as a bizarre punishment one incidental character is locked into a robotic exoskeleton which prevents him eating anything other than bread and water, makes sure that he's in bed and up by certain times, and totally prevents him enjoying any pleasures of the flesh, but otherwise allows him the freedom to work at his job. At one point the exoskeleton takes complete control of its occupant as he frantically tries to prevent it performing its programming.

* In ''[[Naked Lunch]]'', this happens to a carny worker in one of Benway's most infamous monologues.

* An obscure low-budget show called ''Terror Vision'' had an episode where a young woman applies for a modeling job at a small clothing store. As she walks in the mannequin in the window moves its eyes to follow her. [[And I Must Scream|You can probably guess the rest]].

* ''[[Doctor Who]]'':

** [[Missing Episode|Since-lost]] William Hartnell episode "The Dalek's Master Plan" has Steven locked in a forcefield. How much movement he had is unclear without surviving footage, but the Doctor used him to hand off a fake plot device to the Daleks, who naturally tried to exterminate him. It turns out a direct hit from a Dalek [[Death Ray]] was [[Incredibly Lame Pun|just what the Doctor ordered]] to break the forcefield and free him.

** In the TV special "[[Doctor Who/Recap/20th AS the Five Doctors|The Five Doctors]]", this is what happens to those {{spoiler|who wish to be immortal in Rassilon's presence}}.

* ''[[System Shock]] 2'': The zombies speak coherently, apologizing while aiming a shotgun for your head or swinging a lead pipe for your face.

* When the Collector Swarms of ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'' bite a human, it reduces them to this, [all the easier to carry them away and do horrible things to them. [[Wham! Episode|Horizon]] is full of these people.

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

* An episode of ''[[Batman: The Animated Series|Batman the Animated Series]]'' features a gas that paralyses people in this manner. It's used on a room full of police officers attending a dinner for Commissioner Gordon.

* One episode of ''[[Jackie Chan Adventures]]'' had Uncle and Daolon Wong fire petrification spells at one another. They both hit at the same time, and so neither could do anything but move their eyes.

* ''[[Yellow Submarine]]'': The frozen citizens of Pepperland are still conscious and can slightly move their heads. They can also weep.

 

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[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]