Alien. Arguably one of the most iconic and terrifying movie franchises in the world. Where did the film’s iconic monster come from? How did something that looks so organic and yet industrially alien (Pun Intended) come into being? Well, there are some theories, but the artist who is responsible for creating the movie monster known as the xenomorph in its current and iconic design, is Swiss artist H.R Giger.
The Xenomorph has an appearance like no other. It is sleek, elegant and darkly beautiful. Driven by the need to breed, its creation was bound to be steeped in the brutal yet artistically and sexually erotic. H.R Giger is known for his biomechanical paintings, sketches, and drawings that have depictions of strange creatures that have seemingly “merged” with machinery to create symbolic and unsettling dark fantasy and sci-fi images.
H.R Giger claims to have begun these artistic explorations of the darker side of his imaginings when he was a child as a way to make sense of the nightmares and fears he was plagued with. An interesting concept indeed, and one that brings to light many different questions about Alien and the Xenomorph…
Growing up in Switzerland during the trauma of World War 2 in a big dark home with parents who were constantly afraid and forced to keep the lights dim in order to avoid bombing from airplanes, will do that to a person…
There is also this weird little parasite thing that can be found in the deep sea called Phronima, it makes its home inside of another sea creature in order to raise its young, and looks surprisingly like the creature from Alien… But that’s not as much fun as the scary dream thing…)
Either way, regardless of its origins, the creature from Alien was designed and created by none other than Giger himself. His work was put in a composition that he called Necronomicon which references a book of magic mentioned by H.P Lovecraft in his works. This creation, with the various examples of Giger’s art, was noticed by Alien Director Ridley Scott, who took one look at it and said; “That’s It!”
Giger was then brought on board for Alien, and the mysterious and horrifyingly beautiful creature known as the Xenomorph was born. Check out his other works! It will give you nightmares! (Or possibly some sexual frustration depending on how weird you are lol) also be sure to check out his website!
