H.R. Giger (1940-2014) is the man to blame for the original designs behind the Aliens films , starting with Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic. Thanks to him the titular creatures of the series – called “xenomorphs” by those in the know – are unique among other horror creations in that they frighten you even when they are completely motionless. H. R. Giger’s genious was devising unsettling hybrids that we find utterly disturbing yet we can’t avoid staring at. Perhaps men of less enlightened times would have called them “unholy”; H. P. Lovecraft would certainly have had a blast with them.
Rest in peace, and thanks for all the nightmares.
