10 Horror Movies So Good You Overlook Major Flaws

8. The Xenomorph's Inexplicable Growth Spurt

Terrifier 2 Pale Girl
20th Century Fox

We all remember the revulsion and shock we felt while watching Alien, when the the Facehugger's spawn burst out of Kane's chest. Even if you knew this moment was coming, it still chilled you to the bone. Because of the visuals, the chestburster's design, and the actors' performances, you can understand why this scene helped define sci-fi horror.

However, this legendary scene is followed by the film's only gripe. Immediately after this sequence, the tiny newborn scurries away. The next time we see the Xenomorph, it's grown to adult size.

But the question is... how? How did a teeny-weeny critter grow 7ft in two hours? I mean, I know it's an extra-terrestrial so it will have a unique physiology, but its increase in mass is biologically impossible. Even though the Xenomorph would need to eat a staggering amount of food to grow this large, we don't see this star-beast eat anything.

For the sake of the plot, it does make sense why the Xenomorph grows in size, since it'd be ridiculous watching the crew fight an extra-terrestrial the size of a chihuahua. Because the rest of the movie is virtually flawless, it's one plothole that movie fans tend to accept.

Contributor
Contributor

James Egan has written 80 books including 1000 Facts about Superheroes Vol. 1-3 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 TV Shows Vol. 1-3 Twitter - @jameswzegan85