10 Most Ingenious Special FX In Horror Movie History

This special effect is as iconic as they come: aped, copied, parodied and homaged but never matched. Those lucky enough to have seen Alien 'blind,' that is to say without prior warning of the Alien's introduction, you're the lucky ones. For sheer originality, the Chestburster sequence is utterly unique - for sheer first time shock factor, it's really never been matched.

Director Ridley Scott wisely (and bravely) decided to shoot the sequence under bright light, attempting to get the feel and look of an operating table. Actor John Hurt was only partially visible, his torso hidden beneath the table with the fake chest containing the Chestburster prop, large quantities of fake blood and sufficient squibs (small explosive charges, generally used for creating bullet entry/exit wounds) to blow a hole in Hurt's t-shirt, which had been finely sliced with a razor.

The effect is stunning; terrifying, graphic and realistic enough to convince the audience that an alien life form has just pushed it's way through Hurt's rib cage.

The rest of the cast were kept in the dark regarding the graphic nature of the scene, as Scott felt that their genuine surprise upon seeing the level of gore would illicit better reactions from those on set.

He was right; Veronica Cartwright (Lambert) and Yaphet Kotto (Parker) went into a state of shock, not realising that real animal blood and guts had been used. Hurt's dead but wobbling fingers add an unsettling realism to this unique sequence.