Most Gruesome Deaths In The ‘Alien’ Franchise (Including ‘Alien: Romulus’)

Since the very beginning, the Alien franchise has embraced the body horror elements in its narrative in such an innovative way, be it the morbid phallic symbolism-inspired creature designs or the harrowing spectacle of humans getting subjected to vivisections and dismemberment (which acts as a critique of human actions of that sort upon other creatures), that it has forever redefined the history of sci-fi horror. Through the years, numerous other genre classics have been inspired by the visual dread provoked by the Alien series, and even four decades since the release of the first movie, the series continues to challenge the limits of grotesque spectacle with innovative sequences.

The latest addition to the series, Alien: Romulus added its fair share of gore with a couple of spine tingling, viscerally horrific scenes, amping up the intensity of an already solid narrative in the process. We will take a brief look at how these scenes compare with some of the unforgettably graphic moments of the series, ranking them accordingly. 

Spoilers Ahead

Neomorph Bloodburster

The standalone nature of Prometheus, the first of the prequel movies of the Alien series, resulted in a divisive reaction among fans, which prompted director Ridley Scott to try to go back to basics with Alien lore in the sequel, Alien: Covenant, but make it distinct enough to not feel repetitive. As a result, a proto-Xenomorph subspecies, known as the Neomorph, was introduced, which shared both similarities and differences with the original nightmarish monstrosities. The most notable part was the life-cycle of Neomorphs, which instead of an insectoid evolution, spread as fungal spores in larval form, and created a tumor inside the host, grew into sub-adult form, and tore its way out of its victim’s body. While Xenomorphs emerge by breaking apart their host’s rib cage, taking advantage of their toughened exoskeleton and biomechanical limbs, Neomorphs lack any such armor and instead have serrated blades latched to their spine, which they use to tear any part of their host’s body in an effort to get out. 

In Alien: Covenant, Private Ledward unwittingly destroys some Neomorph spore sacs on Planet 4 and gets himself infected as a result. His condition deteriorates rapidly, and while he was trapped inside the medical bay, along with biologist Karine Oram, a young Neomorph that had grown inside Ledwards’s body in the span of a few hours ripped its way out of his backside, killing him instantly. The pale white Neomorph digging its way out of the blood and organs of its victim was a memorable sight, to say the least. This is a callback to the iconic Chestbuster scene in a unique way, but the presentation of the scene could have been better. Dr. Karine is butchered by the scuttering little monster as well, which shows how feral and aggressive even the young Neomorphs are already. 

Offspring Takes Birth And Feeds On Its Mother

There is a twisted, corrupted maternal theme that pervades the majority of the Alien movies, something that Alien: Romulus acknowledges in a shocking way. As the movie follows crew members of mining vessel Corbelan, who get trapped with Xenomorphs in the dilapidated Wey-Yu research station, Renaissance, one of the members suffers the absolute worst throughout the course of the movie. Kay, who was pregnant during their expedition, gets chased by a Xenomorph and, while escaping, severely injures herself, later on getting trapped inside a Xenomorph nest as well. When Kay is eventually rescued, to heal from her injuries, she decides to use Wey-Yu’s modified Xenomorph secretion, Z-01, which has certain properties in common with the Engineers’ Black Goo. The result is a terrifying spectacle as the mutagenic pathogen rapidly mutates Kay’s unborn child, and she gives natural birth to a human-Xenomorph hybrid creature, the Offspring. Kay’s body deteriorates because of the injected Z-01 as well, and the Offspring decides to feed on its mother in the grossest way possible. Taking place during the final few minutes of the movie, this scene makes viewers feel genuinely sad for Kay, whose demise could have been averted as, even after going through a prolonged tribulation, she was not infected by Xenomorph spores, until she decided to take Z-01, that is. Trusting corporations has inevitable downsides. 

Shaw Gives Birth To A Trilobite

Kay giving birth to a hybrid was grotesque and shocking enough, but it still doesn’t live up to the nerve-racking horror of the most visually torturous birth scene in the franchise, as showcased in Prometheus. Elizabeth Shaw, the archaeologist protagonist of the movie, was infected by her boyfriend, who was dosed with Black Goo by the Synth, David. Shaw was infertile, which is why she was alarmed by the rapidly growing organism inside her womb and decided to undergo a self-performed C-section on her body. The visual of a squirming, wriggling cephalopod creature coming out of her belly while she is going through excruciating pain is something that has been etched into the memories of viewers forever. Actor Noomi Rapace sold the scene with a certain deftness, which made the impact all the more palpable. 

Original Chestburster

Numerous horror movies have tried to ape the iconic chestburster scene from Alien, with varying degrees of success. It can be argued that John Carpenter’s The Thing came closest, and possibly even surpassed the success of the chestburster scene. During the scene, Kane, a member of the towing spacecraft Nostromo, who was previously infected by a Facehugger, gets his body torn apart by a young Xenomorph. The way the particular scene is handled in Alien, right from setting it up by lulling viewers with funny banter at the dining table among crew members of the Nostromo to suddenly sending Kane, the hapless infected crew member, into an agonizing, near-possessed delirium, remains unmatched in execution. Some next-level usage of prosthetics was at work, and actor John Hurt’s performance reflected the absolute pain of body violation experienced by the character, which is exactly what most of the gruesome scenes in the franchise aim to do. The full-frontal view of body horror became a classic scene in the history of movies, and the franchise itself has not been able to replicate the ghastly effect ever since.