Behind-the-Scenes: Making of the "Chestburster scene" from Alien

Written by Anthony Watkins

One of the most famous horror movie moments of all time occurs in Ridley’s Scott’s 1979 sci-fi/horror film Alien. Called “the chestburster scene”, it occurs about halfway through Ridley Scott’s masterpiece. Here we’ll go behind-the-scenes to see how this iconic scene was accomplished.

It is commonly thought that the cast had no idea whatsoever what was going to take place during the scene. This is only partly true. The cast knew what was going to happen…but only to a certain extent. According to Veronica Cartwright, who played “Lambert” in the film, the crew involved in the setup showed the actors a “mockup” of what would happen, but the mockup didn’t show how the gag would be accomplished. According to Sigourney Weaver, who played the main character “Ellen Ripley”, all the script said was, “This thing emerges” (The Guardian). So the actors knew in a very general way what would happen, but they didn’t have any degree of detail. One thing is very clear: none of the actors expected to be sprayed with blood when the alien creature emerged (side note: real pig’s blood was used for the scene).

For the scene, a fake chest was used for John Hurt’s character “Kane.” Hurt was underneath the table, with his neck appearing to be connected to the fake chest. Director Ridley Scott wanted the scene to be as authentic as possible, so real organs were bought from a butcher shop and stuffed inside the fake chest cavity. Hoses were also used to help pump and spray the blood when the creature exploded from Hurt’s chest. 

As you can see above, an artificial chest was used for the famous "chestburster scene." Actor John Hurt was placed under the table to create the illusion that his neck was connected to the chest. 

All the while the crew was preparing the scene, the actors were in a separate room upstairs. When they were finally called down to shoot, the actors noticed everything was covered with plastic. Veronica Cartwright noted, “When they finally take us down, the whole set is in a big plastic bag and everybody is wearing raingear and there are huge buckets around. The formaldehyde smell automatically made you queasy.” Sigourney Weaver also commented, “Everyone was wearing raincoats-we should have been a little suspicious. And, oh God, the smell. It was just awful.” Clearly, the cast didn’t know the specifics of the scene. Yaphet Kotto, who plays “Parker”, noted, “We were all wondering what the hell was going on. Why is the crew looking at us the way they’re looking at us right now? Why are they wearing plastic shields?” (The Guardian)

Four cameras were used for shooting the scene. Two technicians were under the table operating the compressed blood machine that would spray blood everywhere upon the alien’s emergence. Initially, however, the scene didn’t go as planned. When the alien puppet that was used was unable to penetrate John Hurt’s shirt, Ridley Scott yelled to cut. After cutting Hurt’s t-shirt a little more, shooting resumed. When the alien finally emerged, the whole cast was shocked and terrified. Cartwright commented, “We all start leaning forward again and all of a sudden it comes out. I tell you, none of us expected it. It came out and twisted around.” Sigourney Weaver also noted, “All I could think of was John [Hurt], frankly. I wasn’t even thinking that we were making a movie” (The Guardian). The sudden outburst and explosion of blood certainly caught all the actors off guard. After being sprayed directly in the face with the pig’s blood, actress Veronica Cartwright actually passed out. Also, after the scene, Yaphet Kotto (Parker), went into his room and wouldn’t talk to anybody.

You can probably see why the “chestburster scene” is regarded as one of the scariest moments ever put on film. In 2004, Bravo ranked the scene as the second scariest movie moment of all time in the 100 Scariest Movie Moments. What really gives the scene its authenticity is the actors’ genuine reactions to the alien’s outburst from John Hurt’s chest. I think Ridley Scott and his team made an excellent move in not revealing exactly how the scene would work. Plain and simple, there’s no better acting than when you’re not actually acting, and that’s what Ridley Scott achieved with this iconic scene from Alien.

 

WORKS CITED

“The making of Alien’s Chestburster scene”. The Guardian. 12 Oct. 2009. 12 April 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/oct/13/making-of-alien-chestburster>. 

Above you will find the "chestburster scene." Note especially Sigourney Weaver's genuine reaction at 1:42.