Alien is filled with incredible sci-fi action from start to finish, but the chestburster scene is arguably the most memorable. We begin with the crew peacefully enjoying a meal, only to be abruptly interrupted when John Hurt's character starts violently coughing. After a few moments of convulsing, an alien creature bursts from his chest, spraying the room in blood and shocking his fellow crew members.
Up until this point, we haven't been introduced to aliens outside of the facehuggers that initially latched onto Hurt's character. The baby Xenomorph is the audience's first real introduction to the horrors that await the crew, and the scene also showcases the destructive abilities of the alien creatures.
So many elements of this scene have caused viewers to pause: everything from the gory effects to the alien and the looks of horror and disgust on the other actor's faces. This classic hit spawned a franchise for a number of reasons, and the terror expertly inflicted during this scene ranks near the top of the list.
