Alien: Romulus director reveals one way he made Chestburster scene more “f**ked up”

Horror helmer Fede Alvarez is diving into the Alien franchise with his upcoming movie Romulus, putting his own “f**ked up” spin on the infamous Chestburster scene.

Set between Ridley Scott’s Alien and James Cameron’s Aliens, Romulus is taking us back to the good stuff, offering a fresh take on the sci-fi movie franchise that still honors the source material and makes use of practical effects.

One of the hallmarks of the original movie is the infamous Chestburster scene, in which a baby Xenomorph rips its way out of Kane’s (John Hurt) chest in gruesome fashion. 

Having helmed plenty of horror movie hits over the years, including Don’t Breathe and the 2013 Evil Dead reboot, Alvarez wanted to make sure his version of this critter’s entrance was “f**ked up.”

And he did so by making it as realistic as possible. 

In a conversation with Dexerto, the director explained, “At the end of the day, the spirit was to try to imagine the real-life version of the movie scene. I was trying to think, ‘If it was a real creature from nature, how would that thing be born? And what does it do?'”

Alvarez went on to say that the creative team tried to almost make it like a “National Geographic documentary” when you see the Chestburster emerging, “in the best possible way.”

“We were joking while we’re making it that we need to add David Attenborough’s narration. That’s what makes it so f**ked up – it’s more realistic, I think.”

The filmmaker is feeling proud of the whole team involved in the creation of the birthing sequence, adding, “I would say, after the first one, there’s never been one as good as this.”

The Chesterburster is teased in the final Alien: Romulus trailer, and it certainly looks as horrifying as we could hope. 

In the clip, Aileen Wu’s Navarro can feel something is up. She uses a device to beam light through her torso, only to reveal one of the little creatures as it prepares to tear through her ribcage. 

Of course, they’ve saved the grisly reveal for the big screen. If you want to catch a glimpse of Alvarez and Co.’s creation, Alien: Romulus drops in theaters on August 16. 

Until then, you can read about whether Alien: Romulus is based on Isolation, how Alien’s original ending was changed, and the age rating explained.