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Brain Salad Surgery: The H. R. Giger artwork that inspired ‘Alien’
10.17.2017
08:53 am
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One of the images from H.R. Giger’s ‘Necronomicon.’

H.R. Giger’s 1977 book Necronomicon showcased his chilling, futuristic images of a world beyond our own would become the basis and inspiration for director Ridley Scott’s 1979 film Alien.

Giger’s profile was raised in 1973 when his sci-fi art was showcased by prog-rockers Emerson Lake & Palmer on the elaborate cover of their 1973 album Brain Salad Surgery. Swiss publishing house Sphinx-Verlag would publish a German-language portfolio full of Giger’s work about the mythical “Necronomicon” in 1977, as well as a French edition that same year. As you may be aware, Giger’s Necronomicon was inspired by the make-believe textbook of magic nightmared up by H.P. Lovecraft which the author first referenced in his 1924 short story, The Hound. When it comes to Giger’s dangerous, dark, and often somewhat R-rated take on the evil grimoire, the author and artist put his own unique spin on the book, undeniably his most vital and influential piece of work. In 1985 Giger would put out another edition of the material, Necronomicon 2 expanded to include 184 more images of his terrifying biomechanical creations and grim futuristic visions. 

Tracking down a copy of Giger’s Necronomicon isn’t difficult as long as you’re not coveting an original which can run you a few thousand bucks, while reprints usually sell for $200-$250. I’ve posted some of Giger’s work from the Necronomicon below—most which are emphatically NSFW.
 

 

 
More Giger after the jump…

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Posted by Cherrybomb
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10.17.2017
08:53 am
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Hauntingly life-like sculpture of Sigourney Weaver in character from ‘Alien’
09.26.2017
09:04 am
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Artist Steve Scotts’ spooky sculpture of Sigourney Weaver as “Ellen Ripley” from ‘Alien’
 
Steve Scotts is the incredibly talented sculptor and FX specialist who created this mind-bogglingly realistic sculpture of actress Sigourney Weaver in character as the ass-kicking alien killer, “Ellen Ripley.” Weaver would make her first appearance as Ripley in director Ridley Scott’s horror film franchise, which started with 1979’s Alien. Scotts documented his work by capturing images of his blow-by-blow process—and the photographs that chronicle the making of his faux “Ellen Ripley” are as astounding as they are atmospherically unsettling.

In his bio, Scotts recalls the moment that he knew his destiny to pursue art had been sealed. It was 1993 and Scotts’ family had finally deemed that he was old enough to see a film by Steven Spielberg—specifically Jurassic Park. Scotts would refer to this event as a “life-defining 127 minutes” and credits the great FX master Stan Winston (the dinosaur wizard behind the special effects in the film and 1986’s Aliens) as a key creative inspiration for his work. As you can see from the photo at the top of this post, Scotts’ sculpt of Sigourney as Ripley is so remarkably life-like it seems conceivable that she might blink or even breathe. Another reason Scotts’ sculpture of Ripley is a standout is the fact that he did it just by studying photos of Weaver in character from the film, then constructed it using foam, silicone, acrylic paint—and if I understand correctly real hair. I’m continually amazed by an artist who creates work that challenges grounded perceptions of reality—and Scotts’ sculpture of Ripley blurs the lines between what is real and what might be masquerading as such brilliantly.

Some images below are ever-so-slightly NSFW.
 

An eerie early shot of Scotts’ sculpt of Weaver as “Ripley.”
 

 
More after the jump…

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Posted by Cherrybomb
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09.26.2017
09:04 am
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‘Aliens are never eliminated’: Amazing 1979 ‘Alien’ board game
06.20.2017
11:27 am
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We’ve noted before that the merchandising arm connected with Ridley Scott’s original Alien movie of 1979 didn’t seem to know anything about the movie. (For example here are a bunch of trading cards Topps put out, with bland text that seems pretty clueless about what’s actually in the movie.) 

Apparently nobody had gotten the memo that Alien was an R-rated thrillfest in which an alien creature gorily bursts through the chest of one of the characters—this movie was clearly not intended for nine-year-olds, which made the attempts to market the movie to nine-year-olds all the weirder. (Actually, I myself was nine years old when Alien came out—I didn’t see it, but I vividly remember a classmate of mine telling me all about it. Obviously the chestburster scene was the main thing he talked about.) 

So here’s another kid-targeted mindfuck…. an actual Alien board game, put out by Kenner!
 

 
On BoardGameGeek, the world’s greatest resource for board game enthusiasts, the user reviews for this game are all over the map, and it’s easy to see why. A glance at the board reveals that the game is probably a pretty lazy rehash of Parcheesi, which is basically true. (If you were given a single day to design a board game as a tie-in for, say, Kong: Skull Island, you’d probably end up with something along the lines of Parcheesi, too.) But at the same time, there are some clever touches.

The object of the game is to make your way through the Nostromo to reach the Narcissus space station. Each player has three Astronaut tokens and one Alien token. You roll dice and move players around, and a player can use his or her Alien to take out the opposing Astronauts. Now right there you have an instant contradiction: The whole point of the Xenomorph is that nobody “controls” the fucking thing. It is inherently uncontrollable. The dictates of symmetrical gameplay that would have reigned in the 1970s meant that you couldn’t have one player as the alien and other players representing the Nostromo crew members, which is how the game probably should have been designed. 

Anyway, I mentioned clever game design. The main feature I wanted to point out was the introduction of “air shaft” pathways that are only available for the Alien to use. I like that idea quite a bit. Parcheesi doesn’t have that feature, right?

Also, in the game instructions there appears what is maybe the greatest sentence ever to appear in an instructions manual for a game designed for kids. The sentence is: “Aliens are never eliminated.” Eek!
 

 
It’s interesting that the understanding of Ripley as a movie character for the ages had not solidified yet. Sigourney Weaver’s image doesn’t appear anywhere on the box. Here’s an interesting custom logo that Kenner must have cooked up for the game:
 

 
If you paid the original price for this game in 1979, you lucked out by obtaining what would eventually become a collector’s dream acquisition.

Continues after the jump…

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Posted by Martin Schneider
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06.20.2017
11:27 am
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Holy shit, they really made bubblegum trading cards for the first ‘Alien’ movie!
04.25.2017
10:24 am
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Card #15: Introducing ‘Jones’

Two premises. Ridley Scott’s 1979 movie Alien is one of the most terrifying movies ever made. And the primary audience for trading cards during that era was preteens.

Ergo, there aren’t any trading cards for Alien.

Not so fast.

Surprising as it may seem, Topps did make trading cards for Alien. It seems safe to say that Topps may have gotten the contract for the job in the wake of the incredible success of Star Wars, and was attracted by a connection to an ambitious sci-fi space epic, without realizing that the actual movie in question would be rated R and indeed, give adults nightmares. (In the U.K. Alien received an X rating.)

Not many movies this cool ever got trading cards. If only they had made cards for Videodrome..... Or even The Shining, even if we did highlight this recently made retro set a year or two back.

Fun to see H.R. Giger himself featured in card #47. I’d hazard a guess that the Alien card series was the only one ever marketed with an image of, to quote the medical professional who chimed in about the subject on this page, “a gangrenous rectal sphincter,” as you can see here:
 

 
The back of the cards featured text descriptions placed within a gorgeous image of an egg:
 

 
The set also included stickers, which looked pretty cool:
 

 
Here are a few of the cards, followed by a picture of the packaging:
 

Card #8: Captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt)
 

Card #9: Warrant Officer Ripley (Sigourney Weaver)
 
Much more after the jump…........

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Posted by Martin Schneider
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04.25.2017
10:24 am
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‘Alien’ Chestburster Plush Toy
03.29.2017
10:49 am
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A few days ago I blogged about the Alien Xenomorph egg cookie jar. I really wanted to get one but the damned things are already sold out. Boo! What I didn’t notice at the time was this freaky-looking Alien Chestburster plush toy! I would have added that with with my cookie jar post had I known about it. Apparently you people can’t get enough of your Alien swag.

  • You’ll feel like you have an actual film prop to cuddle! Ages 3 and up.
  • This Chest Burster Plush is an officially licensed 20th Century Fox 1:1 scale replica of the original nymph-stage xenomorph from Aliens. Constructed of smooth velour that matches the color of the original design, the soft plush measures 48-inches long! Inside, a wire runs from the head to the tail, allowing you to pose the Aliens Chest Burster Plush just the way you want it.
  • It can even stand up on its own! Arms, teeth, and inner jaws are all finely detailed.
  • To hug or not to hug? 1:1 scale plush replica of the original Aliens Chest Burster! Fully poseable, it can even stand up on its own! 48-inches long! To hug or not to hug, that is the question. Now you can know the pleasure of owning your very own Aliens Chest Burster… without the parasitic infestation or the resulting xenomorphic carnage!
  • Be careful when bringing to dinner. Known to make messes.

Anyway, it’s 48” long from head to tail and as gross as that scene was in Alien with the Chestburster, this toy is kind of equally cuddly and adorable.

You can get it for $29.99 here.


 
Below, an extended version of the classic scene:

 

Posted by Tara McGinley
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03.29.2017
10:49 am
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Alien egg ceramic cookie jar with Facehugger lid
03.27.2017
02:43 pm
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Check out this fantastic-looking ceramic Alien cookie jar with a “facehugger” lid. If you’re a fan of the Alien franchise, this has got to be the perfect cookie jar for you. I do not own one (yet) but the ratings so far are all five stars.

Description from the listing:

  • Highly detailed Xenomorph egg design from the Alien film franchise
  • Facehugger lid to keep cookies fresh
  • Ceramic cookie jar and lid measure 9” by 5.5”
  • Not dishwasher safe, wash by hand only
  • In space no one can hear you take the last cookie!

Either you’re going to eat more cookies or fewer depending on how comfortable you are pulling a cookie out of an alien Xenomorph egg. The egg cookie jar sells for $29.95 here.


 

 

 
Thanks to Kevin K!

Posted by Tara McGinley
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03.27.2017
02:43 pm
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A life-size Xenomorph skull replica can be yours
01.09.2017
11:44 am
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Ever wondered what the skull of the Xenomorph from Alien might look like? On top of that, have you ever wanted to own a Xenomorph skull? It’s your lucky day, bucko: Check out this detailed Xenomorph skull replica. I like it. It would definitely be a weird thing to own and would be a fun item to slip into a taxidermy collection to fool people with. “That one? The dealer didn’t know what that was a skull of. Sold it to me cheap, too. Do you know what kind of animal it’s from?”

The replica, designed by ToyWiz, is made of “durable foam rubber and latex that’s carefully hand-painted for extra eerie detail.”

Based on the deadly creatures from the classic Alien movie, this incredible piece measures 36” long and comes with a display stand for tabletop use or wall mounting.

It’s on pre-order now and selling for $229.99. According to the website, it’ll ship in March. 


 

 
via Nerdcore

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Incredible H.R. Giger bar puts you in the belly of the Xenomorph
Xenomorph cookie jar
H.R. Giger’s nightmarish tarot cards (NSFW)

Posted by Tara McGinley
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01.09.2017
11:44 am
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Xenomorph cookie jar
03.02.2016
01:32 pm
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I’m not entirely sure H.R. Giger would have approved of this, but I must admit this Xenomorph cookie jar is pretty darn badass-looking. The price isn’t too crazy either. For around $45.00 you could own of these puppies through ThinkGeek.

I dig it.


 
via Boing Boing

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Incredible H.R. Giger bar puts you in the belly of the Xenomorph

Posted by Tara McGinley
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03.02.2016
01:32 pm
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There’s a Facehugger from ‘Alien’ dog leash
11.26.2014
11:36 am
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You might have been expecting something closer to a muzzle, but this is not a Facehugger per se, more like an Alien “Backhugger.” Still you have to admire this creative take on a dog leash by Etsy shop GCFX. It’s designed to fit small to medium sized dogs, 15-35 pounds. Big dogs need not apply.

While I dig the idea, I don’t dig the $150 price tag.


 

 
via Geekologie

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Suck on that: ‘Alien’ facehugger bong
Life-size ‘Alien’ LEGO facehugger
Knitted ‘Alien’ Facehugger to keep your face warm on cold winter nights
‘Alien’ Facehugger wall clock

Posted by Tara McGinley
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11.26.2014
11:36 am
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12-hour ambient music pieces from ‘Blade Runner,’ ‘Alien,’ ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Star Wars’
08.13.2014
05:28 pm
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Before the advent of recording media, a piece of music could be quite long without its duration meriting much notice, but when the mechanical limitations of the 7” 45rpm single codified the length of a song at about 3 1/2 minutes, the pop-listening western world really adapted its musical mindset to that standard, to the point where even a massive hit like “Hey Jude” drew anxious notice from radio for being 7 minutes long. And now there’s QuickHitz (“Twice the music, all the time”), a radio format that cuts off every song at the two-minute mark, which, if it catches on in a big way—and face it, have stranger things not caught on?—will surely result in loads of pop singles being produced at under two-minute lengths.

The Residents are prophetic yet again.

But in avant-garde classical and artrock circles, songs that seem crazy long by pop radio standards are a perfectly normal part of the listening experience. After all, what impact would Oneida’s infamous 14-minute, one note song “Sheets of Easter” have had if it were three minutes long? How about Television’s “Marquee Moon?” King Crimson’s “Starless?” Flaming Lips’ 24-hour song7 Skies H3?” And those examples are all well within the rock idiom—I haven’t even broached the New Age, noise, and ambient genres. So many of us have been acculturated to think of long pieces of music as “pretentious” or “indulgent,” products of anti-populist ivory tower navel gazers who are hostile to average listeners. Well you know what? Fuck your shitty attention span.

The Fayetteville, AR composer Cheesy Nirvosa has been making glitchy, drony compositions since the mid-oughts, and under the name “crysknife007,” he’s established a YouTube channel to disseminate conceptual pieces of lengths that could fairly be seen as downright punitive to many listeners. These are often the sorts of things that, in a LaMonte Youngish kinda way, can be more interesting to talk about than actually listen to, especially since many of these works are 12 hours in duration. “12 Hours of Pi Being Dialed on a Rotary Phone.” “Yoda Laughs for 12 Hours.” “PSY Says HANGOVER for 12 Hours.” “6 Tone Car Alarm for 12 Hours.” (I recommend city dwellers skip that last one, it’s waaaaaaaay too much like ordinary life.)

But while a few of these ideas come off as overly winking and even mildly irritating noise-artist stunts, some of them are absolutely lovely—specifically, pieces made from looped ambient sounds culled from science fiction movies. The general thrum of Ridley Scott’s dystopian future Los Angeles filtered through Rick Deckard’s apartment windows in Blade Runner? That absolutely holds up as drone music, as does the TARDIS sound effect from Doctor Who and various spaceship engine sounds from the Alien and Star Wars franchises. I endorse playing more than one of these at once, remixing them yourselves in your browser with the pause and volume controls, whatever. Knock yourself out. Maybe even, I dunno, listen to one of ‘em for 12 hours.
 

 

 
More after the jump…

READ ON
Posted by Ron Kretsch
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08.13.2014
05:28 pm
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Behind-the-scenes photographs from the set of ‘Alien’ (1979)
08.12.2014
10:25 am
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1kalien1kna.jpg
 
The man who wore the creature suit in Ridley Scott’s classic film Alien in 1979 was 6’10″ Nigerian Bolaji Badejo.

As soon as Scott saw Bolaji, he knew he had found the right person to play the Alien. Badejo was allowed to rehearse and practice his movements on the set of the spacecraft “Nostromo” prior to filming. Wearing a mock-up of the Alien head, Badejo moved gracefully, slowly, slithering and creeping through the spaceship’s corridors, as he later told Cinefantastique:

“The idea,” says Bolaji, “was that the creature was supposed to be graceful as well as vicious, requiring slow, deliberate movements. But there was some action I had to do pretty quick. I remember having to kick Yaphet Kotto, throw him against the wall, and rush up to him. Veronica Cartwright was really terrified. After I fling Yaphet Kotto back with my tail, I turn to go after her, there’s blood in my mouth, and she was incredible. It wasn’t acting. She was scared.”

These photos come various sources, and show Bolaji in his Alien outfit, along with Ridley Scott setting up shots and artist H. R. Giger preparing the sets.
 
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More behind the scenes pics plus making of documentary, after the jump…

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Posted by Paul Gallagher
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08.12.2014
10:25 am
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Knitted ‘Alien’ Facehugger to keep your face warm on cold winter nights
12.10.2013
11:29 am
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I guess it could keep your face warm during cold winter days, too, but maybe this is more of a “night piece.” Anyway, Etsy shop Knitrocious designed this lovely handmade Alien Facehugger to keep yer face all toasty and cozy. I like how the eyeholes are perfectly placed.

It’s a $150 + shipping here.

Previously on Dangerous Minds:

Suck on that: ‘Alien’ facehugger bong
 
Via Nerdcore

Posted by Tara McGinley
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12.10.2013
11:29 am
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So, you’re a fan of ‘Alien’ and you’ve never seen the animal impersonator who voiced the Xenomorph?
10.17.2013
06:20 pm
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ycrepneila.jpg
 
So, you’re a fan of Alien, and probably, like me, have watched it a-half-a-dozen times or more, and maybe still jump every time that nasty old Xenomorph bursts on screen? It’s something else, isn’t it? But did you know that the sound of the Alien, that high pitched pig squeal grunt, wasn’t created by some kind of Special FX, but by a 70-year-old animal impersonator, ornithologist, and entertainer, called Percy Edwards?

Edwards was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, in 1908, and from a very early age had a fascination for wildlife. This lead to his discovery that he had an uncanny ability to impersonate animals. By the time he was twelve, Edwards’ party trick was to tell short stories interspersed with his imitations of birds and other animals. As he grew-up, this little party piece soon became a career. Edwards was able to imitate over 600 different birds, and dozens of other four-legged friends. He started working for BBC radio in 1930, and was soon in considerable demand, providing the animal sounds for comic Ted Ray’s series Ray’s a Laugh, and then Psyche the Terrier on Life is Bliss. He also enthralled audiences at Music Halls and Variety Theaters across the country.

He also supplied the bird song for Kate Bush’s album The Dreaming, and the voice for such on-screen animals as the frogs in Michael Palin’s Ripping Yarns; whale in the Richard Harris/Charlotte Rampling movie Orca; the incessant buzz of The Killer Bees; most of the animals in Plague Dogs; “Fizzgig” in Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal; and the extraterrestrial in Alien.

I’ve been looking for clips of the famous scene where the Alien bursts out of John Hurt’s chest, as you can clearly hear Edwards’ inspired vocal creation but, alas, every time this clip appears YouTube, THWACK!, Fox has it taken down. Understandable, I suppose, but you can still make out some of his animal sounds in the film’s trailer.

What’s more surprising is how little there is of dear old Percy’s vocals skills available on the Internet. I can still recall watching him on ye olde BBC light entertainment shows, when I was a child, which (if you closed your eyes) was like listening to a whole menagerie of animals delicately taking over the front room.

The clip I did find (shot off some smartphone), only gives a wee sample of the man’s skills as both impersonator and comedy performer. It comes from The Morecambe and Wise Show in 1973, but at least you can now put a face to the voice of the Alien.
 

 

 

Percy Edwards as Fizzgig from ‘The Dark Crystal’—with thanks to Trisha Sheeley.
 
Bonus documentary on the making of ‘Alien,’ after the jump…
 

READ ON
Posted by Paul Gallagher
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10.17.2013
06:20 pm
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‘Alien’ Pez dispenser is the most badass Pez dispenser ever
09.18.2013
11:54 am
Topics:
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Alien Pez
 
Look at the detail on that thing! It’s truly incredible. It’s got the biggest head I’ve ever seen on a Pez dispenser and the dedication to reproducing H. R. Giger’s nightmarish and biologically persuasive design concept for outer space’s most terrifying acid-spewer is positively remarkable.
 
Alien Pez
 
Hats off to Peter “Rat D” Davidson, credited as the little gizmo’s creator.

Now, if only we can make the little Pez candies in the shape of the ghastly creature that famously burst through John Hurt’s sternum….
 
Cute little Alien
 
Previously on Dangerous Minds:

Anton LaVey Pez Dispenser

Posted by Martin Schneider
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09.18.2013
11:54 am
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‘Alien’ Pez dispenser is the world’s most badass Pez dispenser
09.11.2013
10:08 am
Topics:
Tags:

Alien Pez
 
Look at the detail on that thing! It’s truly incredible. It’s got the biggest head I’ve ever seen on a Pez dispenser and the dedication to reproducing H. R. Giger’s nightmarish and biologically persuasive design concept for outer space’s most terrifying acid-spewer is positively remarkable.
 
Alien Pez
 
Hats off to Peter “Rat D” Davidson, credited as the little gizmo’s creator.

Now, if only we can make the little Pez candies in the shape of the ghastly creature that famously burst through John Hurt’s sternum….
 
Cute little Alien

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
The ‘Alien Father’ is H.R. Giger: Giger’s furious letter to 20th Century Fox

Posted by Martin Schneider
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09.11.2013
10:08 am
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