India, Aug. 20 -- Ridley Scott's Alien (1979) shattered all expectations when it fused horror and science fiction in a way nobody had seen before. At its heart lurked a nightmarish creature that felt summoned from the darkest corners of Lovecraftian horror - the Xenomorph. The film's explosive success led to the birth of a mega franchise, comprising sequels, spin-offs, comic books, video games, board games and now a TV series. Yet, no matter how wide the universe expands, the attention remains on the original Xenomorph and its many terrifying types that continue to be the source of our collective nightmares.

Hailed universally as one of the greatest fictional antagonists in cinema, the original Xenomorph was designed by Swiss surrealist ...