Answer: Crohn’s Disease

In the now-iconic sci-fi horror film Alien (1979), the most memorable moment was the “chest-buster” scene in which the alien creature first bursts out of the abdominal cavity of Kane, the ship’s executive officer. While it would be easy enough to assume the scene was simply dreamed up based solely on the shock value and horror of it all, the scene was actually inspired by the real life experiences of Alien script writer Dan O’Bannon.

O’Bannon had long suffered from Crohn’s Disease, an incredibly painful and highly inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract, which he described as: “The digestion process felt like something bubbling inside of him struggling to get out.” The audience-shocking emergence of the alien was simply an extension of that feeling brought to silver screen life through excellent direction and special effects.