H.R. Giger, genius behind ‘ALIEN’ designs and more, has passed away

Even if you don’t know H.R. Giger, you totally fucking know Giger. The dude and his brilliant designs have infiltrated the pop culture psyche, and we are all the better for it. Unfortunately, the Good Sir has sloughed off his pesky mortal coil.

Sci-fi’s lost one of the greats: H.R. Giger has passed away at the age of 74.

The legendary artist, famed for his “biomechanical” style that provided the art world with nightmare fuel for decades, has his work in museums all over the world… but for sci-fi fans, his greatest achievement can be found on our DVD shelves. Giger was instrumental in creating the visual aesthetic of Alien; we can thank him for the Space Jockey, the Derelict, and of course for the pants-crappingly terrifying Alien itself. He shared in the film’s 1980 Visual Effects Oscar, which is only right, because God damn:

He also worked on director Alejandro Jodorowsky‘s doomed Dune adaptation; Dune-atics can catch him in the new documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune, currently playing in limited release. The artist also left his mark on the music world, designing album covers for Emerson, Lake and Palmer; Danzig; and more. Giger passed away in Zurich following injuries sustained from falling down a flight of stairs.

Thus goes the king of nightmares. [The Mary Sue]