Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett (writers), Ridley Scott (director). Alien ( 1979), 20th Century Fox [DVD]. Prior to detecting a host, Facehuggers are actually inert and lifeless within their Ovomorph. When the Egg detects a host nearby, it will transfer all of the remaining bio-electric potential of its acidic blood to the Facehugger, and it is only then that the creature becomes "alive". [10] The Egg will then open and the creature will launch itself at the victim. The actual Facehugger prop used in Alien is located at Movie Madness in Portland, OR, along with the Chestburster and the original Xenomorph headpiece. [ citation needed]

The 1997 crossover Batman/Aliens had a Crocodile Alien, implying a Facehugger was able to overpower a crocodile despite its larger stronger jaw and longer breath-holding abilities. Facehuggers also seem to know if a host is suitable or not within seconds of attaching to a host, with one letting go of a host when it discovered that she had a wasting disease. This is preference for suitable host is likely to make sure that no defects are passed on to the gesting embryo. Given the size of a Facehugger, humans, Predators or other humanoid-sized victims are the most compatible hosts. It has been suggested that a Facehugger would likely not be able to use a host smaller than a cat. [18] However, there is evidence that even Engineers, which are significantly larger than humans, have been impregnated by a Facehugger. [5] Similarly, it is not unknown for oxen to be successfully impregnated by Facehuggers. [19] Facehuggers are also known to attach to Oswocs, Kurns and Kritics. It is possible that a Facehugger does not need to entirely envelop a host's head to implant a Xenomorph, but merely needs to subdue it and insert its proboscis through the host's mouth. This strangely beautiful piece (which we came across at Laughing Squid) is the work of James Body of Pirate’s Leatherworks in York, UK. He crafted this stunning homage to Alien‘s iconic head-seeking monster because, like all of us, he needed a mask. The end result is a gorgeous, functional work of art. The craftsmanship, shifting colors of the leather, and attention to detail makes this mask look like it might actually be alive. Dan Abnett, Dion Lay (writers), Henry Flint (illustrator). Alien: Isolation ( 2014), Dark Horse Comics.

While Facehuggers have been removed before embryo implantation has taken place, the process is ostensibly fatal for the host. [7] The Facehugger's combination of vice-like grip, its ability to administer sedative chemicals and its highly acidic blood makes them almost impossible to safely remove. Additionally, their outer skin is known to harden shortly after emerging from the Egg, becoming chitinous, similar to the mesoskeleton of the later, adult stages of the creature's life cycle, affording the Facehugger an increased resistance to physical trauma. [1] [5]

The Facehugger greatly resembles a pair of skeletal hands fused together, with a spine-like tail. It has eight long, finger-like legs which allow it to crawl rapidly, and a long tail adapted for making great leaps. These particular appendages give it an appearance somewhat comparable to Chelicerate arthropods such as arachnids and horseshoe crabs. The underside of the Facehugger and its orifice (from which extends a proboscis used for delivering the Xenomorph embryo) noticeably resemble a human female's vagina.

In the novel "Aliens : Prototype" it is suggested that the determination of a facehugger as being either a Royal or drone is seemingly up to nothing more than genetic chance, and while in the drones case it would be a welcome chance, it doesn't seem to rely on this idea as its train of thought follows a significantly slower growth for its hive. Situated on either side of the creature's body at the base of the tail are a pair of bag-like bladder structures that are used to circulate air into the victims lungs during implantation. Underneath the Facehugger is a small orifice, from which the creature will extend a proboscis into the host's throat for implantation; this proboscis is around 50 to 60 centimeters in length. [1] While fragile and ill-equipped for combat, Facehuggers' small size and rapid movement makes them adept at ambushing potential hosts, and also makes them difficult to kill. [8] Facehuggers have been known to be used in an actively offensive role when transported by a Carrier. [9] Some video games of the Alien vs. Predator franchise have allowed players to take control of a Facehugger as part of the Alien campaign.

Looks like some kind of scorpion..." ― Sebastian, describing a frozen Facehugger corpse (from Alien vs. Predator Unrated Edition) Jody Duncan. The Winston Effect: The Art and History of Stan Winston Studio, p. 89 ( 2006), Titan Books. For Aliens, where the Facehugger took a more active role, numerous different models were constructed to give the creatures a far greater range of movements. Effects supervisor Stan Winston said of the production, "We have – including states of decay and dead ones, dissected ones and living ones that do different things – approximately 15 Facehuggers, to make it look like one lives." [35] The Royal Facehugger has the ability to lay a Queen embryo inside a host, as well as a further standard embryo inside a second host, a tactic designed to give the unborn Queen an immediate "bodyguard" in the form of a normal Drone.Whilst subdued, victims have been known to experience vivid and distressing dreams, often concerning smothering of the face. [5] [16] [17] It is unknown if this is directly linked to the Facehugger's presence, although given the typical subject matter, it seems likely. Such dreams may not be universal to all victims, although many of the Facehugger victims during the initial stages of the Hadley's Hope infestation were noted to have woken up screaming, suggesting that there is a majority that do. [16] Ridley Scott, Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett, H. R. Giger, Ivor Powell. The Alien Legacy ( 1999), Sharpline Arts [DVD]. The necessity of a Royal Facehugger in creating a Queen has never been definitive – many sources show standard Facehuggers to be capable of creating a Queen. Given that the Xenomorph species is adaptive in so many ways, this may well be plausible. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=346057322180739&set=a.346054932180978.78876.100003294225459&type=3&theater