MovieChat Forums > Alien (1979) Discussion > The Acid Special Effect

The Acid Special Effect


When they attempt to cut the facehugger off Kane and it's blood eats through the floor. How did they do that effect? I did a few searches, looked through the pages on this board, but can't find anything relating to it. Anyone know?

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As far as I recall from the commentary, the close-up of the floor is a sheet of polystyrene, dusted with magnesium or some other highly reactive metal filings.

The liquid they use for the blood is coloured acetate, which eats through the polystyrene quite quickly while the liquid causes the metal filings to smoke, giving the appearance that the melted floor panel is smoking.

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Interesting, thanks!

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The first thing that popped into my head was Styrofoam, or polystyrene, since it dissolves like that when hit with spray paint.

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Very clever!

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Maybe they used real 100% pure molecular acid, whatever that is. I figured all acids were molecular, but I'm no chemist.

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Maybe in the future those percentages go up even further?

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I was joking, mainly. I think "molecular acid" is a meaningless term in this context, in that it doesn't really distinguish a weak acid from a strong one.

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I always get a laugh from that term ... molecular acid.

And no acid would eat through everything on the ship, and not eat through its own body as well.

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They did indeed. Sigourney Weaver spoke in an interview about how Scott took many extra precautions so the acid would not *really* eat through the hull of the spaceship they were shooting in.

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While IN SPAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!

you forgot to add that...

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Haha!

Without forcefields or airlock safety valves? C'mon... 😉

~~/o/

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Well,, I figured it would be obvious. Spaceships... are in space. Duh!

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