While James Cameron was directing Aliens, the second chapter in the Xenomorph saga, Giger was busy creating a demonic being called the “Great Beast” for director Brian Gibson’s Poltergeist II. As well as this creature, which was reminiscent of a gorgon, Giger was asked to come up withvarious other characters and nightmare visions to make viewers feel uneasy and fill them with dread.
Although Giger’s designs were very striking and creative, they did not translate well to the screen.The artist actually said that he thought the puppet based on his paintings of the “Great Beast” was awful and his vision had been completely twisted and crushed.
There was yet more disappointment for Giger when he found out that Aliens had been made without him. He was upset about it at the time, but he later said that he was an admirer of the huge Alien Queen jointly designed by James Cameron and Stan Winston.