H. R. Giger, the Swiss surrealist who gained worldwide fame with his gloomy style and and the creation of special effects for the 1979 film "Alien", died after a fall.

Serious injuries he suffered while falling downstairs at his home were the reason for his death, according to Swiss daily Neue Zuercher Zeitung.

Hans Rudolf "Ruedi" Giger was a painter, sculptor and set designer who studied architecture and industrial design and whose works are perceived by many as controversial and deeply shocking, while others admire his profound imagination.

In 1980, he won an Oscar for the visual effects in "Alien", a movie which is considered to mark a turning point in science fiction cinema.

Some of his pieces have influenced pop culture, and art covers of albums by Emerson, Lake and Palmer, the Dead Kennedys and many others used some of his visions.

In 1998 he opened his own museum in Gruyeres, Switzerland, a spokesperson of which confirmed the news reports of his death.