The Alien franchise returns to its roots with a gruesome new prequel set two years before the original film, but it doesn’t quite surpass the 1979 classic

Set in 2120, it hinges on a batch of alien and various mutating specimens who crash-land on Earth in a research vessel that’s owned by one of five corporations that now rule during this Corporate Era — a chillingly plausible schematic.

In space, no one can hear you scream, but they can sure hear you scratching your head as you try to make sense of the sprawling “Alien” universe.