Sequels to the landmark 1979 space horror Alien have ranged from the superlative (Aliens) to the mixed-bag (Alien Resurrection) to the messily philosophical (Prometheus) to the best forgotten (Alien Vs. Predator). Director Fede Alvarez’s latest gambit for the franchise is a smart one: to take the best elements of the two best films in the series — Ridley Scott’s original and James Cameron’s original sequel — and squash them together, with the force of a facehugger.

As it turns out, Alvarez’s ‘interquel’ — set between Alien and Aliens — hews a little closer to the former, with nods to both. He doesn’t stray too far from the established hallmarks: expect chestbursters, pulse rifles, synthetics, even a reference for Prometheus fans. Only occasionally does it feel like Alvarez has attended the J.J. Abrams School Of Fan Service: one character from a previous film is distractingly resurrected via CGI, while the...