The long-awaited director's cut of The X-Files: I Want to Believe is finally being released on Disney Plus on August 14, 18 years after the original film hit theaters. The new version, titled The X-Files: I Want to Believe — Vrach Frankenshteyn, restores the horror elements that were toned down for a PG-13 rating.
Film's Plot and Original Reception
Set years after Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) retired from the FBI, the dark thriller follows them as they are pulled back into action when an FBI agent goes missing and a disgraced paedophile priest (Billy Connolly) begins having psychic visions.
Upon its 2008 release, the film received poor reviews, scoring just 32% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics were mixed: The New York Times' Manohla Dargis called it "'baggy, draggy, oddly timed and strangely off the mark'," while Jan Stuart of the Los Angeles Times said it "'was a load of malarkey'" but added it was "'thoughtful malarkey and compulsively watchable'." Roger Ebert compared it to The Dark Knight in its exploration of good versus evil.
Director's Cut Restores Scares
Fans had complained the film wasn't weird or scary enough compared to the TV series. Director Chris Carter revealed that Fox executives asked him to tone down the horror to secure a PG-13 rating. "'I made it too scary, and I was told so by the brass at Fox, and they wanted a PG-13 movie,'" Carter told Duchovny last year. "'Now I have a chance to go back and make the scary movie that I always intended … It's not just doing a director's cut to do a director's cut. It's really kind of bringing to life something that for me was on the page and never got to the screen.'"
Excitement is building, with one Reddit user, ad_cfc11, commenting on the trailer: "'This trailer makes it look like one of the creepiest thrillers I've ever seen.'"
