The X-Files is widely considered one of the greatest horror-science fiction television series of all time. However, its second feature film proved to be a disappointing chapter for many fans. Now, series creator Chris Carter may finally deliver what both he and the audience wanted all along: something genuinely scary.
Carter’s new director’s cut of The X-Files: I Want to Believe will be shorter than the original movie despite restoring some of its more graphic horror material.
The revised version, officially titled The X-Files: I Want to Believe – Vrach Frankenshteyn, will premiere on Disney+ and Hulu on Friday, August 14. Carter told The Hollywood Reporter that he used the opportunity to tighten the 2008 film rather than simply restore every deleted scene.
Chris Cater – Fail Better with David Duchovny, YouTube
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“Unlike most director’s cuts, I didn’t throw in everything but the kitchen sink,” Carter explained. “It’s actually shorter than the original.”
The new version runs approximately 98 minutes, compared to the theatrical cut’s 104-minute runtime. Carter removed several character moments involving Fox Mulder and Dana Scully while extending some of the movie’s more violent sequences.
Chris Carter Restores the Movie’s Horror
Carter has long maintained that the studio’s demands prevented him from making the horror movie he envisioned. According to the filmmaker, securing a PG-13 rating was more challenging than getting an episode approved for network television. He also said the required changes shifted the focus toward Mulder and Scully’s relationship while diminishing the threat they were investigating.
“So my feeling is that the movie became a relationship heavy movie. The scares were second to that,” Carter explained. “I wanted to go back and put in the scares.”
Carter told Polygon that the faster pace and restored violence make the new version more frightening.
“I think it is a much scarier movie now,” he said. “And with the title, Vrach Frankenshteyn, we tell people from the get-go that it is a scary movie in the vein of Frankenstein.”
David Duchovny as Fox Mulder – 20th Century Studios, YouTube
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The title translates roughly to “Doctor Frankenstein” and reflects the film’s central storyline. Carter told Polygon that the story was inspired by a Cleveland doctor who reportedly transplanted the head of one monkey onto another monkey’s body.
“We set out to make a real-life Frankenstein movie, and due to a variety of factors, our Frankenstein never completely left the operating room,” Carter told Entertainment Weekly. “A chance to apply the electrodes again was a special thrill.”
Can the Director’s Cut Find a Wider Audience?
Released in 2008, I Want to Believe reunited David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as Mulder and Scully. The former FBI agents investigate the disappearance of an agent after a disgraced priest claims to be experiencing psychic visions connected to the case.
Unlike the franchise’s first movie, I Want to Believe largely avoided the television series’ elaborate alien mythology. However, its standalone approach failed to connect with many critics or moviegoers. The film earned approximately $68 million worldwide, well below the first movie’s $189 million total.
Scene from The X-Files: I Want to Believe – 20th Century Studios, YouTube
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“I hope it finds a wider audience,” Carter told The Hollywood Reporter.
So far, those closest to the project have been supportive. Although Carter had not yet shown the new director’s cut to Gillian Anderson, he said David Duchovny was “very pleased” with the revised version.
The new cut does not fundamentally change the film’s plot. Nevertheless, its shorter runtime, faster pace, and stronger horror elements may bring I Want to Believe closer to the grim standalone thriller Carter originally intended to make.
Will you be watching the director’s cut of The X-Files: I Want to Believe? Sound off and let us know!
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