The X-Files Director's Cut Deemed 'Too Scary' Will Finally Be Released
Nearly two decades after it hit theaters, The X-Files: I Want to Believe is finally getting the version its creator originally intended, and this time, it's R-rated.
Hulu and Disney+ released the first trailer this week for The X-Files: I Want to Believe – Vrach Frankenshteyn, writer-director Chris Carter's new director's cut of the 2008 film. The subtitle is Russian for "Victor Frankenstein," a nod to the film's central mystery involving a real-life Dr. Frankenstein figure. The restored version will stream alongside the original 2008 theatrical cut starting Aug. 14.
Why the Original Film Never Matched Carter's Vision
Carter has said the theatrical cut of I Want to Believe was watered down after 20th Century Fox pushed for a more accessible 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 star David Duchovny during a conversation on Duchovny's podcast 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."
Carter described his original goal for the film in a statement to Entertainment Weekly. "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 said. "A chance to apply the electrodes again was a special thrill."
What the Director's Cut Restores
The new version restores an unspecified amount of footage cut from the theatrical release, leaning further into the horror elements Carter originally envisioned. The trailer features a noticeably darker color palette, a more unsettling score, and quicker editing compared to the 2008 release. Hulu described the new cut in a statement: "This R-rated version represents the film Chris always envisioned, a darker, frightening thriller exploring a real-life Dr. Frankenstein. The restoration gives fans a chance to experience a side of the film that has never been seen before."
I Want to Believe follows FBI Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, played by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, as they investigate a string of disappearances in West Virginia with the help of a defrocked priest, played by Billy Connolly, who claims to have psychic visions tied to the case.
A Box Office Hit That Fell Flat With Critics
Written by Carter and Frank Spotnitz, the 2008 film arrived a decade after the franchise's original TV run and marked the second X-Files feature film following 1998's The X-Files, which grossed $189 million. I Want to Believe performed respectably at the box office, earning $68 million against a $30 million budget, but it landed to largely negative reviews, with critics describing it at the time as unfocused and closer in scope to an extended television episode than a feature film.
The director's cut arrives as interest in the franchise has been reignited by Ryan Coogler's upcoming new incarnation of The X-Files, which is currently in development.
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