Back in 2008, The X-Files had been off the air for six years. So it was a delightful treat for fans when I Want to Believe, the long-anticipated second X-Files feature film, finally arrived in theaters. While the movie more than made back its budget, it wasn\u2019t a smash hit, and critics didn\u2019t offer much praise for its standalone serial-killer story. But now, X-Files creator and I Want to Believe director Chris Carter is getting a very Hollywood rare do-over, releasing a director\u2019s cut that bumps up the horror from PG-13 to R and hews more closely to his original vision for the film.<\/p>\n
The new version is titled The X-Files: I Want to Believe \u2013 Vrach Frankenshteyn, a nod to the grim mad scientist case that anchors it. But the \u201cFrankenstein\u201d element isn\u2019t what draws Scully and Mulder, who\u2019ve both left the FBI, back into the fold; it\u2019s the fact that a man with apparently genuine psychic powers has been aiding the investigation. A new trailer is here showcasing Carter\u2019s fresh take on the film, with the creepy tension dialed way up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen a group of women is mysteriously abducted, it becomes a case right out of the X-Files,\u201d reads the official synopsis. \u201cYears after walking away from the FBI, Fox Mulder and Dr. Dana Scully are pulled back from the shadows when a federal agent vanishes without a trace. In a case you\u2019d never see on TV, their only lead is a disgraced, defrocked priest claiming to have horrific psychic visions of the crime. Forced to confront the ghosts of their past, the partners must navigate a chilling winter landscape and an even darker human monstrosity. The truth of these crimes is out there somewhere \u2026 and it will take Mulder and Scully to find it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Billy Connelly plays the pedophile priest trying to get right with God in spite of his awful crimes; the new FBI agents on the case are played by Amanda Peet, whose character reaches out to Mulder in particular to get his \u201cspooky\u201d expertise, and Alvin \u201cXzibit\u201d Joiner, who in 2008 was making the leap into acting after his MTV Pimp My Ride era.<\/p>\n
Mitch Pileggi also reprises his role as FBI assistant director Skinner, who steps in to help his former agents when they need him most, and genre veteran Callum Keith Rennie (Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek: Discovery, The Man in the High Castle, Jessica Jones) pops up in a key role with a thick Russian accent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis R-rated version represents the film Chris always envisioned\u2014a 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,\u201d reads a press release.<\/p>\n
Are you ready to give I Want to Believe another chance? The X-Files: I Want to Believe \u2013 Vrach Frankenshteyn arrives August 14 on Disney+ and Hulu.<\/p>\n
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what\u2019s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.<\/p>\n