To this day, “The X-Files” remains one of my very favorite television shows to ever grace the small screen. The main series ran from 1993 to 2002 and was followed by two revival seasons in 2016 and 2018. The show was a fascinating mix of mystery, science fiction, and horror, built upon a monster-of-the-week structure, with standalone episodes featuring mutants, creatures, aliens, and SO much more. But there were also the serialized mythology episodes focused on a vast global conspiracy to conceal and control the existence of extraterrestrials.

The beating heart of “The X-Files” was the relationship between FBI special agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and his partner Dr. Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). Mulder was an impassioned believer in the paranormal, monsters, and alien life. Scully was a skeptic who was originally assigned to debunk Mulder’s beliefs with cold, hard science. Their dark and often unsettling adventures ran for most of the series and into two feature films.

The second of those films was “The X-Files: I Want to Believe”. Creator and showrunner Chris Carter wrote and directed the movie which languished in development hell for nearly six years before finally releasing in 2008 to very mixed reactions from both critics and fans. It was later revealed that Carter was forced to cut out some significant scenes after the studio deemed the film to be too frightening. Now nearly twenty years later, Carter gets to present his full vision in a newly restored director’s cut which he titles “The X-Files: I Want to Believe – Vrach Frankenshteyn”.

The name “Vrach Frankenshteyn” is fitting in a couple of ways. Translated “Doctor Frankenstein”, its a reference to the film’s creepy mad-scientist storyline. And as Dread Central noted, the subtitle is a cool meta-nod to Carter’s original vision being stitched back together and resurrected from the dead after being buried for two decades. And the changes do indeed make a difference. “Vrach Frankenshteyn” recenters the story and restores the horror elements resulting in a darker, creepier, gorier, and noticeably better X-Files experience.

Interestingly, unlike most every director’s cut, “Vrach Frankenshteyn” is actually seven minutes shorter than the original 2008 “I Want to Believe” release. Carter does add material which mostly works to enhance the slightly gorier horror moments. But he trims a lot of fat, beginning with the romantic elements between his two lead characters which offered nothing new that hadn’t already been explored in the show. He also tightens up the pacing by cutting scenes that ultimately didn’t really fit with core of Carter’s vision.

Set in and around snowy Somerset, West Virginia, the story follows the FBI’s search for a missing agent, Monica Bannan (Xantha Radley). Special Agent in charge Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet) seeks out former agent Dana Scully, who now works as a staff physician at a Catholic hospital. Whitney needs Scully’s help in finding Fox Mulder, who is hidden away in isolation after bogus charges put him on the FBI’s wanted list. Now the FBI needs his help and they’re willing to drop all charges in exchange for his assistance in finding their missing agent.

Why Fox Mulder you ask? A defrocked and disgraced Catholic priest, Joseph “Father Joe” Crissman (Bill Connolly) who claims to have psychic visions, has led the FBI to numerous human limbs buried deep in the West Virginia snow. He claims the visions guided him to the locations, but Whitney and her hyper-cynical fellow agent, Mosley Drummy (Alvin “Xzibit” Joiner) have their doubts. So they bring in Mulder to use his X-Files experience to determine if Father Joe is to be believed or if should be a chief suspect.

With his director’s cut, Carter’s pruning accomplishes its goal of tightening up his film’s focus. He shrewdly weaves the supernatural and the psychological into a story that has the form of a classic gritty crime mystery. And that’s what gives “Vrach Frankenshteyn” its distinct X-Files vibe. He also smartly utilizes the Mulder and Scully chemistry that has long served as the fuel for the series. They may not work together in the way we’re used to. But the story shows just how symbiotic their relationship is and always will be.

It may be easy to dismiss “Vrach Frankenshteyn” as little more than an extended episode. But as a massive fan of the series, that’s hardly a criticism. Carter’s thinner yet gnarlier version slims down and tightens up a story that reminds many of us why we still love “The X-Files”. It may not move the needle in any significant way for the characters or the franchise’s beloved grand conspiracy. But neither did many of show’s best episodes. They simply entertained us in a dark and twisted X-Files kind of way. To its credit, “Vrach Frankenshteyn” does exactly the same.

VERDICT – 4 STARS