The X-Files: I Want to Believe

**_Scully and Mulder search wintry landscapes for a modern-day Mengele operation_**

When an FBI agent goes missing in the Greater DC area, Scully and Mulder reunite to help the agency by enlisting the help of a defrocked priest with psychic abilities (Billy Connolly), which leads to grisly revelations. Meanwhile Scully is a practicing doctor intent on saving the life of a boy with a terminal disease.

"The X Files: I Want to Believe" (2008) came out a decade after the first movie and six years after the final season of the original run of the TV series. Unlike “Fight the Future,” it doesn’t focus on the alien conspiracy but opts for a monster-of-the-week story. For those not in the know, the series walked the balance beam between these two.

Speaking as a very casual viewer, I preferred the MOTW segments because of their uniqueness and increased human interest. The alien conspiracy episodes struck me as boringly redundant even though fans of these segments understandably argue that the fate of humanity and its possible extinction is far greater than all the serial killers and monsters put together.

The fact that this second movie focuses on more mundane proceedings never bothered me. After all, we already have the first movie, why redo it? Can it even be topped? So, as far as I’m concerned, it was a good decision to take an entirely different route.

The inclusion of the psychic brings to mind the notable “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose” episode. This is combined with the basic plot of “Silence of the Lambs,” which involves detectives needing the help of a notorious outcast to find a missing female and capture the serial killer(s). The main differences are the snowy landscapes and the subplot of the boy needing experimental surgery to survive.

Being shot in British Columbia with key crew members from the defunct series, it has the tone of the show, just with a bigger budget and a longer runtime. As usual, the proceedings are mysteriously creepy, but lowkey with Scully and Mulder maintaining their renown dispassion. The exception is Scully’s dealings with the dying boy, who is basically her spiritual child.

Despite the generally listless air of the investigation (which was an issue with the entire series), there are interesting bits spiced throughout and the final act pays off, at least for me. I’m not so much talking about the grisly Frankenstein bits as Scully’s challenging situation, which is moving. There’s a spiritual depth with focus on moral transgression, penitence and possible redemption, not to mention boldly tackling one of life’s toughest questions: Why does a good God allow evil and suffering? Then there’s the addition of the biblical proverb: “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings,” which of course ties into Scully and Mulder’s perpetual search for truth.

I saw the Director’s Cut, which runs 1 hour, 47 minutes, and includes graphic, disturbing material cut to avoid an R-rating at the theater; the theatrical version runs about 3.5 minutes less. It was shot in British Columbia, specifically the Vancouver area (including Burnaby), and the Pemberton Valley region, including Riverlands, which is located a couple hours’ drive north of the big city.

GRADE: B