"X-Files: I Want to Believe" Director's Cut Trailer Is Scarier Than the Original

'The X-Files: I Want to Believe' didn't do too badly at the box office, but critics never warmed to it: The New York Times called it "disjointed, sluggish, and oddly timed," the New York Post dismissed it as "basically a bloated TV episode," and Rolling Stone wrote that it "doesn't please anyone because it doesn't know who it's supposed to please."

According to creator Chris Carter, the problem stemmed from the compromises he made to secure a PG-13 rating. Now he's prepared a director's cut of the film: the horror elements have been restored, the film has been bumped up to an R rating, and it's been retitled The X-Files: I Want to Believe – Vrach Frankenshteyn. This version, whose title uses the Russian rendering of Victor Frankenstein's name, will premiere on Disney+ and Hulu on August 14.

The trailer shows Agents Mulder and Scully reuniting (complete with David Duchovny's beard) and, set to sharp strings reminiscent of Bernard Herrmann, a face staring up from beneath the ice. In another scene, a woman locked inside a trunk screams, "Please let me out." There's plenty of bloody imagery, and Scully, played by Gillian Anderson, says, "I can't stare into the darkness with you anymore, Mulder." The trailer is undeniably creepier than the 2008 promotional material.

The film follows Mulder and Scully's efforts to solve a string of abductions with the help of an excommunicated priest (Billy Connolly) who claims to be a psychic. Hulu's description reads: "This R-rated version represents the film Chris always envisioned — a darker, scarier thriller that delves into a genuine Dr. Frankenstein figure. The restoration gives fans the chance to experience a side of the film they've never seen before."

To allow for comparison, Hulu and Disney+ will also stream the original 'I Want to Believe' the same day. 'The X-Files' last aired in 2018 with its 11th and final season.