The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)

Mulder and Scully are called back to duty by the FBI when a former priest claims to be receiving psychic visions pertaining to a kidnapped agent.

Director:

Chris Carter

Writers:

Frank Spotnitz, Chris Carter

Stars:

David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Billy Connolly

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Amanda Peet	...	ASAC Dakota Whitney
Billy Connolly	...	Father Joseph Crissman
Xzibit	...	Agent Mosley Drummy (as Alvin 'Xzibit' Joiner)
Mitch Pileggi	...	Walter Skinner
Callum Keith Rennie	...	2nd Abductor - Janke Dacyshyn
Adam Godley	...	Father Ybarra
Alex Diakun	...	Gaunt Man
Nicki Aycox	...	2nd Victim - Cheryl Cunningham
Fagin Woodcock	...	1st Abductor - Franz Tomczeszyn
Marco Niccoli	...	Christian Fearon
Carrie Ruscheinsky	...	Margaret Fearon
Spencer Maybee	...	Blair Fearon
Veronika Hadrava	...	Female Assistant

Storyline

Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) worked at the F.B.I. as partners, a bond between them that led to them becoming lovers. But now they're out of the F.B.I. and have begun new careers. Scully works as a staff physician at a Catholic hospital. Her focus these days is on a young boy with an incurable brain disease. Administration wants to give up on him. Scully, who feels a special bond with the boy, does not. Meanwhile, Mulder's focus is on clipping newspaper articles, throwing pencils into his ceiling and writing about the paranormal. Scully and Mulder are brought together as partners again when a special case requires Mulder's expertise, and Scully is prevailed upon to convince him to help. The case involves a pedophile priest who claims he is having psychic visions regarding the whereabouts of a missing F.B.I. Agent.

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Plot Keywords:

x files | fbi federal bureau of investigation | psychic vision | psychic | priest | 

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Taglines:

To find the truth, you must believe.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violent and disturbing content and thematic material

Did You Know?

Trivia

Virtually the entire crew had not read the script when they were making this movie. Such were the levels of intense secrecy over the screenplay that only three copies were ever kept at Twentieth Century Fox, and they were firmly under lock and key. Deliberately false details were also printed on each day's call sheets to hoodwink anyone who might acquire and therefore leak any information about this movie onto the internet.

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Goofs

Near the end of the movie, Scully's white Ford Taurus is parked outside, even though it had been wrecked earlier in the film. When Scully comes out of the house, a silver Ford Fusion is parked outside.

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Quotes

Fox Mulder: I can feel you thinking.
Dana Scully: I'm sorry. I can't sleep.
Fox Mulder: Actually, I have a little something for that.
Dana Scully: Just a little something?
Fox Mulder: Thank you.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits contain a dedication to Randy Stone who died from heart disease at age 48 in February 2007. He was head of casting at 20th Century Fox Television, was responsible for casting David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson on The X-Files (1993), and worked in casting throughout the run of the series.

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Alternate Versions

The DVD release includes a "Director's Cut" of the film, which runs about 4 minutes longer. According to David Duchovny, this version includes some more graphic / disturbing scenes that Chris Carter did not use in order to avoid an R-Rating.

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Connections

Spoofed in Housewife Alien vs. Gay Zombie (2017)

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Soundtracks

Broken
(2007)
Written by Gavin Clarke (as Gavin Clark), James Lavelle, Richard File and Christopher Allen Goss (as Chris Goss)
Performed by Unkle (as UNKLE) featuring Gavin Clarke (as Gavin Clark)
Courtesy of Surrender All Ltd.
By Arrangement with Zync Music Inc.

User Reviews

Good movie.

There is a difference in reviewing bad film-making as opposed to personal taste. Frankly, I argue this movie more from personal taste, although X-Files - I Want to Believe is certainly not bad film-making. In all honesty, I was very nervous about X-Files I Want to Believe. Ever since Star Wars the Phantom Menace, I have learned to lower my expectations when venturing into Hollywood movies (although lowering your expectations to nothing could not save the Star Wars Prequels). Nothing is worse than a huge let-down. Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull comes to mind the quickest. With X-Files, I Want to Believe, I went in with no expectations whatsoever and was thoroughly entertained. It made me pine for the old television series I loved to watch in the 1990's (at least until Seasons 8 and 9). Dr. Dana Scully is working at a Catholic Hospital, fighting for a young boy who has little to no chance of surviving. She pushes herself hard, not giving up hope in the wake of despair. She fights for Alexander (the son she lost in the television series). The FBI comes to her, asking for help in tracking down Fox Mulder. They want his help in a baffling case. An FBI agent has disappeared. The only link is an unusual psychic. Not only does he have scant visions, he also is pedophile priest under house arrest. Of course, Mulder wants to believe this man. Scully, however, does not. This not only stems from her usual scientific mind, but also her moral outrage at his crimes. As this psychic leads them to various clues, a case slowly uncovers. Some strange, bizarre, twisted scheme of harvesting organs for nefarious purposes arises. Mulder of course ventures closer, putting himself in peril. Scully, balks, wondering if she can continue in Mulder's dark world. Believe it or not, this one works. In fact, I liked it better than Fight the Future. While Fight the Future was inserted in the ongoing mythology of government conspiracies and alien extra-terrestrials, this one works more as a stand-alone movie, much like the episodes of the same flavor. I admit I liked the latter episodes better. So for the X-Philes who liked the conspiracy episodes better, you may want to stick to Fight the Future. That gets me to wonder if this movie will find new fans for the 15-year-old franchise, or only appeal to X-Philes. Only time can tell on that one. What makes this work for me, though, is that it is in the spirit of the original television series. It does not rely on paranoid delusions, government conspiracies, and alien extra-terrestrials. Instead, it relies more on a potentially dangerous and real situation with surrealism in the background. Just like some of the stand-alone episodes of X-Files, the outcome is not predictable. Also, by the end, the surrealism takes a back-seat to the suspense of catching the antagonists. It also unfolds slowly, not giving us a full glimpse into the nefarious plot finally revealed in the end. Just like the series, the antagonists goal is evil and eerie--pushing the envelope of imagination and fear. Just like the series, the plot is also based on real fringe scientific experiments. Both the movie, and the reality sent a shiver up my spine (by the way, leave the kids at home on this one. Kids younger than 11 or 10 might get some nightmares.) This paves the way for one thing X-Files television series did well: lacing messages of philosophy, religious allegory, and faith. Some of the best stuff comes when Fox and Dana converse with each other. Scully fears being with Mulder because his world brings around so much darkness, and she fears that. She also doubts her own faith. Mulder must ask himself questions in regards to his relentless search of the "truth." Another warning must go out that this movie is not an action movie. It works more like a thriller and a suspense movie instead of lacing itself with shootouts,car chases, and outlandish stunts. It also is not scary, but rather suspenseful. I think if Cris Carter were a better director, it might have found a little more suspense, and possibly a little more fright. That being said, I still think this movie works--at least for me.

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English Russian Czech

Release Date:

25 July 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

The X Files 2

Filming Locations:

605 West Pender Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 1W7, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,021,753, 27 July 2008

Gross USA:

$20,982,478

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$69,363,381

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Ten Thirteen Productions, Dune Entertainment III

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 108 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS (uncredited) SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1