A young woman named Monica Bannon goes missing during a very snowy winter season in West Virginia. It turns out that she’s an FBI agent, and the bureau goes all out to try and find her. Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet), the special agent in charge of the investigation, has been contacted by a former priest known as Father Joe Crissman (Billy Connelly) who’s a convicted pedophile. Father Joe claims to be a psychic with intimate knowledge of the case. This enigmatic man’s help in this investigation causes Whitney to seek out one of the best experts on psychics that the FBI knows of: Fox Mulder.
Isolated in self-imposed exile since leaving the FBI--and a wanted man to boot--Mulder is a hard guy to find, so the FBI contacts the only person whom they figure would know where to locate him: Dana Scully. Also retired from the FBI, Scully has been working as a doctor in a church-run hospital, where one of her patients is a dying boy whom the hospital wants to shuttle off to a hospice--much against the wishes of Scully, who hasn’t given up on him. And while Mulder had initially given up on working with the FBI, he winds up becoming once more obsessed with peering into the darkness.
Ten years since the first X-Files movie, and six years since the end of the series, X-Files: I Want To Believe has finally arrived, and it’s a marvelous gift for the more devout fans of the series. More of a sequel to the series overall, rather than to the first film, IWTB eschews the science fiction elements of the series’ mythology--along with eschewing the mythology itself--by focusing on a very dark and gritty tale that’s more of a horror film, thanks to its Frankenstein-like overtones. Series creator Chris Carter co-wrote the script and directs with an assured hand as Mulder and an ever-skeptical try to determine whether or not Father Joe can truly be trusted as a psychic.
David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are both superb as Mulder and Scully, who
are a little older and world-weary, but still very much in love (Mulder &
Scully shippers will love this film). Amanda Peet is also very good as Whitney,
a no-nonsense agent who finds herself falling for Mulder’s charms. And the
always good Billy Connolly shines in a very tough role. The DVD comes with an
unrated version of the film that’s more gory than the theatrical version--and
Carter’s depiction of the heart of darkness within human beings comes pretty
close to Texas Chainsaw Massacre territory, by way of The Silence Of The
Lambs. Either version of IWTB the film is not recommended for young children.
But for adults who enjoy a good mystery with horrific overtones, IWTB is highly
recommended. It’s a serious, thoughtful film that requires the viewer to pay
full attention to all the details--and when they do, they’ll be richly rewarded.
Fans of the series are also treated to various inside jokes, as well as a
welcome appearance from a beloved X-Files character late in the film. And, be
sure to watch the end credits, as Carter even slips in a little something for
the fans to enjoy there, as well. IWTB can be a hard movie to watch, especially for
non-horror fans. But if you have the stomach for a dark, grisly storyline, or if
you’re a major X-Files fan, then the Truth Is Right Here.
--SF
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