When a female FBI agent is abducted in the wintry hills of rural Virginia, the only clues as to her disappearance are some grotesque human remains and a disgraced priest’s questionable visions. It’s a case right out of the X-Files - but the bureau closed down its investigations into the paranormal years ago, and the best team for the job are former agents Fox Mulder and Dr Dana Scully, who have no desire to revisit their dark past. Still, the truth of this horrific crime is out there somewhere, and it will take Mulder and Scully to find it...

This isn’t necessarily a better film than the previous X-Files movie, but it is a more accessible one. Unlike its predecessor, which necessitated familiarity with such recurring concepts as the Cigarette Smoking Man and his fellow conspirators, I Want to Believe requires no prior knowledge of the series whatsoever. Admittedly, most potential moviegoers will have at least heard of the show, but even if you don’t know who Mulder (David Duchovny) or Scully (Gillian Anderson) are, what work they used to do at the FBI, and what happened to Mulder’s sister, everything is explained in the dialogue.

There are still little touches here and there for the exclusive enjoyment of loyal fans, such as Mulder’s continuing penchant for sunflower seeds; the pencils embedded in his ceiling; the poster on his wall that lends its slogan to the movie’s title; and the names of various backstage staff who played pivotal roles in the success of the television series, which appear on buildings and on Mulder’s cell phone screen. There’s even a brief appearance by a popular recurring character from the TV show. I won’t say which one, except that it isn’t John Doggett or Monica Reyes - which I think is a bit of a shame considering how these characters and the actors who played them helped the series to continue during its last two years on screen.

Fulfilling a similar role to Doggett and Reyes as “new agents on the block” are Amanda Peet (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) as ASAC Dakota Whitney and rapper Alvin “Xzibit” Joiner (Pimp My Ride) as Agent Mosley Drummy. Peet manages to walk a convincing line between doubt and faith, but Joiner gets little to do except constantly spout disbelief, which gets rather tiresome and repetitive.

Meanwhile, the two leads slip back into their roles with apparent ease (I say “apparent”, because in interviews Duchovny and Anderson have admitted that it took them some time to get back in touch with their characters). Mulder is still the sarcastic and cynical one, despite being the believer (some particularly black humour emerges from his lips), while Scully remains sceptical yet caring.

It’s been six years since the TV show came to an end, and a decade since the last movie. Times have changed - cell phones have got smaller and the actors look visibly older - so the passage of time is reflected in the plot. It is revealed that Mulder and Scully quit the FBI several years ago, the former in disgrace. Since then, Mulder has been hiding out in isolation while Scully has been practicing medicine. It is implied, therefore, that neither of them has been involved in paranormal adventures during the interim. It is unclear whether the pair have maintained a relationship during this time: some evidence suggests that they have, while other clues seem to indicate that they haven’t.

The plot doesn’t truly fall into the “monster of the week” category (a term commonly often used to distinguish storylines from “mythology” episodes, which was the category that the previous film fell into) but rather “phenomenon of the week”, in this case psychic powers. The subject of supernatural visions relating to violent crimes has been covered in the series many times before, together with the question of whether such insights can be trusted or whether it means that the “psychic” in question is in league with the criminal(s). That question is made all the more vexing here owing to the fact that Father Joseph Fitzpatrick Crissman (Billy Connolly) is a convicted paedophile, a fact that manages to make Scully’s renewed scepticism plausible. Crissman could easily have become an entirely repellent character, but, thanks largely to Connolly’s performance, he is also compelling.

Writer/director/producer Chris Carter’s prose is, thankfully, seldom as purple as it used to sometimes get during the TV series, except near the end of the picture.

Carter has indicated that he wants this film to “scare the pants off people”. However, this is not a horror movie (it’s a paranormal crime thriller), though there are some disturbing scenes. Once again, The X-Files steps into Silence of the Lambs territory when it comes to depicting the abduction and captivity of women.

Though you shouldn’t quite believe the hype surrounding this long-awaited movie, I’d like to believe you’ll find it enjoyable.

7

Richard McGinlay

Watch the trailer: Quicktime / Realplayer / Windows Media Player