The X-Files: I Want to Believe Director’s Cut Is Actually Shorter. Here’s What Changed

News The X-Files

The X-Files: I Want to Believe Director’s Cut Is Actually Shorter. Here’s What Changed

The new version of Why The X-Files: I Want to Believe is not what fans expected. Here is what makes the new version so different

By Matthew Byrd

|

Published on August 14, 2026

Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox

0 Share

Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox

Chris Carter’s new cut of the 2008 film The X-Files: I Want to Believe (this version is officially titled The X-Files: I Want to Believe – Vrach Frankenshteyn) debuted today on Hulu after years of anticipation in some fan circles. For years, we knew that the original version of that movie didn’t quite match Carter’s vision of the film. We heard about cuts he was forced to make and how they detracted from his original intentions, but what, exactly, Carter was forced to change remained a mystery. The long-awaited debut of this version of the movie would finally show what studios were reportedly not ready to handle. Some hoped it would also prove to be the definitive version of the divisive movie.

What we got instead is an equally divisive version of the movie that is actually shorter than the original cut of the film. Vrach Frankenshteyn clocks in at about 98 minutes whereas the theatrical cut of the film was 104 minutes long. Given the hype about this movie, it is understandably odd to consider that it features less footage than the original version of the movie. Some fans have had a hard time figuring out what, if anything, was added to the film in contrast to the notable cuts.

Regardless of where you ultimately stand on this version of the movie, it does feature quite a few differences that certainly contribute to a… different take on the material. While we don’t have a full breakdown of every change featured in this version of the movie quite yet, here’s a rundown of the major changes and why they were made.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe Director’s Cut was Supposed to Be More of a Horror Movie That Was Originally Cut Twice

Understanding the Vrach Frankenshteyn cut means understanding what happened to the original version of the film. Specifically, that Carter already had to cut the movie twice in ways that pivoted away from his original vision for the film.

Carter tells Space.com that he originally intended for the film to be a far scarier and more intense story. However, the studio executives at 20th Century Fox were not happy with that version of the movie with one reportedly referring to it as “torture porn.” Carter and crew attempted to cut the movie to make it PG-13 friendly, but they were told that the second cut still wasn’t PG-13 friendly.

Crucially, getting the film to a PG-13 rating required an emphasis on some scenes as well as others being cut. So, the version of I Want to Believe that you saw in theaters (or didn’t see as the case may very well be) was already filled with things Carter reportedly didn’t want in the movie. For the director, it seems that this new version of the movie wasn’t so much an excuse to insert deleted scenes deemed to be too brutal but rather a chance to also get rid of some of the material he preferred wasn’t in there in the first place.

Why Is this Version of the Movie Called Vrach Frankenshteyn?

It’s an… unusual title to be sure, but it’s quite an important piece of the puzzle.

See, Carter says he originally envisioned this movie as much more of a Frankenstein story. Specifically, Carter recalls reading the story of Dr. Robert J. White who, in the 1970s, was able to successfully (at least for a brief time) transplant the head of one monkey onto the body of another. The story inspired Carter to pursue a slightly more modern, but brutal, version of the Frankenstein story. That’s the vision he’s trying to restore with this cut.

If you’re wondering, Vrach Frankenshteyn roughly translates to “Physician Frankenstein” in Frankenstein. Carter felt the title reflected this version’s tone and themes.

Why Vrach Frankenshteyn Cuts Most of the Mulder and Scully Romance

The biggest (and certainly most shocking) cuts in the Vrach Frankenshteyn version of I Want to Believe are almost all reserved for the subplot and scenes involving Mulder and Scully’s romance.

Mulder and Scully’s kiss, the “scratchy beard” bedroom scene, and Scully’s line about “two people who come home to a home” are all either trimmed or cut from this version of the movie. The romance between the characters isn’t entirely ignored, but those who have never seen the original cut of the movie will be shocked by how much it has been downplayed.

In some cases, Carter offers specific explanations for why these scenes were altered. For instance, Carter said that he feels that cutting the kiss between Mulder and Scully actually makes that scene between the characters more powerful. By and large, though, the cuts can be attributed to two things: the years that have passed since the movie came out and Carter’s intended tone.

Carter believes that people “got their fill” of Mulder and Scully during the 10th and 11th seasons of the show which were released after I Want to Believe debuted. He suggests that what once felt more substantial back then now may come across as a little too familiar.

But the bigger reason seems to be the original cut of the film that Carter was forced to alter. Carter explains that the movie had “weight on the wrong thing once we had cut it back for the PG-13 rating” and that it “became almost like a Mulder and Scully relationship movie than it was the Frankenstein movie we originally intended.” Whether Carter wanted some or any of those scenes in there in the first place is up for some debate. But in the interest of emphasizing some of the other aspects of the movie… well, this seems to be a case of addition by subtraction.

Why Samantha and William Were Cut From the Movie

In a bit of an odd move, the Vrach Frankenshteyn version of I Want to Believe removes references to Mulder’s sister Samantha and Mulder and Scully’s son, William. You may think that at least the William cut was made in the name of trimming the aforementioned romance elements, but that doesn’t exactly seem to be the case.

Carter explains that the decision to cut William and Samantha came down to his desire to make I Want to Believe more of a standalone story. He has compared his vision of the film to a monster-of-the-week story (something the runtime of this cut supports) and has expressed his general desire to have the movie removed from some of the deeper continuity of the series. There’s quite a bit to say about that decision from a creative standpoint, though it’s certainly interesting to consider that Carter may have been interested in telling subsequent, more standalone X-Files stories via movies, especially when the much more successful 1998 X-Files film was so closely tied to the series’ mythology.

What Has Been Added to the Vrach Frankenshteyn Cut?

While Vrach Frankenshteyn feels like a chance for Carter to cut some of the material and creative decisions that previously bugged him, the movie does feature some new and extended sequences despite its shorter overall runtime.

For instance, we actually see Agent Dakota Whitney’s death in this version of the movie. It’s quite an explicit death relative to the rest of the film and certainly seems to be the kind of thing a studio may suggest to cut if they’re really trying to go for a soft PG-13 rating.

But the biggest restorations happen in the “Frankenstein laboratory” sequence. Scenes including a disembodied head being reanimated and a headless corpse being dragged through a hallway are not only more brutal than the rest of the movie but are seemingly clear callbacks to Carter’s original inspiration for this project. If you’re looking for the missing sequences that were apparently too much for executives the first time around, these would seemingly be them.

It’s not much, and it’s certainly a pivot from what we associate with the idea of a director’s cut. Here again, though, we come back to the idea that Carter always wanted this to be a scarier, slightly more violent, tighter, and more independent film. This version’s real changes are found in the slight editing alterations and the larger cuts that put the other elements of the movie in clearer focus.

There are various other minor alterations and additions throughout, but one notable change/addition is that the film now opens with Patsy Cline’s “I Fall to Pieces.” Carter explains that the decision was made by the movie’s editor, Eleanor Infante, and that he likes the irony of the seemingly upbeat song compared to the rest of the film. There seem to be a few other musical swaps throughout the movie, though it’s not clear if those decisions were also made by the film’s editor.

The Mysterious Case of the Missing George W. Bush Photo

It’s… not clear why a scene involving Mulder and Scully looking at a picture of George W. Bush in a government building while the X-Files theme song plays in the background was cut from this version of the film. At the very least, this is one decision that Carter hasn’t directly explained.

There are certainly reasonable theories, though. Given what else he has said, it’s possible Carter felt that the gag was no longer in line with the tone of the rest of the film. You also can’t rule out that he decided that not featuring the controversial president was ultimately the better move than taking a slight (and slightly confusing) jab at him when comparing the photo to a nearby photo of J. Edgar Hoover. Anyway, he gone.[end-mark]

The post The X-Files: I Want to Believe Director’s Cut Is Actually Shorter. Here’s What Changed appeared first on Reactor.