The X-Files: I Want To Believe

The X-Files franchise, to me, is a bit like the Simpsons franchise. The finest examples of their respective genres, both series continued long after the shark had been well and truly jumped, leaving the new generation with a sour taste in their jaded Jackass-loving mouths, while the dedicated faithful proclaimed their worth.

Had the mildly sufficient The Simpsons Movie come out 5 years earlier, it would have been the second coming, the pinnacle of all that is awesome about TV on the big screen. But it didn’t, and it wasn’t. And the same can be said of The X-Files: I Want To Believe.

It’s basically an extra long episode from the good-but-not-totally-awesome years of The X-Files’s nine season run. There’s no aliens and no government conspiracy, but there is a gay, commie, mad scientist with a Frankenstein complex, which is almost as good. Mulder and Scully are dragged back from retirement after an agent disappears, and have to solve the case of the missing organs, all while dealing with Mulder’s usual sister issues and a dying kid Scully refuses to euthanase.

The main fault with the flick is writers Frank Spotnitz and (X-Files creator and director) Chris Carter don’t seem to know their audience. They want to explain everything to the newbies, while at the same time shoving things in that only the most obsessed fans will get. It’s both dumbed-down and elitist at the same time, and that – along with generally uninspired direction - makes much of its execution awkward, leading to dubious critiques of Dubya, a lot of flowery emotional scenes that make no sense, and too much time spent on a subplot about Scully’s dying patient.

That said, I Want To Believe is not a bad film. David Duchovny plays Mulder perfectly, and Gillian Anderson's sceptical Scully is still a good foil for his obsessions, even if it feels like they’ve moved on too much to truly reinhabit their roles. Billy Connolly is a revelation as psychic paedo-priest Father Joe, who steals most of his scenes. Amanda Peet and Xzibit are serviceable agents, but don’t add much to the proceedings. The action scenes are engaging, the gore is PG-plentiful, and Skinner shows up at the end to be his bald, bad-ass self.

It can’t compare with 1998’s Fight The Future, but doesn’t really try to. It’s like catching up with an old friend. Simply a nice coda to a series that ended so abruptly and confusingly, and will surely make die-hard fans rest a little easier at night.

The Ruins

I've come to expect very little from horror movies. While there is the occasional tense flick, with believable characters and genuinely affecting gore, most films aren’t Hostel or The Mist. No, in recent times I’ve satisfied myself with random carnage and screaming stereotypes and, while that’s fun, it’s heartening to see a film with a bit of effort gone into it.

Based on the book by Scott Smith (who also wrote the similarly tense A Simple Plan), The Ruins follows the story of two teenage couples and German acquaintance Mathias who leave their hotel and head into the Mexican wilderness to check out an archaeological dig where Mathias brother is stationed. When they get there, of course, there’s no-one to be found, the Mayans don’t seem too happy about intruders near their pyramid, and the weird vines covering the pyramid are starting to move.

Trapped on the top of the pyramid, things quickly escalate as the kids realise the severity of their situation, and it’s a testament to the writers that the plot relies heavily on the characters. The actors are recognisable, if not exactly star power (Jena Malone, Shawn Ashmore and Joe Anderson are the only ones with obvious credits), but it works to their advantage. Even with minimal character development, each is created as an individual, rather than the usual knife-fodder populating most horror flicks. Most of the tension rests on the heads of their actions and reactions and, while there is horrible stuff going on around them, that’s where the focus stays.

The direction is fantastic. Most of the action takes place on a square of rock about the size of a garden shed, but Carter Smith handles the claustrophobia perfectly. The brief scenes involving the kids inside the pyramid are dark and nerve-racking, and the outside scenes are equally scary. I never thought I’d be scared so much by a plant (take THAT, the Happening). It’s been a long time since I’ve been strung so tight, and while the gore was gross, it was occasional and necessary enough to remain effective. Smith’s direction was refreshing to say the least.

There aren’t many downsides to this film. It’s not going to change the world or be the big summer hit, but it’s a near perfect example of the best kind of horror filmmaking. I'm certainly glad I saw the unrated version, if only for an especially brutal ending not present in the theatrical release. Still, it's definitely a flick worth seeing when it finally gets to Australia in August.