Directed by Chris Carter
Distributed by 20th Century Fox

The X-Files did something better than any other television series. It took a ridiculous notion, dissected it and piece by piece showed how this weird concept might actually be done. Consider, for instance, Eugene Tooms. If you were to say, oh, some guy's stretching his body like Mr. Fantastic to get into the homes of people to kill them, you would sound like a loon. The X-Files through the talent of actors having conviction in the material, astounding make-up, eerie direction and a judicious use of special effects made you believe.

There was another side of The X-Files, an extraterrestrial side. The Earth was invaded years ago. The aliens struck a bargain with certain government officials deeply ensconced in the theater of power to manipulate a conspiracy of epic proportions. This was the concept that was central to the previous X-Files movie Fight the Future, a groundbreaking piece of film-making that was a bridge between two seasons of the show.

The conspiracy and the conspirators died off throughout the series. In a memorable moment, the aliens incinerate a whole ring of them. Anybody going to this movie expecting to see alien abductions will be disappointed. Instead, Chris Carter, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson return for an intense police procedural that seeks out a missing FBI agent. A psychic played by the usually boisterous comedian Billy Connolly claims that he has had a vision of her abduction. Special Agent Dakota Whitney portrayed winningly by Amanda Peet thinks they need help. She's Agent Mulder's second biggest fan. Cue the whistling.

Things have changed. Mulder and Scully are no longer FBI agents. Mulder's work was completely discredited, and he was stripped of rank at a special tribunal. He's no longer hunted. There's no danger of him becoming a martyr to a cause that appears to no longer exist. He acts like a crazy recluse. He spends his days cutting newspaper clippings of the paranormal and tacking them to a bulletin board where the face of his still missing sister smiles at him. Things though are not quite so grim for Mulder as they seem.

Scully has become the head of neurosurgery at a hospital that's run by the church. Scully though the rational, skeptical half of the team was also a Christian, and this movie cleverly uses her religious belief for an engrossing subplot in the film. Scully challenges organized faith. Without shirking God, she instead chooses to believe in herself.

The continuity of the series is maintained. Faithful viewers know that, by the end of the show, The X-Files no longer had a "will they or won't they" situation. The truth is that Mulder and Scully were in love. Indeed, Scully had Mulder's child. Scully and Mulder remain a couple. Anderson and Duchovny wear their characters like gloves, and their chemistry has actually improved with the pretenses of an ambiguous relationship dropped. Their acting ability draws you into the movie so quickly that it's almost scary.

The FBI go to Scully to gain the aid of Mulder, who will not be their guide through the paranormal without Scully. I would say at this point let the games begin, but unlike the first X-Files movie which was rife with wit, this one is almost humorless. The only big light moment in fact occurs during the closing credits, and it's in a way as powerful as the horror. So, you'll want to stay to the very end for this one.

The subject matter Mulder and Scully must face is utterly ghoulish, and the tension doesn't let up. This is not a bombastic film. It's a quiet film that gets under your skin. Mulder and Scully methodically pick through the pieces, discover evidence and determine the veracity of the psychic's vision to track down a killer that would seem outlandish were you to mention him to a friend but all too real by the movie's end.

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