Chris Carter finally gets to make his scarier “X-Files” movie

Eighteen years after “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” reached theaters, Chris Carter has gone back into the operating room. His new R-rated director’s cut, “The X-Files: I Want to Believe Vrach Frankenshteyn,” premieres on Hulu on August 14. A trailer released this week shows the darker version Carter originally wanted audiences to see.

The added title translates from Russian as “Victor Frankenstein,” which fits the film’s grim story of disappearances, body horror and a disgraced priest claiming to receive psychic visions. Carter has said the original cut was pushed toward a PG-13 release after Fox considered his version too frightening.

“I Want to Believe” had a rough landing in 2008. Reviews were poor, and its $68 million worldwide gross fell far below the first “X-Files” movie. Time has not magically turned it into a secret masterpiece, either. Still, director’s cuts can reveal how much studio pressure changed the creature before it escaped.

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are back in the familiar darkness as Mulder and Scully. This time, Carter gets to remove the safety rails. Whether that repairs the film or simply makes its flaws bloodier will be clear on August 14.