Chris Carter's original, more horror-focused vision for the 2008 film "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" is finally being released, 18 years after the theatrical cut premiered. The R-rated version, retitled "The X-Files: I Want to Believe — Vrach Frankenshteyn," will stream on Hulu from 14 August, offering fans a chance to see the David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson thriller as Carter had intended before studio pressures softened its tone.

Carter has said the film was meant to be "a real-life Frankenstein movie" — hence the new title, Russian for "Victor Frankenstein" — but its body-horror elements were toned down in the original release. He first discussed the project with Duchovny last year on the podcast "Fail Better with David Duchovny," describing it as bringing to the screen material that existed on the page but was never filmed. Entertainment Weekly has now confirmed the August release date, after an earlier press release had suggested the cut would arrive in June.