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The X-Files

The X-Files

Mystery · Science Fiction · Thriller · 1998

Mulder and Scully, now taken off the FBI's X Files cases, must find a way to fight the shadowy elements of the government to find out the truth about a conspiracy that might mean the alien colonization of Earth.

Movie details

The X-Files

“Fight the future.”

1998 Mystery · Science Fiction · Thriller 2h 1m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.9 / 10

Community rating

Mulder and Scully, now taken off the FBI's X Files cases, must find a way to fight the shadowy elements of the government to find out the truth about a conspiracy that might mean the alien colonization of Earth.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The X-Files?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Sphere

Sphere

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Bugonia

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Two conspiracy obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.

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Dark Skies

Dark Skies

Sci-fi · 2013

From the producers of Paranormal Activity, Insidious, and Sinister comes Dark Skies: a supernatural thriller that follows a young family living in the suburbs. As husband and wife Daniel and Lacey Barret witness an escalating series of disturbing events involving their family, their safe and peaceful home quickly unravels. When it becomes clear that the Barret family is being targeted by an unimaginably terrifying and deadly force, Daniel and Lacey take matters in their own hands to solve the mystery of what is after their family.

Black Box

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A routine domestic flight turns into the flight from hell through a series of inexplicable phenomena and raw terror. Surreal encounters blur the boundaries between reality and nightmare. Passengers fight against all the odds in an attempt to survive while combating bizarre technological malfunctions, accelerating supernatural events and alien influences.

The Quiet Earth

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Drama · 1985

After a top-secret experiment misfires, a scientist may be the only man left alive in the world.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe

The X-Files: I Want to Believe

Mystery · 2008

Mulder and Scully are called back to duty by the FBI when a former priest claims to be receiving psychic visions pertaining to a kidnapped agent.

Phoenix Forgotten

Phoenix Forgotten

Horror · 2017

Twenty years after three teenagers disappeared in the wake of mysterious lights appearing above Phoenix, Arizona, unseen footage from that night has been discovered, chronicling the final hours of their fateful expedition.

Containment

Containment

Thriller · 2015

Neighbors in a block wake one morning to find they have been sealed inside their apartments. Can they work together to find out why? Or will they destroy each other in their fight to escape?

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Rob Bowman

Written by

Chris Carter · Frank Spotnitz

David Duchovny

David Duchovny

Agent Fox Mulder

Gillian Anderson

Gillian Anderson

Agent Dana Scully

Mitch Pileggi

Mitch Pileggi

Assistant Director Walter Skinner

William B. Davis

William B. Davis

The Cigarette-Smoking Man

John Neville

John Neville

The Well-Manicured Man

Martin Landau

Martin Landau

Kurtzweil

Jeffrey DeMunn

Jeffrey DeMunn

Bronschweig

Court is in session

Put The X-Files on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.