With the much anticipated Sunday evening reprisal of The X-Files, Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully will return for a new set of paranormal exploits. It remains to be seen whether FOX will stick with the previously established believer-skeptic dichotomy, but why change now? FOX didn’t voluntarily divert from the old-school pay scale between the two leads, so it’s fair to guess that they’ll stick to all tried-and-true formulas.
One other sticking point for the series was the lack of gore, which was usually supplanted by suspense and shocked Scully faces. Still, there were moments when the series gave in and showed its hand. Gore appeared with great effect in these instances, and the rarity of this spectacle is only one reason why this show changed the face of television. When The X-Files switched its usual pace to show truly horrific scenes, the audience registered the impact in kind. Fluke Man and Beggar Man are only a few examples of how The X-Files made gore work with scary results. The show never resorted to jump scares, for its terrifying moments were truly earned.
Sadly, El Chupacabra doesn’t count as outright gore, or he likely would have appeared in this video too.