Reviews
[Review] “The X-Files” Finale, ‘My Struggle II’!
‘The X-Files’ return goes out like it knows best, a roller coaster of exposition and teasing things into the sunset
“You don’t want to believe.”
So here we are at the end of this mini-season, with what might not only be the final episode of The X-Files that we’ll get on television (although I doubt it). The X-Files makes it their business to go crazy with their finales, and with this really only being the second mythology episode of season ten, there is a lot that is expected here. Not only that, it’ll be the lasting impression of the series that is left on everyone, again placing very lofty goals on this entry. It’s not surprising that Chris Carter is the one behind it, but this also had me reasonably worried considering his two episodes were the least successful of the season, in my opinion (although I’ll be forever grateful for that shroom trip). Many people seemed to take contention to “My Struggle’s” first part, like I did (and seriously, when the “Previously On” sequence plays I was kind of astounded at how ridiculous the episode looks in piecemeal), but a lot of the X-Files operates like a well-done magic trick. Perhaps this second half of the story even re-contextualizes what we saw in the premiere in a more positive light?
Kind of!
Okay, “My Struggle II” is a problematic, busy finale, but what I love about it is how it very obviously plays parallel to the premiere, only moving forward with Scully’s perspective on things. It’s a smart tool considering this bifurcated point of view is a crucial point of the show, and it makes even more sense when you’re just devoting two episodes to mythology. PS: Very happy that we at least got one subversion to the The Truth Is Out There card during the credits. I was disappointed we didn’t get one during the premiere, but the finale’s This Is The End makes up for it. At the same time, Carter, I know you like your purple prose, your flowery intros, and your on-the-nose-ness of everything, but I could have gone without that silly shot of Scully morphing into an alien in the cold open.
It’s nice to see the threads from other episodes come together here with Skinner, Joel McHale’s Tad O’Malley, Ambrose and Amell’s Agents Einstein and Miller returning, not to mention—wait for it—Annabeth Gish as Monica Reyes! Okay, I might be the only one excited by that, but it’s gestures like that that go a long ways here. Also, the absence of Duchovny for the first chunk of things isn’t the worst and having Scully and Einstein run around as the Red Headed FBI Science Super Squad is something I could easily watch a lot more of.
Most of this episode is concerned with Scully’s discovery that her gene work revealed that she had partial alien DNA. This claim is doubled down on the leap that everyone has partial alien DNA, with this obviously being ripe for claims of colonization, the seventh extinction, and general doom and gloom pablum. It looks like a global contagion is on the plate, with this attack completely shutting down immune systems in the process.
This goes hand-in-hand with the ideas that the first “My Struggle” gets into regarding government manipulation and this all ultimately being the fault of the trust that we’ve given them. Surprisingly, even though what this episode tries to push forward is more incredulous than what the premiere tries to do, this manages to be easier to swallow because it doesn’t try to mess with the established continuity in the process. It’s a definite step up, at least. Seeing Scully act in paranoid conspiracy theorist mode is also never not fun, although I’m a little surprised the gene stuff moved in this direction versus getting closer to the hanging thread of William.
On the topic of hanging threads, using Reyes as the connective tissue to how the Cigarette Smoking Man has survived the aircraft missile to the body from season nine’s finale works well enough (although the plausibility behind it is all sorts of suspect). By proxy, Reyes becomes a big exposition box, and much like the last time The X-Files ended, a lot of this episode is swallowed in explaining things, What I do like though is the show’s continual insistence to try and connect its dots, so to hear that this cleansing plan of the Syndicate/aliens began in 2012—even though we didn’t see it happening—is exactly the sort of stuff that I want to hear. I didn’t exactly need Reyes being turned into a coward and pseudo traitor survivalist in this last appearance, but I thought she was going to originally reveal that Doggett was dead, so this is better than an offscreen spite death at least.
As the episode moves into its final act, it manages to stir up a lot of emotions. The incredibly pessimistic note that it rides out on is a surprising one, as is the fact that Mulder and Scully spend the entire episode apart (and Mulder barely says a word—it’s a really shitty Mulder episode). While I can appreciate a good cliffhanger, this felt really bait-y, almost as if all of this was simply meant to be prelude to a movie that wraps all of this up. I think a lot of people might be upset over the lack of closure provided here, I just ultimately wish we had gotten a longer season. Even if the premiere and the finale remained the same, and we just got seven more monster-of-the-weeks to round out a season of thirteen, I think this would feel a lot more complete. As it stands, the series certainly proved that it is still relevant and has stories to tell, but once more, this really just feels like, “Okay, can we finally do our third alien invasion now?”
Regardless of the machinations behind it and whether it leads to another movie, mini-season, or full on return, I’m just happy to go out on a solid mythology episode that actually operates on a global scales and manages to feel threatening. If nothing else, “My Struggle II” leaves you wanting more, and that’s certainly a lot better than a shrug or some missed landing. A question mark can be dissatisfying, but it can also lead to the best answers sometimes. The title card at the beginning tells us This Is The End and it feels like it, but in many other ways this is also just the beginning for the return of The X-Files.
Movies
‘Recluse’ Review – Harrowing Haunted House Horror With Lots Of Skeletons In Its Closet [Tribeca 2026]
A haunted house story is tense, terrifying storytelling when it’s properly executed. There’s been a growing tendency in horror to blend together harrowing haunted house stories with traumatic homecomings. A family member’s illness or death triggers a return to something dark that was intentionally left behind. Recluse hits all the tropes that one expects to find in this type of horror film, yet it manages to push this story in a daring, disturbing new direction that uses sound as a superpower.
It’s a unique lens to experience a familiar story about family secrets, generational trauma, unresolved grief, and the importance of not just legacy, but preservation. It’s a hell of a directorial debut from Henry Chaisson that’s guaranteed to get under the audience’s skin as they’re dragged through this painful, toxic tale.
Recluse is a gothic haunted house story where an isolated audio engineer, Joan (Sasha Frolova), returns to her family’s estate to check in on her father after he suffers a terrible accident. Joan suddenly discovers something much more sinister that paints her family’s tragedies in a very different light. Chaisson’s debut functions as a fascinating companion piece to this year’s undertone, which does a lot of the same things.
These two films make for a fascinating case of parallel thinking that tackles comparable subject matter through a similar lens, albeit in a bigger, less claustrophobic story in Recluse’s case. In fact, it’s the perfect horror film for anyone who was let down by undertone and didn’t feel like it brought enough to the table. It’s a considerably more conventional horror film, but this isn’t meant to denigrate its high quality. Recluse may hit some familiar notes, but it’s a scary, well-crafted haunted house horror story that goes for the jugular.
A gripping mystery that involves the tragic, unresolved circumstances that surround Joan’s mother teases a chilling connection to the recent horrors that have afflicted her father. Joan desperately tries to put these pieces together and give her family some sense of grander peace before she’s pulled under and becomes another victim of this festering curse that’s systematically worked its way through the Wyatt family. By doing so, Recluse digs into some deeper commentary on collective trauma, a very literal look at the “sins of the father” adage, and how one selfish decision can ripple through generations and fracture off into different dilemmas. By the end, Recluse has brilliantly flipped the powerful concept of legacy on its head by illustrating the horrors and sense of entitlement that can be born out of this idea.
A legacy is just another name for a curse under the right context.
”Listen” is a simple but powerful command from Joan’s father that she briefly obsesses over. In a way, it becomes Recluse’s grander mission statement, whether it’s in response to Joan listening to the people in her life, the signals that her body and mind are telling her, or the world’s greater whims. It’s important to reconnect with these grounding pillars, especially when it feels like control is slipping away.
Recluse excels with how audio and soundscapes can create entire universes that are full of rich details that transport individuals to these environments. There’s also a level of objectivity when it comes to audio recordings and the evergreen permanence that they’re able to provide. Joan’s career as an audio engineer makes sense for someone who wants to cling to hard evidence and proof of existence. It provides great insight into Joan without ever getting lost in contrived exposition.
Joan’s entire life is built around audio engineering, and so it makes sense that Recluse features excellent sound design that really goes above and beyond with its production elements. All of the sound design is expertly handled and turns the film into something special. These auditory elements intuitively keep the audience on edge so that they’re more susceptible to the actual scares that eventually strike. The smallest sound effect gets turned into a crushing, cacophonous assault. It’s a really effective way to build terror. Writer/Director Chaisson also handles the film’s music, which achieves a sublime, unnerving dissonance that further heightens the free-floating anxiety.
The story at the center of Recluse is slightly generic in some respects, but the film’s visual language and tone make it feel distinctly memorable. It also doesn’t hurt that the home that Joan returns to is basically an eerie art studio that’s full of contorted paintings. Recluse never struggles to generate mounting dread and terror that pump through every scene. Powerful, thoughtful cinematography consistently reinforces the film’s themes. Joan is constantly reflected in different surfaces or viewed through mirrors. She’s also often confined to tight, constricting framing that all speaks to her refracted identity during this moment of loss and her attempts to regain agency and control by making sense of something that’s seemingly unexplainable.
Recluse is full of truly disturbing visuals that make it seem like Joan is lost in a dream that turns out to be an extended nightmare. It’s a surreal journey reminiscent of invasive psychological horror like Silent Hill, with a touch of Sinister and Hereditary thrown in for good measure. There are so many individual frames that could endlessly fuel urban legends and creepypastas.
It does a great job with how it presents Joan’s fragile state of mind, where chilling flashes of the past sneak up on her and unresolved trauma manifests into unsettling imagery. There are endless shots that are obscured in darkness, or shadow is creeping in from the corners of frames like a suffocating force of nature. It’s very rare that a scene is fully lit. It leads to a very lonely, isolating atmosphere that’s easy to get lost in.
Chaisson’s debut stands out from the many other high-minded haunted house horror films without succumbing to the same pretensions that often drag down these stories. It’s a grief-stricken character study that’s full of upsetting visuals that scratch at something visceral and raw. The horror elements connect, and the answers to its grander mystery provide an appropriate and believable sense of closure. Those who are looking for an atmospheric horror film that isn’t afraid to be different while still channeling something real will appreciate Recluse.
Recluse made its world premiere at Tribeca; release info TBD.
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