User Reviews

What could have been a good episode was made a great episode by the performance of guest star Billy Drago as Oral Peattie a man who blames a successful doctor for the death of his daughter. Peattie uses hexcraft as a way to exact revenge against the doctor by targeting members of his family.

Although there are a few inconsistencies in the plot, the creepy atmosphere and tension more than compensate. Drago who simply lives and breathes the part creates a truly chilling villain and although fans often consider Eugene Tooms, Donnie Pfaster and Robert Modell to be some of the best villains, Oral Peattie should be up there with them. Drago's appearance, his voice, his mannerisms come together to create a villain you just know will never stop his mission of vengeance. James Morrison is also good as the doctor who Peattie is terrorising.

There is a real claustrophobic feel to this episode and it contains some superb scenes (particularly the one involving the microwave). The climax is good and it is also great to see Scully questioning her rigid belief in science at the end of the episode.

8/10

I have always liked "Theef" since the first time I saw it. The teaser while a little corny with the happy family all being so proud of their wonderful doctor of a father is still very good. Having the father-in-law hang himself and the word "TheeF" written on the wall in his blood is very classic X-Files.

One major reason this episode appeals to me so much is that the idea of voodoo dolls or "poppets" has always been one of those things that intrigues me. I am reminded of "India Jones and the Temple of Doom" where the kid has a doll of Indiana and is stabbing him in the back with a pin. Ever since I first saw that when I was 8 or however old I was I have been interested in the idea of being able to do things to someone vicariously through a doll. And the Appalachian Magic that this episode brings in is also interesting to anyone who enjoys fantasy type games like Diablo where one can play a necromancer who uses charms to do all sorts of things like Oral Peattie does in this episode.

I also find a number of things about this episode comical yet dark and creepy. Let me try to explain using the example of possibly the best scene in the episode. I am of course referring to the popping' corn. Peattie's mannerisms are just so comical and seem so innocent and we are inclined to laugh or be amused at his unfamiliarity with microwave popcorn and the med student's frustration at having to explain to him how to get the popcorn. But then we turn from amusement to horror at him microwaving the poppet of Mrs. Weider and her getting fried by the MRI to a crisp. I can't imagine anything that would horrify me more than to watch my wife/mom/any family member get burnt to a crisp in front of my eyes unexpectedly.

There is a question of whether Peattie's actions were justified or not presented by Scully at the end of the episode. I would answer this with a resounding no. I do not feel any pity for Peattie at all. He claims that if he had been present at the hospital he could have saved his daughter but the doctor then says but you weren't there at which Peattie seems to be affected by an anger or even possibly guilt. He just seems to me like a father who feels a personal responsibility for his daughter's death but rather than deal with this he turns his anger at himself towards others and tries to find someone else to blame.

Casting for this episode was well done. Billy Drago was the perfect actor to play Peattie. I don't think there is any creepy person part that he wouldn't be perfect as but seriously a voodoo appalachian hillbilly? That part was written for him. Also I am a big fan of James Morrison ever since he has been on "24" as Bill Buchanan. He has also appeared in one of my favorite Millennium episodes and looking over his bio I learned that he was born in Bountiful, Utah. Woohoo! No wonder I am a fan he is a fellow Utahn.

In conclusion I think this is one of the better X-files episodes available. The only points I might take off are due to the fact that some of the actions of Mulder and Scully seem a little out of character and they seem to try and write this off by adding in the underlying theme of Scully still surprising Mulder with things she does. But other than that I enjoyed the episode a lot. I give it a 8/10. "Stinky's good." - Oral Peattie

A lot of mystical terms came up in the story like hexcraft, graveyard dirt and conjure dust, but in the end, this story boiled down to an old fashioned case of good old voodoo. There was even mention of a New Guinea tribal disease called Kuru, and reference to flesh eating disease, or as Dr. Robert Wieder (James Morrison) would call it, diffuse cutaneous flesh moniliasis.

Mulder and Scully have their work cut out for them as a displaced Appalachian hillbilly (Billy Drago) uses his knowledge of the black arts to seek revenge on a doctor who failed to prevent his daughter from dying following a severe bus accident. Perhaps failed is the wrong word, the daughter was so badly injured it was only a matter of time that she would succumb to her injuries. Wieder did all he could, and eventually pushed enough morphine into the girl to help ease the transition to her final repose. In that respect, the story challenges the viewer to examine one's attitude toward a similar circumstance should it ever become personal. The moral dilemma posed was an uncomfortable one to say the least.

The story never did get around to the misspelling of the word 'thief', incorrectly written in blood by Orel Peattie (Drago) as 'theef'. What it did was allow Mulder to comment on a former Vice-President's mental lapse when he incorrectly spelled the word 'potato' as 'potatoe'. Dan Quayle had a tough time living that one down, though it's not everyone who can be memorialized in an episode of The X-Files.