Capsule reviews for April 20

The Devil and Father Amorth

Before shooting The Exorcist, William Friedkin never witnessed an exorcism in person. The venerable filmmaker remedies that with this documentary, in which he revisits his seminal 1973 horror film by visiting Gabriele Amorth, a 90-year-old Italian priest set to perform his ninth exorcism on a troubled young woman. Then he uses that footage to launch into a discussion with various experts about demonic possession and belief systems. The film is disjointed, even if it raises some provocative questions that are impossible to answer, with the evidence provided by the intimate and unsettling exorcism footage. In other words, it’s unlikely to sway anyone’s preconceived notions. (Not rated, 68 minutes).

Ghost Stories

A throwback to the grand tradition of horror anthologies, this British compendium of genre staples manages a few frightening moments within its tedious episodic structure. It strings together three ghost-story vignettes, as told by the men who experienced them to a skeptical professor (Andy Nyman) trying to uncover hoaxes for a television show. The film marks the directorial debut of Nyman and Jeremy Dyson, who adapted their stage play. Although there are some effective twists in the final half-hour to tie things together, it’s more effective as a nostalgic tribute to old-school horror than as a consistently creepy or suspenseful project as a whole. (Not rated, 97 minutes).

Godard Mon Amour

The work of French auteur Jean-Luc Godard is hit-and-miss, and so is this portrait by filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist), which chronicles the eccentric director’s affair with a young actress (Stacy Martin) during the late 1960s. Simultaneously, Godard (Louis Garrel) transforms into a Communist radical during a time of political upheaval in Paris, and faces backlash toward his art and activism. The film grasps the oddball spirit of its subject, yet despite Garrel’s committed portrayal, Godard remains coldly unsympathetic — a pedantic blowhard and misanthropic tyrant who’s both pompous and insecure. Like its protagonist, the film has plenty of big ideas but sometimes struggles to express them. (Not rated, 107 minutes).