Nightbitch

2024
Directors: Marielle Heller
Starring: Amy Adams, Scoot McNairy, Jessica Harper, and more.

A woman, thrown into the stay-at-home routine of raising a toddler in the suburbs, slowly embraces the feral power deeply rooted in motherhood, as she becomes increasingly aware of the bizarre and undeniable signs that she may be turning into a dog.

I was excited when I started seeing trailers for this film. As a horror fan, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping it would be a werewolf story. What I got is a movie that addressed an average woman’s life in all it’s wonderful, agonizing, and unfiltered glory. Unless you read the book this film is based on, you went into the film expecting to see a suburbian mother slowly turn into a werewolf — or a very large dog. What you get is a poignant look at the sacrifices and impossible balancing act most women must navigate in their lifetimes.

A wickedly sharp blend of dark comedy and maternal body horror, Nightbitch is a bold, visceral ride that delivers, in my opinion, one of Amy Adams’ most fearless performances. As “Mother,” Adams fully commits to the role of a former artist, a visual artist who paints and puts together artistic assemblies, who sacrificed her career for motherhood, only to find herself unraveling in the isolating depths of suburban domesticity. Sleep deprivation seems like the problem at first—until she starts sprouting coarse hairs, growing extra nipples, and developing an animalistic sense of smell.

While her well-meaning but oblivious husband (Scoot McNairy) is constantly away for work, Mother undergoes a bizarre and primal transformation that no parenting book or podcast could have prepped her on. As she bonds with the local stray dogs, she sheds the constraints of societal expectations and embraces a feral new existence—one that grants her both terrifying and exhilarating freedom. How does it impact her marriage? What does it mean for her future? You’ll have to watch. I found myself nodding and crying at so many instances in this story. 

With razor-sharp satire and unsettling body horror reminiscent of The Brood, Nightbitch is a bold, thought-provoking descent into the raw, untamed side of motherhood. It’s equal parts grotesque, hilarious, and deeply cathartic—it’s unforgettable, I promise. It’s an hour and 39 minutes which goes by very quickly and rated R for obvious reasons. Transformation into a paranormal creature is more of a metaphor but if you’re a woman or a person who loves one, I’d recommend giving this a watch. 

Isabella Jordan