Amy Adams has that dog in her, but does the rest of Nightbitch?
Amy Adams has that dog in her, but does the rest of Nightbitch?
A satirical take on motherhood, Nightbitch leaves body horror fans and dog lovers wanting more.

Author Sara Atencio-Gonzales attended the Nightbitch premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2024. The film is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States later this week.
“Motherhood is a bitch”, is the perfect tagline to describe Marielle Heller’s feature film, Nightbitch.
Off the bat, the title alone is eye-catching and unique. However, the film lacks luster, except for the saving grace of another show-stealing performance by Amy Adams.
Adams is at the forefront of the film as she plays the infamous “Nightbitch”, who is only known as Mother, an overlooked stay-at-home mom by day, but by night, she is a ferocious canine. How this happens is not fully explained in the film.
The audience gets hints of the mother slowly turning into a dog with hints of body horror but it leaves you with much to desire. In one scene early on in the film, we see Mother cut open a large cyst on her back which has a long strand of hair in it, resembling a tail. We see one more hint of body horror in the film, and just like the first one, it’s never explained how these things are happening to our main character.
For a film that is adapted from a novel that is known to be dark, gory, and violent, it never dives head-first into that same mold. Instead, Heller takes her own approach and makes the film more of a satirical comedy rather than a horror-like novel.
In a sense, the film could’ve taken the supernatural element out entirely and it would’ve been the same exact movie.
Heller’s directorial choices make the movie stand out. Even though it’s a movie about a woman turning into a dog, it ultimately focuses on the difficulties of motherhood. Heller’s montages throughout the film of Mother’s repetitive days of cooking hash browns and sleepless nights give an idea of the reality of what comes with motherhood.
However, it was Adams that stole the show when it came to selling this idea that “motherhood is a real bitch.”
The six-time Oscar nominee put her all into this role. Maybe it’s because she is also a mother of one, just like Nightbitch, but Adams plays the part so well. From the exhaustion in her eyes to the crawling on the ground on all floors to mimic a dog. Adams truly does not fall short in this role. Of course, this will sadly not be the role that gets Adams that Oscar but it gives us a side of Adams that we don’t usually see.
Nightbitch is a bizarre and unique film that mothers may relate to. However, its lack of truly diving into this outlandish plot makes the movie fall slightly flat. It’s the performance of Adams and some directorial choices of Heller that save the film.
You can watch the official trailer for Nightbitch here!: