Nightbitch
Directed by Marielle HellerA 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.
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Cast of Nightbitch
Nightbitch Ratings & Reviews
- qmechanJanuary 23, 2025Amy Adams might be a loon, Though her only crime's not being in tune With her son and his dad. Is it really so bad To occasionally bark at the moon?
- Desmond DaleJanuary 24, 2025Better than it has any business being with its admittedly hoaky sounding premise. However, I believe the film is largely mislabeled and misunderstood. This isn't a horror comedy though it has a few horrifying bits and moments of comedic relief, but rather a transcendentalist tale of later aged self discovery and enlightenment. The dog transformation stuff is just a vehicle for conveying the Metamorphosis that women must undergo to bare children and how they are forever changed in the aftermath. Amy Adams is phenomenal as usual, fully committing to the carnal atavistic requirements of the role while also conveying her growth and evolution. The film flirts with feeling pedantic but it's so sincere and genuine that it mostly feels like bold honesty. It's a soul-searching pro-feminist film parading around as stupid body horror schlock.
- Luke EricksonDecember 28, 2024They do capture the struggle of a new mom and how to reconcile your new and old life. Not to mention the sacrifices they've made to care for the child. I'm not powerful and haven't created bones, so I can only speak from my observation of my wife. Women are amazing and the ability to birth life is terrible and incredible at the same time. Sadly, the movie seems to lose its way as it's telling this message. I guess I showed up for potential Werewolf hijinx and I got a movie about the power of women and mothers. It was ok but different than what I expected.
- Kevin WardJuly 1, 2025Amy Adams really owns this role and it’s really nice to see her in a movie that is actually good again, even if it’s not quite the homerun I was hoping for. Nightbitch manages to capture a lot of the humor and sadness of the realities of what it means to become a mother—societal expectations, marital expectations, and even more so the sheer physical toll it takes on bodies. I think any parent or co-parent is going to find a lot of this film hit home. As a film, though, I felt like the last act was way too overt with it’s themes resorting to a lot of voiceover from Adams to reveal her interiority. Would have paid $$ to see what she could do to a walnut though.
- CrossCutCriticMay 1, 2025The Wild God of Motherhood --- Somewhere between a kitchen sink and a dog bowl, something sacred happens. Amy Adams plays a woman — unnamed, unmoored — raising a child in the soft apocalypse of domestic life. She makes lunches. She folds laundry. She smiles through clenched teeth. And then one day, she starts growing hair. --- This isn’t body horror. It’s soul honesty. Nightbitch isn’t asking if she’s turning into a dog. It’s asking if she was ever allowed to be human. Because when you silence the howl long enough, eventually it finds a way out. --- There’s nothing tidy about this movie. Not the mood. Not the metaphors. Not the woman herself. And that’s the point. This is the psalm no one wanted to write — the one with milk stains and claw marks, the one where God is silent and the only prayer is breathing through another sleepless night. --- Adams doesn’t play the woman as crazy. She plays her as cracked open. As someone whose longing is bigger than the box she’s been put in. And when she starts to run — literally, ferally — you don’t judge her. You envy her. You realize: she’s not losing her mind. She’s finding her body. She’s finding the part of her that was never housebroken. --- There’s a scene with a deer. There’s another with blood. There’s a moment of embrace that feels too animal to be called love and too holy to be anything else. That’s where Nightbitch howls the loudest: You were made for more than coping. --- And here — hidden under the fangs and fur — is the cross. Not the one from the church bulletin. Not the polished one hanging around someone else’s neck. But the real one: the one you carry in your spine when no one sees you, the one you drag across tiled floors in the middle of the night, the one that bleeds you slowly as you learn how to mother without losing yourself. --- Nightbitch is strange. But so is God. And maybe that’s the mercy — that even when we become unrecognizable, even when we grow wild with grief, even when we say things we’re not supposed to say and feel things we’re not supposed to feel — the Spirit stays. Not to tame us. To run with us.
- jackmeatFebruary 8, 2025quick rating - 5.5/10. This was a deeply introspective and artsy film that takes the concept of motherhood to wild, metaphorical extremes. Based on Rachel Yoder's novel, the story follows an unnamed mother (Amy Adams, in a career-highlight performance) as she grapples with the isolation, monotony, and identity shifts of stay-at-home parenthood. Slowly, she begins to believe she’s transforming into a dog, a bizarre but poignant metaphor for the feral instincts and untamed power that come with motherhood. Adams is exceptional, fully embodying the complexity of her character’s emotional descent. Her portrayal is raw, layered, and powerful enough to warrant serious awards consideration. The film itself is an intimate exploration of the psyche, blending motherhood, identity, and societal expectations in a surreal and symbolic package. However, Nightbitch’s classification as a horror film is puzzling. There isn’t a single moment that evokes fear or dread, despite the premise hinting at potential body horror or werewolf-like transformations. Instead, the film plays out as a psychological drama with heavy arthouse sensibilities. Its refusal to lean into genre tropes may disappoint viewers expecting something more visceral or thrilling. The nameless characters, referred to only as Mother, Son, and Husband, add to the film’s abstract, universal tone but also create an emotional distance that makes it harder to connect with their personal struggles. The pacing drags at times, with the narrative focusing more on themes than plot progression, leaving some sequences feeling repetitive or overly indulgent. While Nightbitch is undeniably well-crafted and thought-provoking, it’s not for everyone. Its artsy, symbolic approach to storytelling will resonate with those who appreciate introspective dramas but may frustrate those expecting a more dynamic or genre-driven experience. I can attest to hoping for horror for much of it. For all its creativity and ambition, it’s a film that bites more than it barks, leaving you with an intriguing but ultimately uneven viewing experience.
- RyezooFebruary 4, 2025Amy Adams does some great acting in this. This is a fun weird ride, but stops being fun around the 60-70 percent through mark and trudges to the end. I get the message, but the landing just feels mehhh. Glad I watched it, but don’t ever need to see Amy Addams extra six nipples again.
- Hipster ZOMBIEJanuary 26, 2025Weird yet poignant, Nightbitch deliver a unique story around the struggles of everyday moms who sometimes turn into dogs. Some times funny other times thought provoking, Amy Adams puts this film on her back and delivers a fantastic performance.
- TonyBennettJanuary 20, 2025Wasn't what I expected but had good acting.
