Adapted from Rachel Yoder’s book, Nightbitch offers a keen understanding of motherhood but falters in its execution. That said, if I were dealing with weaponized incompetence on a daily basis, I too might start sprouting fur. A film about the trials of motherhood is bound to resonate with many. And truthfully, if I had her husband (yes, she remains as a ‘mother’, as does he remain ‘husband’), I probably would have left him already. And I don’t even have one.
There’s a concern that Nightbitch could be similar to Barbie – a film that divided audiences, with some feeling they couldn’t, or wouldn’t, relate. The difference? Barbie was an original concept with sharp execution and humor, whereas Nightbitch is an adaptation that struggles tonally. It isn’t scary enough to be horror, nor is it sharp enough to be satire. Instead, it treads a strange middle ground, where its surrealism feels more like an odd spectacle than a meaningful exploration. The film’s approach risks undercutting its message – veering so far into absurdity that it borders on mockery rather than insight.
Discussing book-to-film adaptations without having read the source material is always a tricky endeavor. One can mistakenly credit or blame the film for what stems from the novel. But let’s set the book aside and focus on what’s on screen.
We see a mother in modern society living as though trapped in the 1950s. A successful artist, she leaves her career to become a stay-at-home mom, single-handedly raising her two-year-old son. The justification for this choice is murky – her husband isn’t quite villainous, just oblivious. When the husband comes back from what seemed to be continuous business trips, he demonstrates weaponized incompetence. He plays video games to relax after work, but her work never stops. The inability to do anything by himself when that is all she has been doing.
This is when the rage comes in, and quite fairly I must say. The imbalance breeds resentment, and that rage manifests in the most unexpected way – she begins to transform into a dog. And this is where you find yourself thinking: Wait… what? There are a lot of bizarre scenes, like the one at the restaurant that simply does nothing to the narrative, except showcases Amy Adams’s skills of embodying a dog.
From this, a recurring theme emerges: Am I doing enough? Is this all there is? In one moment, the protagonist speaks to a group of mothers, proclaiming the power of motherhood – equating them to gods, creators of life itself. And yet, it’s not enough. For a film exploring such weighty questions, its strongest moments lie in its dialogue rather than its execution.
Final Thoughts
While I hoped to be pleasantly surprised, Nightbitch ultimately felt underwhelming. Amy Adams is excellent, the concept is intriguing, but the film never quite finds its rhythm. It struggles to fully connect with either its horror or its satire. It’s a film that understands its subject matter but never quite figures out how to make it truly compelling.
2.5/5
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Love for film has always been a family thing - cozy evenings watching something we’re truly invested in, discovering new directors, and obsessively bingeing entire filmographies (latest fixation: Andrei Tarkovsky and Pedro Almodóvar). My parents introduced me to the world of cinema through Django Unchained and Apocalypse Now, that is when I realised what films can be…it’s a canon event. I studied Economics and Philosophy at the University of Manchester but squeezed in a year of Film Studies because, well… cinema. I love the way films make you feel and I definitely believe that we have different views hence different reviews. While cinematic masterpieces exist, the ones that truly matter are the ones that stay with you long after the credits roll. Beyond my TikTok and Instagram film pages, I lift, paint, play instruments, and (questionably) did ballet. Creativity shapes how I see film. Favourite 4: Back to the Future, Stalker, Poor Things, Spirited Away.