Film Review: Nightbitch

Considering Nightbitch is a film about a woman who turns into a dog at, you guessed it, night, subtlety was probably never going to be the name of the game here. Yet even within that context, Marielle Heller's fantasy-satire could really have done with at least a dash of it.

Following Amy Adams’ nameless Mother as she juggles looking after a child with suffering through an existential crisis, this dark horror-comedy – based on the book of the same name by Rachel Yoder – had the opportunity to land important messages with real, ahem, bite. 

Yet from the very first scene, it’s clear the script from Heller and Yoder doesn’t deliver on this promise. The entire plot is quite literally spelled out in the opening moments, setting up a running theme of brash voice-overs and bewildering borderline-fourth-wall-breaking that consistently undermines the viewer’s immersion in what could, arguably should, have been an entertaining yet thought-provoking ride through Mother’s maternal battle. 

The most effective films out there trust the audience to just get it, even if it is complex or unorthodox. But that trust is absent throughout, with Nightbitch taking every opportunity to painstakingly lay out its stakes and its story, to the point where it becomes tedious.

For all that the script holds nothing back, though, the body horror aspects certainly do. In a year where The Substance and Love Lies Bleeding took the subgenre to new, groundbreaking levels, Nightbitch is surprisingly tame in its twists and terror, barely justifying its 15 rating. 

There are hints of The Substance-esque body mutation at points, but that is ultimately left behind for a very literal take on the ‘Nightbitch’ that offers little in terms of shock value. In a year of gross-out carnage and gore, you can’t help but feel disappointed that it pulls its punches.

While this film does feel like a missed opportunity, however, there is still plenty to admire. For one, it takes on a topic that is so often overlooked in the male-dominated Hollywood space – that of motherhood in general, but also of motherhood for those who perhaps aren’t ready for, or at least don’t think that they’re ready for, or perhaps aren’t given the adequate support for, all that it entails.

And its messages are delivered by one of the finest performers around right now in Amy Adams, who does her best with what she’s given, fully committing to the entire spectrum of emotions that Mother goes through. It’s a shame that the screenplay will likely let her down come awards season, as there could easily have been a world in which this was the role that finally secured her that Oscar. 

Sadly, in the end she feels levels above a production that fails to reach its full potential, a disappointing entrant to what has been a stellar year for female-led, patriarchy-smashing stories.

Nightbitch is now showing at Broadway Cinema.