At the moment it seems like we’re gripped by the concept of gory, comedic horror and its relation to the female experience. The Substance is just the latest in a surge in body horrors relating to feminine identity, and now Nightbitch is playing with the genre, turning the spotlight on what the extreme duress of motherhood does to the psyche.
Within the first minute of Can You Ever Forgive Me? director Marielle Heller’s fourth feature, a defeated Amy Adams delivers the line: ‘I’m deeply afraid I’ll never be smart, or happy, or thin, ever.’
As fun as the title may be, Nightbitch tackles some pretty serious stuff – but with a dry sense of humour, of course. Adams’ exhausted character, known only as ‘Mother’, exemplifies the idea of lost identity while being a stay-at-home mum. The only way for her to reclaim herself is, of course, by transforming into a dog by night. Based on Rachel Yoder’s 2021 novel, it’s a bizarre storyline on paper that’s only partially successful in its screen adaptation.
The film thrives when it makes painfully accurate – and darkly comedic – observations on motherhood. Her child, just referred to as Baby, is an angelic-looking toddler who you can’t help but love, even when he’s waking her up to present her with his own shit. Her husband is absent for most of the film yet when he returns, he makes a point to poke holes in her parenting, especially when she starts making Baby eat out of dog bowls (understandably).
Some moments really make you squirm
Laughs come from scenes with the nightmarishly humdrum ‘book baby’ group, the incompetence of the husband who can’t even run a bath for his son, and Mother’s IDGAF attitude to the never-ending tribulations of parenthood. This is most notable when she dryly delivers the line, ‘What fresh hell is this?’ as a patch of fur appears on her lower back.
As the character’s resentment towards life in the ‘burbs bubbles up, the lines between fantasy and reality become blurred. And sadly, this is where the film begins to falter. The plotline flits between comedy and body horror – and truthfully, some moments really make you squirm – but the actual ‘transformation’ errs from gross to just a little corny at times.
The occasional colour change of her eyes to signify the ‘hound’ in her is a little too Mystique-from-X-Men. And there’s also the implication of other women around her having this ‘gift’ when neighbourhood dogs start to follow her around, but that’s never made explicitly clear.
While Nightbitch accurately depicts the mundanity of motherhood, you can’t help but wish it dug a little deeper into the devaluation of women once they become parents, rather than just holding a mirror. Yes, it’s funny to see the multi-Oscar-nominated Adams scoffing box-made mac ‘n’ cheese out of a dog bowl and running around the garden, arse-up, like a bloodhound. However, Heller’s attempt to put a philosophical spin on it misses the mark.
The character of Mother doesn’t feel fully developed, and maybe that’s the point, but you can’t help but wish you could fully contextualise her loss of identity. Otherwise, it risks being nothing more than a long drawn-out, one-note comedy sketch. All bark, not much bite.
In cinemas worldwide Dec 6.