The first trailer for Marielle Heller’s new comedy horror Nightbitch has been released, and it’s everything I hoped it would be. The movie stars Amy Adams as a stay-at-home mom who thinks she’s turning into a dog. Yep, that’s really the premise.
It’s based on Rachel Yoder’s incredible book of the same name, which follows a woman known simply as ‘The Mother’. A former artist who is stifled by the burdens of being the sole caregiver responsible for her toddler, she starts to experience some strange symptoms. Her canines grow, her tailbone elongates, and she gets a sudden craving for raw meat…
The trailer leans into this as we see Nightbitch start to emerge, frustrated by her life being reduced to just being a mother. She starts to feel “off” as her child says she’s “fuzzy”, implying her fur is starting to grow. “I’m pretty sure I’m turning into a dog,” she says at one point after we see her going for a run on all fours, eating meat, and pouncing on her husband.
The book is deliberately ambiguous about whether or not this transformation is really happening, and it seems like the new adaptation will follow a similar path. Her absent partner (played by Scoot McNairy) isn’t helpful either, telling her that the changes she’s noticing are a “little bit weird”.
From the first trailer too, it seems like the film is aiming to capture the struggle and conflict of becoming a mother amid society’s restrictions. I just hope that the movie leans into the weird and surreal nature of the book too. Given that it ends with Adams’ character talking about crushing a walnut with her vagina, it seems it’s all on the right track…
Nightbitch premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival before getting a wider release in the US on December 6. For more, check out our guides to upcoming movies and upcoming horror movies on the way.
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