Amy Adams Might Be Turning Into a Dog in Surreal New Movie Nightbitch

Amy Adams will be starring in Nightbitch, a Searchlight Pictures movie based on the 2021 novel by author Rachel Yoder. The film will be directed by Marielle Heller, who helmed the 2019 Mr. Rogers biopic A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, starring Tom Hanks. Heller will also write the script. 

If you’re eyes go wide after seeing that title, you’re definitely not alone. The synopsis for the Nightbitch novel is pretty wild as well, so good luck with that: 

An ambitious mother puts her art career on hold to stay at home with her newborn son, but the experience does not match her imagination. Two years later, she steps into the bathroom for a break from her toddler’s demands, only to discover a dense patch of hair on the back of her neck. In the mirror, her canines suddenly look sharper than she remembers. Her husband, who travels for work five days a week, casually dismisses her fears from faraway hotel rooms.

As the mother’s symptoms intensify, and her temptation to give in to her new dog impulses peak, she struggles to keep her alter-canine-identity secret. Seeking a cure at the library, she discovers the mysterious academic tome which becomes her bible, A Field Guide to Magical Women: A Mythical Ethnography, and meets a group of mommies involved in a multilevel-marketing scheme who may also be more than what they seem.

An outrageously original novel of ideas about art, power, and womanhood wrapped in a satirical fairy tale, Nightbitch will make you want to howl in laughter and recognition. And you should. You should howl as much as you want.

The horror genre has made great works out of tales of motherhood gone wrong (Rosemary’s Baby, The Babadook, The Omen – Alien), and Nightbitch sounds like put a unique satirical spin on that genre trope. 

Although she’s known for a slew of prestige roles now, Amy Adams did get her breakout doing more extreme character acting work in films like the (2005) indie film Junebug (her first Oscar nomination), David O. Russell’s The Fighter, and the cult-classic comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Rick Bobby. She made a return to an extreme and troubled character in HBO’s 2018 limited series Sharp Objects and received a Golden Globe nomination as a result. 

That’s all to say: the outrageous-sounding title notwithstanding, Nightbitch sounds like it could be another significant vehicle for Amy Adams, and already has the potential to be a breakthrough success. Especially if entire groups of moviegoing moms feel like they can relate. 

Nightbitch will be in theaters on December 6th.