Amy Adams has been in development with Nightbitch for over a year, but details have now started to surface as the neo-horror film has recently released a new poster from Searchlight Pictures. The film has been written and directed by Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), Nightbitch is based on a novel by Rachel Yoder. The film will tell the story of “a suburban mom thrown into the stay-at-home routine of raising a toddler. As she embraces the feral power deeply rooted in motherhood, she becomes increasingly aware of the bizarre and undeniable signs that she may be turning into a dog.”
Adams plays that possibly canine housewife. Scoot McNairy (Monsters) is also in the cast, playing her “oft-traveling husband,” while Mary Holland, who is best known for appearing in the Netflix release Senior Year and for co-writing and co-starring in Clea DuVall’s romantic comedy Happiest Season, takes on an unspecified role. The cast will also include Arleigh Patrick Snowden, Emmett James Snowden, Zoë Chao, Archana Rajan and Jessica Harper.
Coming to us from Searchlight Pictures and Annapurna, Nightbitch is produced by Heller, Adams, Anne Carey, Stacy O’Neil, Christina Oh, and Sue Naegle. Sammy Scher and Havilah Brewster serve as executive producers.
Yoder’s novel (pick up a copy HERE) has the following description:
“One day, the mother was a mother, but then one night, she was quite suddenly something else… 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 film was originally slated for December 6, but the poster reveals that it will move up to sometime in the fall.