“Mother’s not quite herself today…” That Norman Bates line from Psycho gets a new spin in this bracingly strange movie based on Rachel Yoder’s acclaimed 2021 novel. Mother (Amy Adams) used to be an artist in the big city. Now she’s just another mom in the suburbs. Her husband (Scoot McNairy) still travels widely for work, leaving Mother to feed, clothe, and amuse their toddler 24/7. Of course, she’s dog-tired. But that can’t explain the fuzziness around her neck and her tailbone… her newly acute sense of smell… or her sudden popularity with the canines in the neighbourhood… ?
Adams (who also produced) entrusted the reins to writer-director Marielle Heller (Diary of a Teenage Girl; Can You Ever Forgive Me?). A mom herself, Heller took on the assignment and ran with it. “It’s a comedy for women and a horror film for men,” she proclaims. Either way, it’s a must-see, not least for Amy Adams’ fearlessly feral performance.
Amy Adams, Scoot McNairy, Arleigh Patrick Snowden, Emmett James Snowden, Zoë Chao, Mary Holland
USA
2024
English
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Megan Ellison, Allison Rose Carter, Havilah Brewster, Adam Paulsen, Sammy Scher, Rachel Yoder
Producer
Anne Carey, Marielle Heller, Sue Naegle, Christina Oh, Amy Adams, Stacy O’Neil
Screenwriter
Marielle Heller
Cinematography
Brandon Trost
Editor
Anne McCabe
Production Design
Karen Murphy
Original Music
Nate Heller
Marielle Heller
Marielle Heller is a filmmaker, producer, and actor who was born in Marin County, California. Her debut film, The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015), adapted from Phoebe Gloeckner’s graphic novel, premiered at Sundance and won the Grand Prix at the Berlin International Film Festival. She later directed Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018) and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019). Nightbitch is her latest film.
Filmography: The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015); Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018); A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World
Sasha Waters' documentary takes us through the life of America's best-selling late twentieth century poet, a private woman who shared her innermost thoughts and made them indispensable.
Saving Private Ryan
Steven Spielberg's gripping war movie was hailed as an instant classic in 1998, and he won his second Academy Award in five years for Best Director. Matt Damon takes the title role, Tom Hanks is charged with bringing him home from the front.
Palimpsest: The Story of a Name
Drawing on home movies and diaries from the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s, Canadian filmmaker Mary Stephen (Eric Rohmer's editor for many years) investigates the origins of her surname. After all, she was born in Hong Kong to Chinese parents. Or were they... ?
Buffalo '66
Vincent Gallo's directorial debut is an eccentric, provocative comedy which laces a poignant love story with both a sombre, washed-out naturalism and surreal musical vignettes. This one is something different...
Run Lola Run
In the hyper intense world of pre-millennial Berlin, Lola has just 20 minutes to come up with a 100,000 Deutchmarks or her boyfriend cops it. He's asking the right woman: Lola won't stop til she's saved the day... It's Speed, in the multiverse...