In an interview with Vanity Fair, Adams said she thought Yoder’s novel was “unique and otherworldly, and like nothing I’d ever read before”, adding: “The thing I really attached to is this idea of loss of identity.”
Reflecting on her character’s journey in the film, Adams explained: “Through her parenting – through her mothering – she got in touch with something bigger and something primal.”
The 98-minute film has received broadly positive reviews, although some critics suggested not every idea explored in the film fulfils its potential.
“Part of the brilliance of Nightbitch,” Lenker said in her review, “is the ways it doesn’t stop at showcasing the isolation and loneliness of motherhood, cut off from a previous version of oneself and one’s life. It takes this fable a step further.”
She described Heller and Adams as “a dynamic pair, finding ways to punctuate their bizarre tale with brutal honesty, off-the-wall humour, and a desire to celebrate the messiness and magic of motherhood”.
