How does the Nightbitch movie differ from the book? Film vs book differences explored

Marielle Heller's black comedy film, Nightbitch, based on Rachel Yoder's 2021 popular novel of the same name, was released in theatres on December 6, 2024. The film starred Amy Adams as Mother, who begins exhibiting canine traits after giving birth to a child. This transformation enables Mother to shift between her human and canine forms periodically, allowing both forms to coexist under specific conditions.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the Nightbitch movie and novel. Readers' discretion is advised.

Having said that, while the film preserves the core narrative and some plot points from the Nightbitch novel, it diverges significantly in the essence of how it deals with them. For instance, the gruesome and graphic part of Mother hovering over the household cat after devouring it is entirely omitted from the movie. Instead, in the movie, the viewers don't really see the blood and gore happen on-screen, but it's understood that it did.

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Nightbitch movie tones down the cat-scene and makes it more palatable

A specific scene from the Nightbitch movie has got some thanking the filmmakers for how less gruesomely it was handled in the film compared to the book. The scene in question involves the Mother's son discovering her beside the family's dead cat after she has devoured it. This particular scene is extremely graphic and traumatizing in Rachel Yoder's book.

The Nightbitch film, however, treats the scene very differently. In the film, while Mother is on her usual evening stroll, she finds a couple of neighborhood dogs that have accumulated food for themselves and others. The pile comprises different things, including dead rodents and skunks.

The sight of this inspires her canine alter ego to kill their house cat, who she has always been resentful of. The film then depicts her going towards their house cat in her dog form but does not show what happens, leaving the gruesome details of the scene to the viewers' imagination. The scene then cuts to Mother lying in her bed in her human form.

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Nitghbitch movie deals with Mother and Husband's relationship differently

Despite the film's narrative focusing greatly on the Mother's role as a mother, it also focuses on her role as a wife to her husband (played by Scoot McNairy). Mother and Husband have been married for a couple of years, and their relationship has some visible strains that are exaggerated following the birth of their child. However, none of the individuals are ready to have difficult conversations about their situation.

While this aspect is both a part of the novel and the film, the depiction differs. In the book, Husband is much more passive than in the film. Rachel Yoder's book steers clear of any significant interaction between Mother and Husband. Marielle Heller's film, on the other hand, does not shy away from making Husband a part of the film's ongoing storyline.

For instance, in one of the scenes from the movie, Mother accuses Husband of persuading her to give up on her career and live a life of servitude. In another, the Husband accuses the Mother of not taking an active interest in him and never vocalizing the things bothering her. These verbal altercations result in the couple splitting up.

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Nightbitch is currently running in theatres.