Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		2.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

The Oregonian Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf October 6, 2022

After building his confidence with a series of shorts, writer/director Calvin Lee Reeder mounts his first feature-length movie with 2011’s “The Oregonian.” A fan of underground cinema, Reeder hopes to brings some mind-scrambling stuff to the endeavor, which is kinda-sorta a take on “Carnival of Souls,” following the freak-out experiences of a young woman marching through a mysterious area of potential madness after surviving a car accident. Reeder tries to make a distinct impression with the surreal viewing experience, investing in an aggressive sound design and inscrutable imagery, hoping to reach an audience that lives for this kind of thing. Or at least has the patience to sit through it.

“The Oregonian” isn’t much for plot, preferring to lead with a visual journey for the eponymous character (Lindsay Pulsipher), who emerges from a car wreck with a distorted sense of reality, struggling to find her way to some level of safety. We follow her encounters with strange, unhelpful people, including an old woman in red who laughs at the stranger, and there’s a person in a green frog costume that shadows her odyssey. The blood-stained woman is visited by singers and heavy breathers who urinate blood and oil, and she’s served gasoline cocktails. “The Oregonian” vaguely defines an emotional struggle for The Oregonian, but Reeder isn’t committed to anything more than strangeness.

“The Oregonian” offers various influences to help shape Reeder’s vision, with the most prominent director being David Lynch, whose dealings with audio and visual extremity and otherworldly visitations factor into the helmer’s gameplan for a brain-bleeder. “The Oregonian” is filled with piercing sounds and showy editing, with Reeder aiming to submerge viewers in the unreal, watching as the woman manages visions she doesn’t understand and Reeder isn’t too concerned about explaining. He’s pursuing an interpretive experience here, and one that doesn’t always invite a deeper inspection, showing some hostility toward the audience, which is a strange creative choice, and one that makes the effort borderline unwatchable at times.

The Oregonian Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation encounters some issues. Encoding has trouble at times, with grain looking noisy and somewhat blocky at times, while a complete breakdown is found at the 66:40 mark. Fine detail isn't present, losing skin particulars and rural distances. Color is acceptable, with defined hues on green costuming and bloodshed. Town tours also deliver acceptable primaries and greenery. Skin tones are natural.

The Oregonian Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 Dolby Digital mix mostly deals with aggressive sound elements, with the filmmaker aiming to create as unpleasant a track as possible. The nightmare tour is filled with shrill sounds, often at top volume, but dialogue exchanges are acceptable, providing clarity with performances. More traditional musical selections register as intended, while the rest intentionally carries a fuzzier, distorted sound.

The Oregonian Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Booklet (22 pages) contains essays from Craig Zobel, Nicholas McCarthy, David Lowery, Mike Plante, David Zellner, Lindsay Pulsipher, and Calvin Lee Reeder.

• Commentary features writer/director Calvin Lee Reeder and filmmaker Todd Rohal.

• Behind the Scenes (8:28, HD) is a brief look at the filming of "The Oregonian," including interruptions from the police, understandably concerned about the production's use of a firearm, especially one carried by a bloodied person.

• Shorts (HD and SD) from Calvin Lee Reeder include "The Snake Mountain of Colada" (13:41), "Little Farm" (8:13), "The Procedure" (3:42), "The Procedure Part 2" (3:00), and "The Bulb" (11:46).

• And a Trailer (1:46, HD) is included.

The Oregonian Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Those with specialized antennae for avant-garde cinema will probably be more interested in "The Oregonian," as it's not a movie meant for a casual viewing. It's a dark crossing into a strange existence, and one that delivers as much cinematic power as a little-to-no-budget provides. There will be fans of Reeder's imagination for psychological melt (from the Blu-ray packaging and supplements, the faithful appear to be other filmmakers), but "The Oregonian" isn't a sterling addition to the subgenre. It makes a few curious moves to keep things mildly interesting, but as a whole, the picture slips into crude self-indulgence one too many times, with Reeder intent on keeping his endgame for the production a secret.