The Oregonian is a 2011 horror film directed by Calvin Reeder. The movie premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and was given a limited release beginning on June 8, 2012,[1] partially as a result of a successful Kickstarter campaign.[2] The Oregonian received a DVD release in early 2013.[3]

The Oregonian
Theatrical release poster
Directed byCalvin Reeder
Written byCalvin Reeder
Produced byRoger M. Mayer
Christian Palmer
Christo Dimassis
Steven Schardt
Elana Krausz
Wen Marcoux
Ryan Adams
Scott Honea
Joey Marcoux
StarringLindsay Pulsipher
CinematographyRyan Adams
Edited byBuzz Pierce
Music byScott Honea
Jed Maheu
Calvin Reeder
Distributed byFactory 25
Release dates
  • January 24, 2011 (2011-01-24) (Sundance)
  • June 8, 2012 (2012-06-08) (United States)
Running time
81 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The film stars Lindsay Pulsipher as a young woman who, after waking up from a car crash with no recollection of what happened, journeys through a surreal landscape and meets multiple bizarre characters.[4]

Plot

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The movie follows a young woman from Oregon (Lindsay Pulsipher), who gets into a car accident and as a result, finds herself in a surreal landscape. She has complete amnesia and cannot remember what has happened or even who she is. As she wanders around in an attempt to find help and safety, she comes across several increasingly bizarre people.

Cast

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  • Lindsay Pulsipher as The Oregonian
  • Robert Longstreet as Herb
  • Matt Olsen as Blond Stranger
  • Lynne Compton as Red Stranger
  • Roger M. Mayer as Omelette Man
  • Barlow Jacobs as Bud
  • Tipper Newton as Julie
  • Chadwick Brown as Ronnie
  • Jed Maheu as Murph
  • Zumi Rosow as Carlotta
  • Scott Honea as James
  • Christian Palmer as Handsome Deadman
  • Christo Dimassis as Bud's Friend
  • Mandy M Bailey as Stranger
  • Meredith Binder as Stranger

Reception

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On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, The Oregonian holds an approval rating of 44%, based on 9 reviews, and an average rating of 4.94/10.[5] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[6]

Michael Nordine from Slant Magazine rated the film one and a half out of four stars, calling the film "a jumbled mess that can’t make its deliberate incoherence interesting".[7] Dennis Harvey of Variety offered the film similar criticism, writing, "Reeder shows a knack for unsettling audiovisual textures, but once it’s clear The Oregonian will offer no real storyline or explanations, viewer patience wears thin".[8]

The film was not without its supporters' David D'Arcy from Screen Daily commended the film's atmosphere, soundtrack, and Pulsipher's performance.[9] David Fear of Time Out rated the film three out of five stars, writing, "though Reeder’s attempts to unnerve sometimes veer close to enfant terrible posturing, The Oregonian knows how to work its unpleasantness to primo psychotronic effect".[10] Eric Kohn from IndieWire awarded the film a score B+, writing, "Alternately creepy, puzzling and assaulting on the senses, at best The Oregonian functions as a nightmarish headtrip with ample doses of dark comedy". Kohn, however, criticized the film's third act, which he felt 'failed to put its compelling fragments together'.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "The Oregonian". Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  2. ^ "The Oregonian Theatrical Release". Kickstarter. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Calvin Lee Reeder's Mindfuck, THE OREGONIAN, Now On Limited Edition DVD/7"!!". Twitch Film. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  4. ^ Catsoulis, Jeannette (June 7, 2012). "The Only Thing Missing Is a Swamp Monster". The New York Times.
  5. ^ "The Oregonian (2012) – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.com. Fandango Media. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  6. ^ "The Oregonian reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  7. ^ Nordine, Michael (3 June 2012). "Review: The Oregonian - Slant Magazine". SlantMagazine.com. Slant Magazine. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  8. ^ Harvey, Dennis (2 February 2011). "The Oregonian – Variety". Variety.com. Variety Magazine. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  9. ^ D'Arcy, David. "The Oregonian". ScreenDaily.com. Screen Daily. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  10. ^ Fear, David. "The Oregonian". TimeOut.com. Time Out Magazine. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  11. ^ Kohn, Eric (28 January 2011). "A Wacky Roadtrip in Calvin Lee Reeder's "The Oregonian"". IndieWire.com. IndieWire. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
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