Some Friday evening back in the early 2000s I was living in Seattle, surfing the channels, trying to find something to watch that wasn’t too fucking terrible, and I came upon the most amazing TV show I had ever seen in my life.

The Oregonian Vice: I met you in a supermarket in Seattle like 10 years ago. How did that event change your life drastically? Calvin: Back in the early 2000s you were on a hilarious cable access show called Jerkbeast. Whenever I try to describe that show to people they look at me like I just pissed in a champagne glass and drank it. How would you describe the show to some ignorant dope that’s never seen it? Did working on the Jerkbeast TV show inspire you to go further and start making movies? Or was that the plan all along? Your first few films you co-directed with your Jerkbeast co-star Brady Hall. Did you like sharing the director’s spot with someone else or was it drag? Were you the top or the bottom? I always read interviews where you shit on your early movies. You don’t even mention The Gibraltar Code or Polterchrist on your IMDB page. Does the existence of these films upset you that much? While they are pretty rough around the edges I think these early works still have glimmers of brilliance. Like, in Polterchrist you had that whole Jehovah’s Fitness scene and the fight with Johnny Appleseed… You don’t even like the Jerkbeast movie, which I thought was a comedy masterpiece. I kind of see it as what Van Bebber’s Deadbeat At Dawn was to action movies Jerkbeast was to comedy. How does that sound? Were there any movies or anything at this point that were influencing you, or did you grow up in a cultural blackout? Do you think that growing up in a cultural blackout was a good thing? Do you think it’s important that filmmakers avoid exposure to other people’s movies as much as possible, especially during those early formative years? Cat’s Eye Labyrinth The Toxic Avenger Total Recall Men at Work Jerkbeast So Jerkbeast actually got a bit of attention. There must have been something good that came out of it, right? After Jerkbeast you started directing things on your own and your movies started getting weird, more dreamlike. The Rambler particularly comes to mind here. What prompted this change in direction? Why psychedelic movies? What do you think attracts you to that stuff? You don’t look like a psychedelic guy. Let’s talk about the new movie. The Oregonian is totally fucked up and bizarre. How did you get someone to give you money for something like this? I read that you describe this movie as a “psychic mystery,” but I also would describe it as a road movie. In fact, it’s a straight up ripoff of The Muppet Movie. Admit it. The lead in The Oregonian, Lindsey Pulsipher—who you are currently in a relationship with—is both physically and emotionally brutalized in this movie, as well as in a few of your past short films. Why do you think you enjoy making movies about beating the shit out of her so much? Jerkbeast The music in the movie might be the creepiest part of the whole thing. It’s very rare to find a horror movie where the music plays such an effective role in unnerving the audience these days. What was the inspiration there? Does it ever bother you when you see your girlfriend making out with one of those big superstuds on True Blood? Did you script out the entire movie? Do you allow for any extensive improvisation? How close did the movie wind up looking like the original script? Jerkbeast There’s some pretty gory and violent shit in this film. Some of it gets pretty shocking. Do you think “shock” plays an important role in your art? What are some movies that have shocked you and will shock us? Cannibal Holocaust Who Can Kill A Child? Anti-Christ So now that this movie’s done what happens now? El Topo You don’t really like Jimmy Buffett, do you? You just like him ironically, right? A1A The Coconut Telegraph