Customer Reviews

The New Guy

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This movie is a very-well acted, extremely low-budget thriller that starts off as a comedy, then turns into a horror movie, but still ends as a comedy, sort of. A lot of these cheap independent thrillers tend to be very artsy and weird. This one is definitely weird, but it also has some conventional elements (in a good sense). The acting is great. The lead actor, Kelly Miller, looks familiar but I checked and it doesn't look like he's been in any other movies. He sort of looks like what the guy in "Shaun of the Dead" might look like without his goatee.

It feels like your average office comedy at first (I think fans of "Office Space" and "Haiku Tunnel" will like this movie) but something is off...Strange things happen, people whisper about scary goings-on, and eventually you get the sense that something awful is about to happen. And it does, sort of. The ending isn't very climactic, it leaves lots of questions, and some viewers will probably be disappointed by that part of the movie. But it makes you think, and there is something very interesting about a film that doesn't answer all the questions posed by its story.

I happened to see this movie in New York last year. It was a smaller movie, and I didn't know quite what to expect. I'm glad I saw it, because it was one of the most original fllms I saw all year. The director has a sense of black comedy that you don't really see too much of anymore -- it wasn't obvious or thickheaded -- and the actors, while not recognizeable figures from tv or other movies, did a great job with the material. It's one of those movies that just has a good feel to it. You'll be happy you watched it.

Anybody who has ever worked an office job MUST see this movie. It's hilarious! The scene with the coffee maker is priceless.

The director has a great ability with a classic kind of physical and situational comedy ala early silent films and Buster Keaton (helped along by the lead actor's superb performance). Also, in stark contrast, the director demonstrates he can create a highly unnerving feeling of suspense from the first moment in the film.

This is one of those movies that's so bizarre, you keep watching just to figure out what the heck is going on in this movie. The problem is, it's never explained what the heck is going on in this movie.

This movie starts out with Gregg's first day of work. He's in the office bathroom trying to do his business when the guy in the next stall tries to make small talk with him, which is weird and uncomfortable for Gregg. If that wasn't weird enough, the walls of his new cubicle are completely covered with Post-It notes. He then finds out the guy who previously occupied this cubicle went crazy and killed another co-worker.

From here on out, new questions kept popping into my head. Was this previous worker already crazy or did this place drive him crazy? What was the significance of the Post-it notes? How did the banners on the wall (that the manager kept referring to) relate to the overall story? Who was operating the toy cars? What did the female co-worker mean when she said, "I saw them"? What did she see? And if she was so scared, why didn't she leave? Why didn't the janitor leave? Are these co-workers good or evil? What's the significance of being a virgin? What did the ending symbolize? Did any of these events actually happen or was this all a dream?

The answers to all these questions? I don't know! Lots of questions are asked, but none are answered.

I gave this movie 2 stars instead of 1 because it did have it's funny moments, very reminiscent of "Office Space". Even the scary scenes were funny, like when Gregg's trying to find a weapon and comes across a plastic spoon, then a metal spoon, then a tea strainer and he's saying to himself, "What the....?" Pretty funny.
Also, this movie is creepy in a Twilight Zone kind of way. But it's also so bizarre that I was tempted to turn it off several times. But I hung in there hoping at least my questions would be answered, but they weren't.

This movie is for viewers who like something different. It's not your typical office comedy. It starts out funny and veers straight into weird and suspenseful but then hits a brick wall (or cubicle wall in this instance) and crashes into a heap of inane. Getting to the end was too sloppy for me to really recommend this film but I gave it 4 stars for almost making a truly original film.

This film is about the true horrors of the first day at a new job for a typical guy trying to find his way in the corporate stucture that he now has to inhabit. The office has a bit of a cult-like atmosphere with the building ID being a highly coveted item. This film has moments of hilarity that make it worth viewing (the voice mail left for his date was great) once but once only.