The first feature film by Bilge Ebiri, a New York Magazine film critic, is an unusual hybrid, a surreal 'cubicle comedy' that subtly morphs into a paranoid thriller.

This is Ebiri's first feature after directing four shorts. He shows talent, but shouldn't give up his day job just yet.

From the co-workers' macho hazing rituals to the pseudo-arty gotcha ending, New Guy never quite locates a sensibility to call its own.

Alas, the movie is less clever than its characters.