The Final Patient

In this fascinating little chiller, a retired country physician (Bill Cobbs) tinkers with ancient Chinese medicines and stumbles onto a formula for eternal youth. But his treatment is highly addictive and has a horrifying side effect—as uninvited guests to his farm will learn to their everlasting regret. Made for less than half a million dollars, The Final Patient boasts an impressive star performance by veteran character actor Cobbs and will remain in viewers’ memories long after bigger-budgeted, effects-laden genre offerings are forgotten. Creepy and low-key, this thriller really gets under the skin.

Shelf Talk: Although it didn’t get theatrical distribution, Final Patient did pretty well on the film-festival circuit. It won the 2006 Screencraft Award at the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival. And at the Trenton Film Festival, director Jerry Mainardi and star Cobbs won top honors for their respective work. Echo Bridge hopes to generate buzz by plugging the flick aggressively on major horror-themed Web sites, and the company promises an extensive PR campaign to reach potential renters beyond the circle of genre buffs.