Maine is versatile. From the tip of Mount Katahdin to the rocky, roiling coastlines to the vast stretches of unspoiled wilderness, Maine is a moviemaker’s playground. Just ask Maine native Billy Hanson, whose new feature, the military-meets-monsters action thriller “Bone Cold,” makes its Maine premiere at Saco’s Apple Cinemas this weekend.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, in miniature,” Hanson said of “Bone Cold’s” wintry horrors. “Maine is so picturesque, so beautiful.” Hanson’s not wrong, as “Bone Cold” plays out in a series of appropriately stark and frigid locations culled from around a family friend’s camp in West Parsonfield. That’s where his film’s two protagonists, a military sniper team played by Hollywood pros Johnathan Stoddard and Matt Munroe, stalk a top-secret Russian target through the isolated reaches of Ukraine – and where something otherworldly may or may not be stalking them.

“Bone Cold” is a taut, well-acted and crisply directed indie movie, with the Black Ops central duo’s tactics and banter emerging with an authoritative snap, and the violence, when it comes, painted in shocking bursts over the crisp snow. For a tiny-budgeted, made-in-Maine film, it’s a significant addition to the horror-action genre, qualities that attracted international distributor Well Go USA Entertainment and will see “Bone Cold” receiving a DVD, Blu-ray and video on demand release Tuesday, June 13.

For Hanson, a Presque Isle native who lived in Caribou, Madawaska and Old Orchard Beach before moving to Los Angeles in 2007, coming back to Maine was instrumental in “Bone Cold’s” development and eventual success.

“All the communities I’ve been in in Maine have all been incredibly supportive of the arts,” said Hanson, “and that’s exactly what happened when we arrived. People embraced us. My producer, Jaclyn Amor, and I went on a radio station in Maine to call for extras, and I had dozens of emails before I even got back to my car. Our main location was only accessible through snowmobiles in the winter, and a local snowmobile club (thanked in the film’s credits) took us out there on sleds. That doesn’t happen anywhere else.”

Hanson, a TV and film professional in L.A., notes that his California colleagues have been so impressed with his experience in Maine that he’s hoping “Bone Cold” can serve to steer more productions to his home state. “I had friends call me up and ask, ‘Do I need to move there?’ ” Hanson said, chuckling. “And, honestly, I had more offers of help up here than I could use.”

That said, Hanson, a strong proponent of tax incentives for filming, is realistic about just how far Maine hospitality and scenic beauty can stretch against states and countries where economic incentives for film production are more a priority. “My point to the Maine Legislature is that there’s this opportunity to bring in money – it’s all about whether or not you want to take advantage of it.”

Of course, filming in Maine in the winter in a remote location with a tiny crew and no real money brings its own unique challenges. Luckily, Hanson’s hardy cast and crew were all up for it.

“Everyone was game,” said Hanson, admiringly. “Most of the crew were friends. We had no money, we were living in tight quarters in the middle of the woods in winter, but everyone was just like, ‘Let’s go hit it.’ ” Hanson’s tight circle of collaborators even extended to his mother, whose huge 4k TV provided the perfect place to screen dailies as the cast and crew thawed out at her home in Saco. “People saw the footage and all their doubts evaporated,” said Hanson, “They were like, ‘I totally get it.’ ”

So do I. “Bone Cold” straddles muscular but realistic action and creeping unease admirably (with a dash of impressively creepy special effects), setting this low-budget effort in the upper echelon of indie action horrors you’ll find on your favorite streaming service. Part of that comes down to the uniformly solid cast, and part of it stems from Hanson’s intelligent, surprisingly sensitive script. Stoddard’s Jon, an expert marksman whose unshakeable professional confidence is rattled by a series of questionable orders and inexplicable events, is the vehicle for Hanson to examine PTSD and to say some provocative things about the toll war takes on service members.

“I’m sort of self-conscious,” confessed Hanson. “I don’t have that background at all. But I talked with a good friend who did two tours in Iraq and a Navy SEAL sniper who, in long conversations over a bottle of whiskey, laid it all out for me. How soldiers routinely have to do things no ordinary person should have to deal with, and make decisions nobody should have to make. And how that lingers once they come home.” Hanson, in the guise of a low-budget monster flick, was very conscious of not wanting to vilify his protagonists, even when the no-win position they’re put in sees them making some terrible choices indeed. “I don’t want to be exploitative in a way that does any damage to the conversation,” explained Hanson.

“Bone Cold” and Billy Hanson’s circular route from L.A. (where Jon’s home life with his increasingly worried wife and daughter was shot) to Maine (a downtown Portland bus station bridges the film’s two Maine settings) is undoubtedly a triumphant one. Hanson, noting that the Saco Apple Cinemas were where he first fell in love with the movies, is thrilled to bring this long-gestating, Maine-shot effort back home. (Hanson and his cast and crew will be in attendance.) He’s also relived that the years-long quest to make, sell and release “Bone Cold” is finally at an end, something the pandemic kept pushing further and further into an uncertain future.

“We shot in 2019 and 2020, and while the pandemic didn’t hurt us during filming, it decimated post-production,” explained Hanson. “We finally locked in mid-2022, so basically, lockdown added two years to our schedule. I’m very happy it’s done.”

Preparing to bring his film right back to where his filmmaking journey began, Billy Hanson is excited – and not a little proud of what he and his team accomplished. “I’m in the weird position of being a first-time director who’s satisfied with the work,” said Hanson. “We got hit with a lot of curveballs, we had a super low budget for this sort of guerrilla passion project, and a really good company got behind us. For the small movies it’s up against, the acting is really good, the story is well-crafted – I don’t have any delusions of grandeur, but I’m very proud.”

“Bone Cold” will make its Maine premiere in three screenings on Saturday and Sunday at Saco’s Apple Cinemas. The Tuesday after that, the film will be available on Digital, Blu-ray & DVD, complete with special features including a making-of feature and blooper reel. (Let’s hear it for physical media!) Get your tickets at www.eventbrite.com.

Dennis Perkins is a freelance writer who lives in Auburn with his wife and cat.

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