Injecting a dose of meta into the horror genre, writer/director Craven conceived a creepy reboot of his A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise with the fiendishly clever conceit that the true-life cast and filmmakers have to fight off an evil exporting their boogeyman creation into the real world. On the front lines is original leading lady/final girl Heather Langenkamp, who gets to redefine her screen persona; others appearing as themselves include Robert Englund, studio executives, and Craven himself.