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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. We’re advising all of our clients to invest all their resources into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” That bit of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, speaking, bespectacled member of the slick creature crowd that infests Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s merely an investment tip from one monster to another. Yet, curiously, it’s also remarkably sound life guidance. Honestly, listen to my reasoning.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the worst thing you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin comprehends this. Actually, the majority of the dentally-gifted beasts that occupy Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (arguably his best) possess the same sly, self-aware sense of humour regarding the blurry line separating the mundane and pure pandemonium. It’s a single component of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and with the passage of time, it’s the underlying idea that echoes the loudest.

A Youthful Fascination

Naturally, my attachment to this movie didn’t start on such an deeply thoughtful note. In my youth, we possessed merely a few well-worn videocassettes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box almost certainly acquired from an off-brand video shop and featuring grimacing beasts on its tattered front. I was immediately enamoured and these films wasted no time inserting themselves inside my small, malleable brain. From then on, they became an practically routine part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s first film usually receives all the praise, thanks largely to its legacy as a partly frightening holiday classic – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. That said, its successor seldom receives the same level of elevated esteem, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d seclude myself indoors and stick it on. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. Over time, it became deeply rooted in my mindset. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they gave no indication of concern.

Subtler Delights and Societal References

As I grew, new understandings enhanced multiple watches, elevating the fun of watching small emerald creatures joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his former spouse Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his actual-world equivalent.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was based on a genuine “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film alternate cuts of a self-referential segment where Gremlins take over the exact movie you are viewing. One for cinemas, one for VHS and TV, each offering a winking bit of self-referential entertainment sorcery before the term was even a thing.

An Enduring Appeal

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that caught my eye as a child, this subsurface richness held my interest as an adult. Ultimately, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no reservations revealing to me he made the movie with the express purpose of poking fun at those who loved its goofy-but-heartfelt predecessor and craved further installments. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he gleefully confessed. This Looney Tunes-esque insubordination and resolve to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only made me love it even more.

When I endured a abrupt familial death recently, I was astonished to realize that, during my heightest mourning, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Perhaps not. The comforting familiarity it provided was necessary to thin out my mind’s mourning mire – but the stuff it had given me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just cannot manage. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: accept the turmoil, put everything you’ve got into preserved goods and firearms and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

It’s strong life advice from a very unlikely source – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will forever remain my comfort movie.