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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. We’re advising all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into preserved goods and firearms.” This piece of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, talking, glasses-wearing member of the oozy monster mob that overruns Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s merely an financial suggestion from one monster to another. But, in a strange manner, it’s also pretty solid life advice. Truly, listen to my reasoning.

When situations deteriorate, the most counterproductive action you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Actually, the majority of the fang-bearing creatures that inhabit Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (possibly his finest) possess the same wry, meta sense of humour regarding the hazy boundary separating everyday life and unadulterated chaos. It’s a single component of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and with the passage of time, it’s the message that strikes the deepest chord.

A Youthful Fascination

Of course, my attachment to this movie did not begin on such an philosophical plane. In my youth, we possessed merely a few battered VHS tapes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve likely purchased from an off-brand video shop and sporting growling monsters on its knackered cover. I was instantly captivated and these films wasted no time lodging themselves inside my small, malleable brain. After that point, they became an practically routine part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s first film typically gets all the accolades, thanks mostly because of its status as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. Nevertheless, its successor infrequently obtains the same level of elevated esteem, which feels criminal. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d lock myself inside and stick it on. When I obtained my very own TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. With repetition, it became deeply rooted in my mental framework. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they didn’t seem to mind.

Hidden Rewards and Cultural Nuggets

As I grew, new understandings rewarded repeat viewings, heightening the enjoyment of watching diminutive verdant beasts gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by future president Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his one-time partner Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his real-life counterpart.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was based on a actual “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film varying versions of a self-referential segment where Gremlins seize control of the actual feature in progress. An edit for movie houses, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each delivering a smirking slice of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy prior to the concept being mainstream.

A Persistent Appeal

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s wonderfully grotesque creatures that caught my eye as a child, this subsurface richness held my interest as an adult. In time, I even interviewed Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation revealing to me he made the movie with the specific aim of ridiculing those who loved its silly-yet-sincere predecessor and wanted more. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he happily revealed. This cartoonish defiance and commitment to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only made me love it even more.

When I endured a sudden family bereavement earlier this year, I was taken aback to discover that, during my deepest grief, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Perhaps not. The comforting familiarity it offered was needed to weaken my mind’s mourning mire – but the insights it had imparted to me as an adult were just as useful.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just are powerless over. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to be like them: welcome the pandemonium, put everything you’ve got into canned food and shotguns and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

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