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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 wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, speaking, spectacled member of the slimy Gremlin horde that infests Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s simply an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. Yet, in a strange manner, it’s also surprisingly sturdy life guidance. Honestly, consider my perspective.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the biggest mistake you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin understands this. In fact, a large portion of the dentally-gifted beasts that inhabit Dante’s wild 1990 film (arguably his best) possess the same knowing, self-referential sense of humour regarding the blurry line separating the mundane and absolute bedlam. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and with the passage of time, it’s the underlying idea that resonates the most.

An Early Life Fixation

Of course, my connection with this movie didn’t start on such an introspective level. As a child, we were limited to a few well-worn videocassettes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box almost certainly acquired from an non-chain rental store and sporting grimacing beasts on its tattered front. I was right away smitten and these films wasted no time inserting themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. After that point, they became an almost-daily part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s original typically gets all the praise, thanks primarily due to its reputation as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. That said, its sequel seldom receives the same level of high regard, which feels criminal. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d lock myself inside and pop it in. When I obtained my very own TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. With repetition, it became deeply rooted in my psyche. If my parents observed this fixation, they didn’t seem to mind.

Hidden Delights and Societal References

As I matured, new insights enhanced multiple watches, heightening the enjoyment of watching little green monsters joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his second wife Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp has more heart than his actual-world equivalent.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was inspired by 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 meta sequence where Gremlins hijack the very film you’re watching. A version for theaters, another for home video and television, each offering a winking bit of meta pop-culture magic ahead of its time.

An Enduring Influence

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that caught my eye as a child, this hidden treasure maintained my fascination as an adult. Eventually, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation telling me he made the movie with the express purpose of poking fun at those who loved its absurd-yet-genuine predecessor and wanted more. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he happily revealed. This cartoonish rebelliousness and resolve to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only increased my affection for it.

When I experienced a sudden family bereavement earlier this year, I was taken aback to discover that, during my most profound sorrow, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Possibly not. The comforting familiarity it furnished was necessary to dilute my mind’s sadness sludge – but the stuff it had given me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just are powerless over. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: embrace the chaos, commit your entire being into tinned provisions and hunting rifles and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

It’s powerful existential guidance from a highly unexpected fountain – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my feelgood film.