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“Well, it’s rather brutal here. We’re advising all of our clients to invest all their resources into preserved goods and firearms.” That bit of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, speaking, glasses-wearing member of the oozy monster mob that infests Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s merely an investment tip from one monster to another. But, oddly enough, it’s also surprisingly sturdy existential counsel. Seriously, hear me out.

When things go bad, the biggest mistake you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. In fact, a large portion of the toothy monsters that inhabit Dante’s wild 1990 film (possibly his finest) possess the same sly, self-aware comic sensibility regarding the hazy boundary separating everyday life and pure pandemonium. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and as I age, it’s the message that resonates the most.

An Early Life Fixation

Naturally, my fondness for this movie did not begin on such an introspective level. In my youth, we possessed merely a few battered VHS tapes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box likely purchased from an off-brand video shop and boasting snarling creatures on its worn-out artwork. I was immediately enamoured and these films wasted no time lodging themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. From then on, they became an near-everyday part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s original typically gets all the accolades, thanks mostly because of its status as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. Nevertheless, its successor seldom receives the same level of high regard, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d retreat into the house and pop it in. When I obtained my very own TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. Over time, it etched itself permanently in my mindset. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they didn’t seem to mind.

Deeper Delights and Cultural References

As I grew, new insights enhanced multiple watches, elevating the fun of watching small emerald creatures gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the ahead-of-its-time property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his second wife Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his real-life counterpart.

The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was inspired by a actual “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world really ended. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film alternate cuts of a self-aware scene where Gremlins take over the actual feature in progress. An edit for movie houses, one for VHS and TV, each providing a grinning portion of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy before the term was even a thing.

An Enduring Influence

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that captured my attention as a child, this deeper gold kept me hooked as an adult. In time, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation revealing to me he made the movie with the express purpose of poking fun at those who loved its goofy-but-heartfelt predecessor and wanted more. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he gleefully confessed. This cartoonish rebelliousness 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 sudden family bereavement not long ago, I was astonished to realize that, during my most profound sorrow, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Possibly not. The comforting familiarity it offered was essential to dilute my mind’s mourning mire – but the perspectives it had imparted to me as an adult were just as useful.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just are powerless over. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: accept the turmoil, put everything you’ve got into preserved goods and firearms and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

It’s powerful existential guidance from a very unlikely source – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my comfort movie.