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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into canned food and shotguns.” This nugget of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, talking, glasses-wearing member of the slick creature crowd that infests Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s simply an investment tip from one monster to another. Yet, in a strange manner, it’s also remarkably sound life advice. Truly, 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 comprehends this. Actually, a large portion of the toothy monsters that inhabit Dante’s wild 1990 film (debateably his greatest) possess the same sly, self-aware sense of humour regarding the hazy boundary separating everyday life and absolute bedlam. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and with the passage of time, it’s the message that echoes the loudest.

An Early Life Obsession

Understandably, my connection with this movie didn’t start on such an deeply thoughtful note. Growing up, we possessed merely a few well-worn videocassettes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box likely purchased from an non-chain rental store and boasting grimacing beasts on its tattered front. I was immediately enamoured and these films quickly proceeded lodging themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. From then on, they became an almost-daily part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s initial installment usually receives all the plaudits, thanks primarily due to its status as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. That said, its follow-up seldom receives the same level of lofty appreciation, 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 stick it on. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. Over time, it ingrained itself in my psyche. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they appeared unbothered.

Deeper Delights and Societal Nuggets

As I grew, new revelations enhanced repeat viewings, heightening the enjoyment of watching diminutive verdant beasts happily vandalize 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 red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his one-time partner Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his actual-world equivalent.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was modeled after a genuine “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film alternate cuts of a self-referential segment where Gremlins hijack the exact movie you are viewing. A version for theaters, another for home video and television, each providing a grinning portion of self-referential entertainment sorcery prior to the concept being mainstream.

An Enduring Appeal

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that captured my attention as a child, this subsurface richness maintained my fascination as an adult. Ultimately, I even interviewed 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 silly-yet-sincere 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 determination to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I went through a sudden family bereavement recently, I was surprised to find that, during my most profound sorrow, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Possibly not. The comforting familiarity it provided was essential to thin out my mind’s sadness sludge – but the stuff it had bestowed upon me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just are powerless over. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: welcome the pandemonium, commit your entire being into preserved goods and firearms and try not to take things too seriously.

It’s strong life advice from a highly unexpected fountain – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my feelgood film.