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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. The guidance we offer all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into preserved goods and firearms.” That bit of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, talking, bespectacled member of the slick creature crowd that infests Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s merely an financial suggestion from one monster to another. Yet, in a strange manner, it’s also remarkably sound existential counsel. Seriously, consider my perspective.

When things go bad, the worst thing you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin comprehends this. Indeed, most of the toothy monsters that occupy Dante’s wild 1990 film (arguably his best) possess the same wry, meta funny bone regarding the blurry line separating everyday life and unadulterated chaos. 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

Naturally, my fondness for this movie didn’t start on such an introspective level. Growing up, we only had a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its second chapter, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case almost certainly acquired from an off-brand video shop and boasting growling monsters on its worn-out artwork. I was right away smitten and these films quickly proceeded inserting 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 legacy as a partly frightening holiday classic – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. That said, its sequel rarely gets the same level of high regard, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d retreat into the house and pop it in. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. With repetition, it became deeply rooted in my mindset. If my parents noticed this obsession, they didn’t seem to mind.

Hidden Discoveries and Societal Easter Eggs

As I matured, new insights rewarded multiple watches, heightening the enjoyment of watching small emerald creatures joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking property magnate 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 second wife Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his real-life counterpart.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was modeled after a real-life “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner as a contingency for the world really ended. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film varying versions of a self-referential segment where Gremlins seize control of the exact movie you are viewing. An edit for movie houses, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each delivering a smirking slice of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy before the term was even a thing.

A Persistent Appeal

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this hidden treasure held my interest as an adult. Eventually, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation telling me he made the movie with the specific aim of mocking those who loved its silly-yet-sincere predecessor and craved further installments. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he gleefully confessed. This cartoonish defiance and resolve to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I went through a unexpected loss in the family not long ago, 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. Strange, isn’t it? Possibly not. The nostalgic calm it provided was necessary to weaken my mind’s sadness sludge – but the stuff it had bestowed upon 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 is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: 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 powerful existential guidance from a highly unexpected fountain – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will forever remain my feelgood film.