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“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. We’re advising all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” That bit of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, articulate, glasses-wearing member of the slick creature crowd that swarms Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s nothing more than an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. Yet, in a strange manner, it’s also remarkably sound life advice. Honestly, hear me out.

When things go bad, the worst thing you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin understands this. Indeed, the majority of the toothy monsters that inhabit Dante’s wild 1990 film (possibly his finest) possess the same knowing, self-referential sense of humour regarding the blurry line separating the mundane and unadulterated chaos. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and as I age, it’s the theme that echoes the loudest.

A Youthful Obsession

Of course, my fondness for this movie didn’t start on such an introspective level. Growing up, we were limited to a few battered VHS tapes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its second chapter, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case likely purchased from an non-chain rental store and sporting grimacing beasts on its tattered front. I was immediately enamoured and these films quickly proceeded inserting themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. From then on, they became an near-everyday part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s initial installment commonly garners all the accolades, thanks mostly because of its legacy as a partly frightening holiday classic – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. That said, its follow-up seldom receives the same level of elevated esteem, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, 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 etched itself permanently in my mindset. If my parents observed this fixation, they didn’t seem to mind.

Deeper Delights and Pop-Culture References

As I grew, new revelations rewarded frequent screenings, elevating the fun 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 inspired directly by the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his former spouse Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his actual-world equivalent.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was modeled after a genuine “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world actually met its demise. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film alternate cuts of a self-aware scene where Gremlins hijack the very film you’re watching. One for cinemas, one for VHS and TV, each offering a winking bit of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy before the term was even a thing.

An Enduring Legacy

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that caught my eye as a child, this subsurface richness kept me hooked as an adult. Eventually, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no reservations telling me he made the movie with the direct intention of mocking 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 gleefully confessed. This anarchic defiance and resolve to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only made me love it even more.

When I experienced a unexpected loss in the family not long ago, 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. Strange, isn’t it? Possibly not. The comforting familiarity it offered was needed to weaken my mind’s mourning mire – but the insights it had given me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just are powerless over. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to be like them: embrace the chaos, commit your entire being into preserved goods and firearms and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

It’s strong life advice from a very unlikely source – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will forever remain my comfort movie.