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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. The guidance we offer all of our clients to invest all their resources into preserved goods and firearms.” That bit of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, talking, spectacled member of the slick creature crowd that swarms Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer 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 pretty solid existential counsel. Honestly, consider my perspective.

When things go bad, the biggest mistake you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Actually, the majority of the toothy monsters that inhabit Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (arguably his best) possess the same wry, meta funny bone regarding the indistinct border separating everyday life and pure pandemonium. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and as I age, it’s the message that echoes the loudest.

A Youthful Fixation

Naturally, my attachment to this movie didn’t start on such an deeply thoughtful note. As a child, we only had a few well-worn videocassettes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case likely purchased from an off-brand video shop and boasting snarling creatures on its knackered cover. I was immediately enamoured and these films quickly proceeded lodging themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. Henceforth, they became an almost-daily part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s initial installment typically gets all the plaudits, thanks mostly because of its legacy as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. Nevertheless, its successor rarely gets the same level of lofty appreciation, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d lock myself inside and stick it on. When I obtained my very own TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. Over time, it ingrained itself in my mental framework. If my parents observed this fixation, they didn’t seem to mind.

Hidden Rewards and Cultural Easter Eggs

As I matured, new understandings enriched multiple watches, elevating the fun of watching little green monsters joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon future president Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his former spouse Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp has more heart than his actual-world equivalent.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was modeled after a genuine “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world really ended. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film different iterations of a self-aware scene where Gremlins take over the very film you’re watching. A version for theaters, one for VHS and TV, each providing a grinning portion of self-referential entertainment sorcery before the term was even a thing.

An Enduring Legacy

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this deeper gold kept me hooked as an adult. Eventually, I even interviewed Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation revealing to me he made the movie with the direct intention of mocking those who loved its absurd-yet-genuine predecessor and craved further installments. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he gleefully confessed. This Looney Tunes-esque rebelliousness and resolve to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I experienced a sudden family bereavement not long ago, I was surprised to find that, during my deepest grief, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Maybe not. The nostalgic calm it provided was necessary to dilute my mind’s sadness sludge – but the perspectives it had bestowed upon me as an adult were just as useful.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just can’t control. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: embrace the chaos, 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 highly unexpected fountain – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my feelgood film.