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“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. The guidance we offer all of our clients to invest all their resources into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” This nugget of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, articulate, glasses-wearing member of the oozy monster mob that swarms Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s simply an investment tip from one monster to another. Yet, in a strange manner, it’s also remarkably sound life advice. Truly, listen to my reasoning.

When things go bad, the worst thing you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin comprehends this. Actually, the majority of the fang-bearing creatures that populate Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (possibly his finest) possess the same sly, self-aware comic sensibility regarding the hazy boundary separating the mundane and unadulterated chaos. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and as I age, it’s the underlying idea that echoes the loudest.

A Childhood Fixation

Understandably, my connection with this movie didn’t start on such an philosophical plane. In my youth, we were limited to a few battered VHS tapes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve almost certainly acquired from an independent video outlet and boasting grimacing beasts on its knackered cover. I was right away smitten and these films quickly proceeded lodging themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. Henceforth, they became an near-everyday part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s first film usually receives all the accolades, thanks largely to its legacy as a partly frightening holiday classic – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. However, its sequel rarely gets the same level of lofty appreciation, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d seclude myself indoors and play it. When I obtained my very own TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. With repetition, it ingrained itself in my psyche. If my parents observed this fixation, they gave no indication of concern.

Deeper Rewards and Pop-Culture References

As I grew, new understandings rewarded repeat viewings, heightening the enjoyment of watching little green monsters happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on future president Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his one-time partner Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his real-life counterpart.

The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was inspired by a real-life “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 meta sequence where Gremlins hijack the actual feature in progress. An edit for movie houses, one for VHS and TV, each providing a grinning portion of meta pop-culture magic prior to the concept being mainstream.

A Lasting Legacy

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that drew my gaze 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 hesitation telling me he made the movie with the direct intention of mocking those who loved its silly-yet-sincere predecessor and desired a sequel. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he happily revealed. This cartoonish insubordination and resolve to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I experienced a abrupt familial death earlier this year, I was astonished to realize that, during my heightest mourning, 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 furnished was necessary to thin out my mind’s grief morass – but the stuff it had bestowed upon me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins tearing apart 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 be like them: accept the turmoil, invest all your resources into canned food and shotguns and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

It’s strong life advice from a very unlikely source – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my feelgood film.