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“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into preserved goods and firearms.” That bit of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, articulate, spectacled member of the slick creature crowd that overruns Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s merely an investment tip from one monster to another. Yet, curiously, it’s also pretty solid life guidance. Truly, listen to my reasoning.

When situations deteriorate, the worst thing you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin understands this. In fact, most of the toothy monsters that inhabit Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (debateably his greatest) possess the same wry, meta comic sensibility regarding the blurry line separating daily routine and unadulterated chaos. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and the older I get, it’s the message that strikes the deepest chord.

A Youthful Fascination

Naturally, my connection with this movie wasn’t born on such an introspective level. In my youth, we possessed merely a few battered VHS tapes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its second chapter, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box almost certainly acquired from an non-chain rental store and featuring growling monsters on its knackered cover. I was immediately enamoured and these films quickly proceeded lodging themselves inside my small, malleable brain. From then on, they became an near-everyday part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s original commonly garners all the accolades, thanks largely 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. Nevertheless, its successor seldom receives the same level of high regard, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d retreat into the house and stick it on. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. Over time, it etched itself permanently in my mental framework. If my parents noticed this obsession, they appeared unbothered.

Deeper Delights and Cultural References

As I got older, new understandings rewarded multiple watches, heightening the enjoyment of watching diminutive verdant beasts happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the ahead-of-its-time property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his second wife Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp has more heart than his real-life counterpart.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was based on a genuine “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world really ended. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film different iterations of a self-referential segment where Gremlins hijack the exact movie you are viewing. 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 Influence

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s wonderfully grotesque creatures that caught my eye as a child, this hidden treasure held my interest as an adult. Eventually, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation telling me he made the movie with the express purpose of ridiculing 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 happily revealed. This anarchic defiance and resolve to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only made me love it even more.

When I experienced a abrupt familial death earlier this year, I was astonished to realize that, during my most profound sorrow, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Maybe not. The soothing reminiscence it provided was essential to dilute my mind’s mourning mire – but the perspectives it had imparted to me as an adult were just as useful.

Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just are powerless over. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: accept the turmoil, invest all your resources into canned food and shotguns and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

It’s powerful existential guidance from a most improbable origin – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my comfort movie.