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“Well, it’s rather brutal here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to invest all their resources into preserved goods and firearms.” This piece of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, talking, bespectacled member of the slimy Gremlin horde that swarms Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s simply an investment tip from one monster to another. But, oddly enough, it’s also pretty solid life guidance. Honestly, hear me out.

When things go bad, the biggest mistake you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin understands this. Indeed, the majority of the fang-bearing creatures that populate Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (debateably his greatest) possess the same knowing, self-referential sense of humour regarding the blurry line separating everyday life and unadulterated chaos. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and with the passage of time, it’s the message that echoes the loudest.

A Youthful Obsession

Understandably, my fondness for this movie wasn’t born on such an philosophical plane. Growing up, we only had a few well-worn videocassettes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box likely purchased from an non-chain rental store and boasting growling monsters on its knackered cover. I was immediately enamoured and these films did not delay inserting themselves inside my small, malleable brain. After that point, they became an practically routine part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s original commonly garners all the praise, thanks largely to its status as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. However, its successor seldom receives the same level of elevated esteem, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d seclude myself indoors and play it. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. Gradually, it etched itself permanently in my mental framework. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they gave no indication of concern.

Deeper Delights and Pop-Culture Easter Eggs

As I matured, new revelations enriched frequent screenings, heightening the enjoyment of watching little green monsters joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the ahead-of-its-time development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his second wife Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his real-life counterpart.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was inspired by a real-life “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner as a contingency for the world actually met its demise. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film varying versions of a self-aware scene where Gremlins take over the actual feature in progress. A version for theaters, one for VHS and TV, each delivering a smirking slice of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy prior to the concept being mainstream.

An Enduring Influence

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this hidden treasure maintained my fascination as an adult. Ultimately, 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 goofy-but-heartfelt predecessor and desired a sequel. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he happily revealed. This Looney Tunes-esque defiance and determination to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only made me love it even more.

When I endured a sudden family bereavement recently, I was taken aback to discover that, during my most profound sorrow, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Possibly not. The soothing reminiscence it offered was necessary to dilute my mind’s grief morass – but the stuff it had given me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just can’t control. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to be like them: welcome the pandemonium, commit your entire being into preserved goods and firearms and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

It’s powerful existential guidance from a highly unexpected fountain – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my go-to cinematic solace.