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“Well, it’s rather brutal here. The guidance we offer all of our clients to invest all their resources into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” This nugget of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, talking, bespectacled member of the slick creature crowd that overruns Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s merely an financial suggestion from one monster to another. Yet, curiously, it’s also surprisingly sturdy existential counsel. Honestly, listen to my reasoning.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the biggest mistake you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Actually, most of the fang-bearing creatures that populate Dante’s wild 1990 film (arguably his best) possess the same sly, self-aware sense of humour regarding the indistinct border separating daily routine and pure pandemonium. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and as I age, it’s the underlying idea that strikes the deepest chord.

A Childhood Fascination

Understandably, my connection with this movie did not begin on such an deeply thoughtful note. As a child, we only had a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its second chapter, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box likely purchased from an non-chain rental store and boasting snarling creatures on its tattered front. I was right away smitten and these films quickly proceeded lodging themselves inside my small, malleable brain. Henceforth, they became an practically routine part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s initial installment typically gets all the praise, thanks primarily due to 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 infrequently obtains the same level of elevated esteem, 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 remained on repeat in my bedroom. With repetition, it became deeply rooted in my mindset. If my parents noticed this obsession, they appeared unbothered.

Hidden Discoveries and Pop-Culture References

As I matured, new revelations rewarded repeat viewings, heightening the enjoyment of watching small emerald creatures joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the ahead-of-its-time real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his former spouse Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his genuine article inspiration.

The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was inspired by a genuine “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film different iterations of a self-aware scene where Gremlins seize control of the exact movie you are viewing. One for cinemas, one for VHS and TV, each offering a winking bit of meta pop-culture magic ahead of its time.

A Lasting Influence

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s wonderfully grotesque creatures that captured my attention as a child, this deeper gold 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 specific aim of poking fun at those who loved its silly-yet-sincere predecessor and wanted more. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he cheerfully disclosed. This cartoonish insubordination and resolve to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I went through a sudden family bereavement 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? Perhaps not. The nostalgic calm it provided was necessary to thin out my mind’s sadness sludge – but the perspectives it had imparted to me as an adult were just as useful.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just cannot manage. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: embrace the chaos, put everything you’ve got into canned food and shotguns 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 eternally stand as my feelgood film.