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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. We’re advising all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into preserved goods and firearms.” This piece of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, speaking, bespectacled member of the slick creature crowd that infests Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s nothing more than an investment tip from one monster to another. But, in a strange manner, it’s also pretty solid life guidance. Truly, listen to my reasoning.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the biggest mistake you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin understands this. Indeed, the majority of the fang-bearing creatures that inhabit Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (possibly his finest) possess the same sly, self-aware funny bone 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 as I age, it’s the theme that echoes the loudest.

A Childhood Fascination

Naturally, my attachment to this movie did not begin on such an introspective level. In my youth, we were limited to a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its second chapter, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case likely purchased from an off-brand video shop and featuring snarling creatures on its worn-out artwork. I was immediately enamoured and these films wasted no time lodging themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. After that point, they became an almost-daily part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s initial installment commonly garners all the accolades, thanks primarily due to its reputation as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. That said, its successor rarely gets the same level of high regard, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d retreat into the house and pop it in. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. Gradually, it etched itself permanently in my mindset. If my parents observed this fixation, they appeared unbothered.

Subtler Delights and Cultural Easter Eggs

As I matured, new understandings enriched multiple watches, amplifying the pleasure of watching little green monsters gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his former spouse Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp has more heart than his actual-world equivalent.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was modeled after a genuine “Doomsday” video commissioned 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 different iterations of a self-referential segment where Gremlins take over the exact movie you are viewing. An edit for movie houses, one for VHS and TV, each offering a winking bit of meta pop-culture magic before the term was even a thing.

A Lasting Influence

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that caught my eye as a child, this subsurface richness maintained my fascination as an adult. In time, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no reservations informing me he made the movie with the direct intention of ridiculing those who loved its absurd-yet-genuine predecessor and desired a sequel. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he cheerfully disclosed. This cartoonish rebelliousness and determination 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 earlier this year, I was astonished to realize that, during my deepest grief, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Possibly not. The nostalgic calm it provided was necessary to dilute my mind’s grief morass – but the insights it had bestowed upon me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just can’t control. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: embrace the chaos, put everything you’ve got into tinned provisions and hunting rifles and try not to take things too seriously.

It’s strong life advice from a highly unexpected fountain – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my comfort movie.