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“Well, it’s rather brutal here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into canned food and shotguns.” That bit of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, talking, glasses-wearing member of the oozy monster mob that overruns Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s merely an investment tip from one monster to another. However, oddly enough, it’s also pretty solid life guidance. Honestly, hear me out.

When things go bad, the most counterproductive action you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin comprehends this. In fact, most of the fang-bearing creatures that inhabit Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (arguably his best) possess the same sly, self-aware sense of humour regarding the hazy boundary separating the mundane and unadulterated chaos. It’s a single component of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and as I age, it’s the theme that resonates the most.

A Youthful Fascination

Of course, my connection with this movie did not begin on such an introspective level. Growing up, we possessed merely a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box almost certainly acquired from an non-chain rental store and featuring snarling creatures on its knackered cover. I was right away smitten and these films quickly proceeded lodging themselves inside my small, malleable brain. Henceforth, they became an almost-daily part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s initial installment usually receives all the accolades, thanks mostly because of its legacy as a partly frightening holiday classic – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. Nevertheless, its follow-up infrequently obtains 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 bright summer vacations, I’d seclude myself indoors and stick it on. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. Gradually, it became deeply rooted in my psyche. If my parents noticed this obsession, they appeared unbothered.

Deeper Delights and Pop-Culture Easter Eggs

As I matured, new revelations enriched frequent screenings, heightening the enjoyment of watching small emerald creatures happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his former spouse Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp has more heart than his genuine article inspiration.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was based on a genuine “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world really ended. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film different iterations of a self-referential segment where Gremlins seize control of the exact movie you are viewing. A version for theaters, one for VHS and TV, each offering a winking bit of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy before the term was even a thing.

A Persistent Legacy

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that captured my attention as a child, this subsurface richness held my interest as an adult. Eventually, I even interviewed Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation revealing to me he made the movie with the direct intention of mocking 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 gleefully confessed. This Looney Tunes-esque insubordination and determination to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I went through a abrupt familial death not long ago, I was surprised to find that, during my deepest grief, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Possibly not. The soothing reminiscence it furnished was needed to thin out my mind’s sadness sludge – but the perspectives it had given me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just cannot manage. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. 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 robust worldly wisdom from a very unlikely source – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my comfort movie.