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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” This piece of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, speaking, bespectacled member of the slimy Gremlin horde that swarms Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s nothing more than an investment tip from one monster to another. However, curiously, it’s also pretty solid life guidance. Seriously, consider my perspective.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the biggest mistake you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin comprehends this. In fact, the majority of the dentally-gifted beasts that inhabit Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (arguably his best) possess the same knowing, self-referential sense of humour regarding the indistinct border separating everyday life and pure pandemonium. It’s a single component of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and as I age, it’s the underlying idea that strikes the deepest chord.

A Childhood Fascination

Understandably, my connection with this movie didn’t start on such an philosophical plane. Growing up, we were limited to a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve probably bought from an non-chain rental store and sporting grimacing beasts on its worn-out artwork. I was right away smitten and these films quickly proceeded inserting themselves inside my small, malleable brain. Henceforth, they became an near-everyday part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s first film commonly garners all the accolades, thanks primarily due to its reputation as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. However, its follow-up seldom receives the same level of lofty appreciation, which feels criminal. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d lock myself inside and play it. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. Gradually, it became deeply rooted in my mental framework. If my parents noticed this obsession, they gave no indication of concern.

Hidden Delights and Cultural Nuggets

As I grew, new insights rewarded repeat viewings, elevating the fun of watching small emerald creatures joyously wreck 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 future president Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his second wife Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp has more heart than his genuine article inspiration.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was based on a genuine “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world really ended. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film alternate cuts of a self-aware scene where Gremlins hijack the exact movie you are viewing. An edit for movie houses, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each offering a winking bit of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy before the term was even a thing.

A Persistent Appeal

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that caught my eye as a child, this hidden treasure held my interest as an adult. Ultimately, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no qualms informing me he made the movie with the specific aim of poking fun at those who loved its goofy-but-heartfelt predecessor and craved further installments. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he happily revealed. This cartoonish insubordination and determination to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only made me love it even more.

When I went through a abrupt familial death earlier this year, I was taken aback to discover that, during my heightest mourning, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Possibly not. The soothing reminiscence it offered was essential to thin out my mind’s grief morass – but the perspectives it had bestowed upon me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just are powerless over. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: welcome the pandemonium, invest all your resources into tinned provisions and hunting rifles and try not to take things too seriously.

It’s powerful existential guidance from a very unlikely source – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my go-to cinematic solace.