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“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into preserved goods and firearms.” This piece of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, talking, glasses-wearing member of the slimy Gremlin horde that overruns Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s simply an investment tip from one monster to another. But, in a strange manner, it’s also pretty solid existential counsel. Seriously, hear me out.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the worst thing you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin understands this. In fact, a large portion of the fang-bearing creatures that inhabit Dante’s wild 1990 film (debateably his greatest) possess the same knowing, self-referential sense of humour regarding the blurry line separating everyday life and pure pandemonium. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and as I age, it’s the message that resonates the most.

An Early Life Fixation

Naturally, my attachment to this movie didn’t start on such an introspective level. In my youth, we possessed merely a few battered VHS 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 independent video outlet and boasting snarling creatures on its tattered front. I was immediately enamoured and these films quickly proceeded embedding themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. From then on, they became an almost-daily part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s original usually receives all the praise, thanks mostly because of its status as a semi-scary seasonal fave – 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 lofty appreciation, which feels a travesty. 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 acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. With repetition, it etched itself permanently in my mindset. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they didn’t seem to mind.

Subtler Rewards and Societal References

As I grew, new insights enriched multiple watches, elevating the fun of watching diminutive verdant beasts gleefully trash 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 ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his one-time partner Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp has more heart than his real-life counterpart.

The “apocalyptic” 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 as a contingency for the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film varying versions of a self-referential segment where Gremlins hijack the exact movie you are viewing. A version for theaters, another for home video and television, each offering a winking bit of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy prior to the concept being mainstream.

A Persistent Influence

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that caught my eye as a child, this deeper gold kept me hooked as an adult. In time, I even interviewed Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation telling me he made the movie with the express purpose of ridiculing those who loved its absurd-yet-genuine predecessor and wanted more. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he happily revealed. This anarchic defiance and resolve to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I experienced a sudden family bereavement not long ago, I was surprised to find that, during my most profound sorrow, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Maybe not. The comforting familiarity it offered was necessary to thin out my mind’s sadness sludge – but the perspectives it had given me as an adult were just as useful.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just are powerless over. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: accept the turmoil, put everything you’ve got into preserved goods and firearms and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

It’s robust worldly wisdom from a very unlikely source – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my comfort movie.