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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to invest all their resources into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” This piece of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, articulate, spectacled member of the slick creature crowd that swarms Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s merely an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. However, in a strange manner, it’s also pretty solid existential counsel. Honestly, listen to my reasoning.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the worst thing you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Actually, a large portion 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 hazy boundary separating daily routine and unadulterated chaos. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and with the passage of time, it’s the message that echoes the loudest.

A Childhood Obsession

Understandably, my attachment to this movie didn’t start on such an philosophical plane. As a child, we possessed merely a few well-worn videocassettes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case likely purchased from an independent video outlet and boasting grimacing beasts on its worn-out artwork. I was immediately enamoured and these films wasted no time inserting themselves inside my small, malleable brain. After that point, they became an near-everyday part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s first film typically gets all the accolades, thanks largely to its status as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. That said, its successor rarely gets the same level of high regard, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d lock myself inside and stick it on. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. Over time, it became deeply rooted in my mental framework. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they didn’t seem to mind.

Subtler Discoveries and Cultural Nuggets

As I grew, new revelations enhanced multiple watches, amplifying the pleasure of watching diminutive verdant beasts joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon future president Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his one-time partner Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp has more heart than his genuine article inspiration.

The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was modeled after a genuine “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world really ended. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film varying versions of a self-referential segment where Gremlins hijack the very film you’re watching. An edit for movie houses, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each offering a winking bit of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy prior to the concept being mainstream.

A Lasting Influence

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that caught my eye as a child, this subsurface richness kept me hooked as an adult. Eventually, I even interviewed Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation informing me he made the movie with the direct intention of mocking those who loved its silly-yet-sincere predecessor and desired a sequel. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he gleefully confessed. This Looney Tunes-esque defiance and commitment 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 unexpected loss in the family recently, I was surprised to find that, during my heightest mourning, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Perhaps not. The nostalgic calm it provided was needed to dilute my mind’s mourning mire – but the insights it had imparted to me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just can’t control. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to be like them: embrace the chaos, 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 always be my go-to cinematic solace.