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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. We’re advising all of our clients to invest all their resources into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” This piece of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, articulate, spectacled member of the slimy Gremlin horde that overruns Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s merely an financial suggestion from one monster to another. Yet, in a strange manner, it’s also remarkably sound life advice. Seriously, listen to my reasoning.

When things go bad, the worst thing you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin comprehends this. Indeed, most of the dentally-gifted beasts that occupy Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (possibly his finest) possess the same knowing, self-referential funny bone regarding the indistinct border separating everyday life and pure pandemonium. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and the older I get, it’s the theme that strikes the deepest chord.

A Childhood Obsession

Understandably, my attachment to this movie wasn’t born on such an introspective level. Growing up, we possessed merely a few well-worn videocassettes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its second chapter, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve probably bought from an non-chain rental store and featuring snarling creatures on its knackered cover. I was right away smitten and these films quickly proceeded inserting themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. After that point, they became an practically routine part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s first film usually receives all the plaudits, thanks largely to its status as a partly frightening holiday classic – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. That said, its sequel seldom receives the same level of high regard, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity 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 gave no indication of concern.

Subtler Delights and Societal Easter Eggs

As I matured, new insights rewarded frequent screenings, heightening the enjoyment of watching diminutive verdant beasts joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his one-time partner Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp has more heart than his genuine article inspiration.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was based on a actual “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film varying versions of a meta sequence where Gremlins take over the exact movie you are viewing. An edit for movie houses, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each delivering a smirking slice of meta pop-culture magic before the term was even a thing.

An Enduring Appeal

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this deeper gold held my interest as an adult. Eventually, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no qualms informing me he made the movie with the specific aim of mocking 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 insubordination and determination to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only increased my affection for it.

When I endured a abrupt familial death 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. Odd, no? Possibly not. The nostalgic calm it offered was necessary to thin out my mind’s grief morass – but the insights it had bestowed upon me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just cannot manage. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: embrace the chaos, commit your entire being into canned food and shotguns and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

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