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“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. The guidance we offer all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into canned food and shotguns.” This nugget of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, articulate, glasses-wearing member of the slimy Gremlin horde that infests Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s nothing more than an financial suggestion from one monster to another. Yet, in a strange manner, it’s also pretty solid existential counsel. Honestly, hear me out.

When things go bad, the biggest mistake you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin comprehends this. In fact, most of the dentally-gifted beasts that occupy Dante’s wild 1990 film (possibly his finest) possess the same knowing, self-referential funny bone regarding the blurry line separating everyday life 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 message that resonates the most.

A Youthful Fascination

Of course, my fondness for this movie wasn’t born on such an philosophical plane. In my youth, we possessed merely a few battered VHS tapes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case probably bought from an non-chain rental store and sporting growling monsters on its knackered cover. I was instantly captivated and these films wasted no time inserting themselves inside my small, malleable brain. After that point, they became an practically routine part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s initial installment typically gets all the praise, thanks mostly because of its status as a partly frightening holiday classic – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. Nevertheless, its successor seldom receives 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 bright summer vacations, I’d retreat into the house and stick it on. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. Over time, it became deeply rooted in my psyche. If my parents observed this fixation, they didn’t seem to mind.

Subtler Rewards and Cultural References

As I matured, new insights enriched frequent screenings, heightening the enjoyment of watching diminutive verdant beasts happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his one-time partner Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp has more heart than his genuine article inspiration.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was modeled after a genuine “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world really ended. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film different iterations of a meta sequence where Gremlins seize control of the very film you’re watching. A version for theaters, another for home video and television, each providing a grinning portion of meta pop-culture magic ahead of its time.

A Lasting Influence

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that captured my attention as a child, this hidden treasure maintained my fascination as an adult. Ultimately, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no qualms telling me he made the movie with the express purpose of ridiculing those who loved its goofy-but-heartfelt predecessor and desired a sequel. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he happily revealed. This Looney Tunes-esque defiance and determination to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I experienced a sudden family bereavement recently, I was taken aback to discover 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 soothing reminiscence it provided was needed to weaken my mind’s mourning mire – but the perspectives it had bestowed upon me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just are powerless over. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: accept the turmoil, invest all your resources into tinned provisions and hunting rifles and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

It’s robust worldly wisdom from a most improbable origin – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will forever remain my go-to cinematic solace.