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“Well, it’s rather brutal here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into canned food and shotguns.” That bit of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, talking, glasses-wearing member of the slimy Gremlin horde that overruns Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s nothing more than an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. Yet, in a strange manner, it’s also surprisingly sturdy existential counsel. Honestly, hear me out.

When things go bad, the worst thing you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin comprehends this. In fact, most of the fang-bearing creatures that populate Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (debateably his greatest) possess the same wry, meta comic sensibility 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 with the passage of time, it’s the message that resonates the most.

An Early Life Fixation

Understandably, my connection with this movie didn’t start on such an introspective level. Growing up, we possessed merely a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its second chapter, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve almost certainly acquired from an non-chain rental store and boasting growling monsters on its knackered cover. I was right away smitten and these films did not delay inserting themselves inside my small, malleable brain. After that point, they became an almost-daily part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s original commonly garners all the accolades, thanks primarily due to its reputation as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. However, its sequel infrequently obtains 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 retreat into the house and stick it on. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. Over time, it etched itself permanently in my mental framework. If my parents noticed this obsession, they appeared unbothered.

Subtler Rewards and Societal Nuggets

As I got older, new revelations enhanced repeat viewings, amplifying the pleasure of watching little green monsters happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his one-time partner Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his genuine article inspiration.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was inspired by a genuine “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film alternate cuts of a self-aware scene where Gremlins seize control of the actual feature in progress. One for cinemas, one for VHS and TV, each offering a winking bit of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy ahead of its time.

An Enduring Legacy

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s wonderfully grotesque creatures that captured my attention as a child, this subsurface richness kept me hooked as an adult. In time, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation informing me he made the movie with the direct intention 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 gleefully confessed. This anarchic insubordination and determination to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only increased my affection for it.

When I went through a abrupt familial death recently, 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. Odd, no? Perhaps not. The comforting familiarity it offered was essential to thin out my mind’s sadness sludge – but the stuff it had imparted to me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just cannot manage. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: accept the turmoil, commit your entire being into canned food and shotguns and try not to take things too seriously.

It’s powerful existential guidance from a highly unexpected fountain – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will forever remain my comfort movie.