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“Well, it’s rather brutal here. The guidance we offer all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” This piece of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, talking, glasses-wearing member of the slimy Gremlin horde that overruns Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s nothing more than an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. But, oddly enough, it’s also pretty solid life advice. Honestly, consider my perspective.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the biggest mistake you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. In fact, most of the fang-bearing creatures that occupy Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (possibly his finest) possess the same wry, meta comic sensibility regarding the indistinct border separating the mundane and absolute bedlam. It’s a single component of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and as I age, it’s the theme that resonates the most.

A Childhood Fascination

Of course, my attachment to this movie wasn’t born on such an philosophical plane. As a child, we only had a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve probably bought from an off-brand video shop and boasting grimacing beasts on its tattered front. I was immediately enamoured and these films quickly proceeded lodging themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. After that point, they became an almost-daily part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s original commonly garners all the praise, thanks primarily due to its reputation as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. Nevertheless, its sequel seldom receives the same level of high regard, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d seclude myself indoors and pop it in. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. Gradually, it became deeply rooted in my psyche. If my parents noticed this obsession, they didn’t seem to mind.

Deeper Rewards and Cultural Easter Eggs

As I matured, new insights enriched frequent screenings, heightening the enjoyment of watching diminutive verdant beasts gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his one-time partner Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his real-life counterpart.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was inspired by a real-life “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner as a contingency for the world really ended. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film alternate cuts of a meta sequence where Gremlins seize control of the actual feature in progress. A version for theaters, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each delivering a smirking slice of meta pop-culture magic prior to the concept being mainstream.

A Lasting Appeal

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that caught my eye as a child, this subsurface richness maintained my fascination as an adult. Eventually, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation revealing to me he made the movie with the direct intention of mocking those who loved its silly-yet-sincere predecessor and craved further installments. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he gleefully confessed. This cartoonish rebelliousness and commitment to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only made me love it even more.

When I went through a sudden family bereavement not long ago, I was astonished to realize that, during my most profound sorrow, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Perhaps not. The nostalgic calm it offered was needed to dilute my mind’s mourning mire – but the insights it had bestowed upon 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 understands this. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: welcome the pandemonium, invest all your resources 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 eternally stand as my feelgood film.