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“Well, it’s rather brutal here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into canned food and shotguns.” That bit of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, talking, spectacled member of the slick creature crowd that swarms Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s simply an investment tip from one monster to another. Yet, in a strange manner, it’s also surprisingly sturdy life advice. Honestly, listen to my reasoning.

When situations deteriorate, the biggest mistake you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Indeed, the majority of the fang-bearing creatures that inhabit Dante’s wild 1990 film (debateably his greatest) possess the same sly, self-aware sense of humour regarding the indistinct border separating everyday life and pure pandemonium. It’s a single component of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and as I age, it’s the underlying idea that resonates the most.

An Early Life Fixation

Understandably, my attachment to this movie didn’t start on such an philosophical plane. In my youth, we only had a few battered VHS tapes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case almost certainly acquired from an off-brand video shop and sporting growling monsters on its worn-out artwork. I was immediately enamoured and these films quickly proceeded inserting themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. After that point, they became an near-everyday part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s original typically gets all the praise, thanks primarily due to its status as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. However, its follow-up infrequently obtains the same level of elevated esteem, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d seclude myself indoors and pop it in. When I obtained my very own TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. Over time, it ingrained itself in my mindset. If my parents observed this fixation, they gave no indication of concern.

Subtler Rewards and Pop-Culture References

As I grew, new understandings rewarded frequent screenings, amplifying the pleasure of watching small emerald creatures happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his former spouse Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his genuine article inspiration.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was modeled after a real-life “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world really ended. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film varying versions of a self-aware scene where Gremlins take over the actual feature in progress. One for cinemas, another for home video and television, each delivering a smirking slice of meta pop-culture magic prior to the concept being mainstream.

An Enduring Legacy

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that captured my attention as a child, this deeper gold kept me hooked as an adult. Eventually, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no qualms revealing to me he made the movie with the express purpose of ridiculing those who loved its goofy-but-heartfelt predecessor and wanted more. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he happily revealed. This cartoonish defiance and resolve to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I endured a unexpected loss in the family not long ago, I was surprised to find that, during my heightest mourning, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Maybe not. The comforting familiarity it offered was essential to thin out 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 certain elements in life you just can’t control. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: welcome the pandemonium, invest all your resources into preserved goods and firearms and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

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