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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 wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, speaking, bespectacled member of the slimy Gremlin horde that overruns Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s merely an financial suggestion from one monster to another. Yet, in a strange manner, it’s also remarkably sound life advice. Honestly, consider my perspective.

When situations deteriorate, the worst thing you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. In fact, most of the toothy monsters that occupy Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (possibly his finest) possess the same sly, self-aware sense of humour regarding the blurry line separating everyday life and pure pandemonium. It’s a single component of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and the older I get, it’s the theme that strikes the deepest chord.

A Youthful Fascination

Naturally, my attachment to this movie did not begin on such an introspective level. In my youth, we only had a few well-worn videocassettes 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 independent video outlet and boasting growling monsters on its worn-out artwork. I was instantly captivated and these films wasted no time inserting themselves inside my small, malleable brain. Henceforth, they became an almost-daily part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s original typically gets all the plaudits, thanks largely 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 infrequently obtains the same level of lofty appreciation, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d seclude myself indoors and play it. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. With repetition, it ingrained itself in my mental framework. If my parents noticed this obsession, they didn’t seem to mind.

Deeper Rewards and Cultural Nuggets

As I grew, new revelations enriched multiple watches, elevating the fun of watching small emerald creatures happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his second wife Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his actual-world equivalent.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was inspired by a genuine “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film varying versions of a meta sequence where Gremlins seize control of the very film you’re watching. An edit for movie houses, another for home video and television, each providing a grinning portion of self-referential entertainment sorcery before the term was even a thing.

A Persistent 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 conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no reservations revealing to me he made the movie with the express purpose of poking fun at those who loved its silly-yet-sincere 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 obviously desired, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I endured a unexpected loss in the family earlier this year, I was taken aback to discover that, during my most profound sorrow, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Possibly not. The nostalgic calm it provided was necessary to dilute my mind’s mourning mire – but the stuff it had imparted to me as an adult were just as useful.

Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just are powerless over. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to be like them: embrace the chaos, commit your entire being into tinned provisions and hunting rifles and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

It’s robust worldly wisdom from a very unlikely source – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my comfort movie.