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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into canned food and shotguns.” This piece of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, speaking, bespectacled member of the oozy monster mob that infests Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s simply an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. Yet, oddly enough, it’s also pretty solid existential counsel. Seriously, consider my perspective.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the most counterproductive action you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin understands this. Indeed, the majority of the fang-bearing creatures that inhabit Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (arguably his best) possess the same sly, self-aware sense of humour regarding the hazy boundary separating daily routine and unadulterated chaos. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and as I age, it’s the message that strikes the deepest chord.

A Childhood Obsession

Understandably, my connection with this movie didn’t start on such an introspective level. In my youth, we only had a few battered VHS tapes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its second chapter, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case almost certainly acquired from an independent video outlet and featuring snarling creatures on its knackered cover. I was right away smitten and these films did not delay lodging themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. From then on, they became an practically routine part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s original commonly garners all the accolades, 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. Nevertheless, its sequel rarely gets the same level of lofty appreciation, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity 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 remained on repeat in my bedroom. With repetition, it became deeply rooted in my psyche. If my parents observed this fixation, they gave no indication of concern.

Subtler Rewards and Cultural References

As I got older, new understandings rewarded multiple watches, heightening the enjoyment of watching small emerald creatures gleefully trash 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 eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his one-time partner Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his real-life counterpart.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was inspired by a real-life “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film different iterations of a self-aware scene where Gremlins take over the exact movie you are viewing. A version for theaters, another for home video and television, each offering a winking bit of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy ahead of its time.

An Enduring Appeal

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this subsurface richness held my interest as an adult. Ultimately, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no qualms informing me he made the movie with the specific aim 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 happily revealed. This cartoonish insubordination and determination to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only made me love it even more.

When I went through 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? Perhaps not. The soothing reminiscence it furnished was needed to dilute my mind’s mourning mire – but the insights it had given me as an adult were just as useful.

Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just cannot manage. Dante is aware of 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 highly unexpected fountain – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my comfort movie.