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“Well, it’s rather brutal here. We’re advising all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” This nugget of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, speaking, bespectacled member of the slick creature crowd that swarms Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s nothing more than an financial suggestion from one monster to another. However, in a strange manner, it’s also pretty solid existential counsel. Honestly, consider my perspective.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the most counterproductive action you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin understands this. In fact, most of the fang-bearing creatures that inhabit Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (possibly his finest) possess the same sly, self-aware funny bone regarding the hazy boundary separating everyday life and pure pandemonium. It’s a single component of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and with the passage of time, it’s the theme that echoes the loudest.

A Childhood Fascination

Of course, my fondness for this movie didn’t start on such an deeply thoughtful note. In my youth, we only had a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case probably bought from an off-brand video shop and boasting grimacing beasts on its tattered front. I was right away smitten and these films quickly proceeded inserting themselves inside my small, malleable brain. Henceforth, they became an practically routine part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s initial installment usually receives all the praise, thanks primarily due to its reputation as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. However, its follow-up infrequently obtains the same level of elevated esteem, which feels criminal. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d lock myself inside and play it. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. With repetition, it ingrained itself in my mental framework. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they gave no indication of concern.

Hidden Discoveries and Pop-Culture Easter Eggs

As I got older, new insights enhanced repeat viewings, elevating the fun of watching diminutive verdant beasts joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by future president Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his second wife Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp has more heart than his genuine article inspiration.

The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was based on a genuine “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world really ended. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film different iterations of a meta sequence where Gremlins take over the actual feature in progress. One for cinemas, one for VHS and TV, each delivering a smirking slice of self-referential entertainment sorcery before the term was even a thing.

An Enduring Appeal

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that captured my attention as a child, this hidden treasure kept me hooked as an adult. In time, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation informing me he made the movie with the express purpose 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 resolve to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I experienced a unexpected loss in the family earlier this year, I was astonished to realize that, during my heightest mourning, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Possibly not. The comforting familiarity it provided was necessary to weaken my mind’s mourning mire – but the perspectives it had imparted to me as an adult were just as useful.

Like Gremlins running amok in 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 canned food and shotguns and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

It’s powerful existential guidance from a highly unexpected fountain – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my comfort movie.