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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” This nugget of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, articulate, glasses-wearing member of the slimy Gremlin horde that infests Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s madcap sequel 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 remarkably sound existential counsel. Honestly, hear me out.

When situations deteriorate, the worst thing you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. In fact, the majority of the toothy monsters that occupy Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (possibly his finest) possess the same knowing, self-referential sense of humour regarding the blurry line separating daily routine 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 theme that strikes the deepest chord.

A Youthful Fixation

Understandably, my fondness for this movie wasn’t born on such an introspective level. Growing up, we possessed merely a few battered VHS tapes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box probably bought from an non-chain rental store and featuring grimacing beasts on its tattered front. I was right away smitten and these films did not delay lodging themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. Henceforth, they became an practically routine part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s original usually receives all the praise, thanks mostly because of its status as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. Nevertheless, its sequel infrequently obtains 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 stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. With repetition, it etched itself permanently in my psyche. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they gave no indication of concern.

Hidden Rewards and Pop-Culture References

As I matured, new revelations enhanced multiple watches, heightening the enjoyment of watching small emerald creatures joyously wreck 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 auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his one-time partner Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his genuine article inspiration.

The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was based on a genuine “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world really ended. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film different iterations of a meta sequence where Gremlins hijack the actual feature in progress. An edit for movie houses, one for VHS and TV, each delivering a smirking slice of self-referential entertainment sorcery before the term was even a thing.

A Lasting Appeal

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that captured my attention as a child, this deeper gold maintained my fascination as an adult. In time, 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 mocking those who loved its goofy-but-heartfelt predecessor and craved further installments. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he happily revealed. This anarchic insubordination and commitment to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses clearly wanted him to, only made me love it even more.

When I endured a sudden family bereavement recently, I was taken aback to discover that, during my heightest mourning, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Possibly not. The soothing reminiscence it provided was necessary to thin out my mind’s mourning mire – but the perspectives it had given 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 is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: embrace the chaos, commit your entire being 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 why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my feelgood film.