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“Well, it’s rather brutal here. We’re advising all of our clients to invest all their resources into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” That bit of wise counsel 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 zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s nothing more than an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. But, oddly enough, it’s also remarkably sound existential counsel. Seriously, listen to my reasoning.

When things go bad, the biggest mistake you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin understands this. Actually, most of the dentally-gifted beasts that populate Dante’s wild 1990 film (debateably his greatest) possess the same knowing, self-referential sense of humour regarding the indistinct border separating the mundane and pure pandemonium. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and the older I get, it’s the message that resonates the most.

A Youthful Fixation

Of course, my attachment to this movie didn’t start on such an introspective level. Growing up, we were limited to a few battered VHS tapes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve probably bought from an off-brand video shop and sporting snarling creatures on its tattered front. I was immediately enamoured and these films wasted no time embedding themselves inside my small, malleable brain. From then on, they became an almost-daily part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s first film commonly garners all the accolades, thanks mostly because of its legacy as a partly frightening holiday classic – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. That said, its successor rarely gets the same level of elevated esteem, which feels criminal. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d retreat into the house and pop it in. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. Gradually, it became deeply rooted in my psyche. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they didn’t seem to mind.

Subtler Rewards and Cultural References

As I matured, 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 red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his second wife Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his real-life counterpart.

The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was based on a actual “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner as a contingency for the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film alternate cuts of a meta sequence where Gremlins take over the very film you’re watching. One for cinemas, another for home video and television, each offering a winking bit of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy ahead of its time.

A Persistent Legacy

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s wonderfully grotesque creatures that caught my eye as a child, this hidden treasure held my interest as an adult. Ultimately, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no qualms telling me he made the movie with the express purpose of poking fun at those who loved its silly-yet-sincere predecessor and desired a sequel. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he happily revealed. This anarchic defiance and determination to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only made me love it even more.

When I experienced a unexpected loss in the family earlier this year, I was astonished to realize that, during my deepest grief, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Maybe not. The soothing reminiscence it offered was essential to thin out my mind’s mourning mire – but the insights it had given me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just can’t control. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: accept the turmoil, invest all your resources into canned food and shotguns 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 always be my comfort movie.