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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to invest all their resources into preserved goods and firearms.” This nugget of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, speaking, spectacled member of the oozy monster mob that infests Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s simply an financial suggestion from one monster to another. But, oddly enough, it’s also surprisingly sturdy life advice. Truly, consider my perspective.

When things go bad, the biggest mistake you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Indeed, a large portion of the fang-bearing creatures that populate Dante’s wild 1990 film (arguably his best) possess the same wry, meta sense of humour regarding the hazy boundary separating everyday life and unadulterated chaos. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and with the passage of time, it’s the theme that resonates the most.

A Youthful Fascination

Of course, my connection with this movie did not begin on such an introspective level. As a child, we only had a few battered VHS tapes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve likely purchased from an off-brand video shop and boasting grimacing beasts on its worn-out artwork. I was immediately enamoured and these films did not delay inserting themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. From then on, they became an almost-daily part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s first film commonly garners all the accolades, thanks primarily due to its status as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. Nevertheless, its successor infrequently obtains the same level of high regard, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d seclude myself indoors and pop it in. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. With repetition, it ingrained itself in my psyche. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they didn’t seem to mind.

Subtler Discoveries and Pop-Culture Nuggets

As I grew, new understandings enhanced frequent screenings, heightening the enjoyment of watching small emerald creatures happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on future president Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his one-time partner Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his genuine article inspiration.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was based on a actual “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner as a contingency for the world really ended. 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, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each offering a winking bit of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy prior to the concept being mainstream.

A Lasting Influence

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this deeper gold held my interest as an adult. Eventually, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation revealing to me he made the movie with the specific aim of poking fun at those who loved its silly-yet-sincere predecessor and craved further installments. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he happily revealed. This Looney Tunes-esque rebelliousness and determination to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses clearly wanted him to, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I went through a abrupt familial death recently, I was taken aback to discover that, during my deepest grief, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Maybe not. The comforting familiarity it furnished was necessary to dilute my mind’s grief morass – but the perspectives it had imparted to me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just are powerless over. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: accept the turmoil, invest all your resources into preserved goods and firearms and try not to take things too seriously.

It’s strong life advice from a most improbable origin – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my feelgood film.