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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 preserved goods and firearms.” This nugget of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, talking, bespectacled member of the slick creature crowd that overruns Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s simply an investment tip from one monster to another. Yet, curiously, it’s also surprisingly sturdy life advice. Seriously, hear me out.

When things go bad, the worst thing you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. In fact, a large portion of the fang-bearing creatures that inhabit Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (possibly his finest) possess the same wry, meta sense of humour regarding the hazy boundary separating daily routine and absolute bedlam. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and the older I get, it’s the underlying idea that strikes the deepest chord.

A Youthful Fixation

Naturally, my attachment to this movie didn’t start on such an deeply thoughtful note. Growing up, we only had a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case almost certainly acquired from an independent video outlet and featuring grimacing beasts on its knackered cover. I was instantly captivated and these films quickly proceeded inserting themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. After that point, they became an near-everyday part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s first film commonly garners all the accolades, thanks primarily due to its legacy as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. That said, its sequel seldom receives the same level of elevated esteem, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d seclude myself indoors and stick it on. When I obtained my very own TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. Gradually, it etched itself permanently in my mental framework. If my parents noticed this obsession, they didn’t seem to mind.

Subtler Discoveries and Societal References

As I grew, new insights rewarded multiple watches, elevating the fun 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 ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his second wife Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his real-life counterpart.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was based on a genuine “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world really ended. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film alternate cuts of a meta sequence where Gremlins seize control of the exact movie you are viewing. A version for theaters, one for VHS and TV, each delivering a smirking slice of self-referential entertainment sorcery before the term was even a thing.

A Lasting Legacy

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that captured my attention as a child, this hidden treasure maintained my fascination as an adult. Ultimately, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation revealing to me he made the movie with the direct intention of ridiculing those who loved its absurd-yet-genuine predecessor and desired a sequel. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he happily revealed. This Looney Tunes-esque insubordination and determination to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I experienced a sudden family bereavement not long ago, I was surprised to find that, during my most profound sorrow, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Possibly not. The comforting familiarity it furnished was needed to thin out my mind’s mourning mire – but the stuff 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 cannot manage. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to be like them: accept the turmoil, invest all your resources into canned food and shotguns and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

It’s strong life advice from a highly unexpected fountain – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my comfort movie.