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“Well, it’s rather brutal here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into preserved goods and firearms.” This nugget of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, speaking, spectacled member of the oozy monster mob that overruns Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s nothing more than an investment tip from one monster to another. Yet, in a strange manner, it’s also remarkably sound life advice. Honestly, listen to my reasoning.

When situations deteriorate, the most counterproductive action you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin understands this. Indeed, most of the dentally-gifted beasts that occupy Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (possibly his finest) possess the same wry, meta sense of humour regarding the indistinct border separating the mundane and unadulterated chaos. It’s one element 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 Fascination

Of course, my fondness for this movie didn’t start on such an deeply thoughtful note. In my youth, we possessed merely a few battered VHS tapes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve probably bought from an off-brand video shop and boasting grimacing beasts on its tattered front. I was instantly captivated and these films quickly proceeded lodging themselves inside my small, malleable brain. Henceforth, they became an near-everyday part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s first film typically gets all the praise, thanks mostly because of its status as a partly frightening holiday classic – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. However, its sequel seldom receives the same level of high regard, 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 stick it on. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. With repetition, it became deeply rooted in my psyche. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they appeared unbothered.

Deeper Rewards and Pop-Culture References

As I grew, new understandings rewarded repeat viewings, elevating the fun of watching little green monsters happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the ahead-of-its-time development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his second wife Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his genuine article inspiration.

The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was inspired by a real-life “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film varying versions of a self-referential segment where Gremlins take over the very film you’re watching. An edit for movie houses, another for home video and television, each offering a winking bit of meta pop-culture magic prior to the concept being mainstream.

An Enduring Influence

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that captured my attention as a child, this deeper gold kept me hooked as an adult. Ultimately, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no qualms revealing to me he made the movie with the specific aim of mocking those who loved its silly-yet-sincere predecessor and wanted more. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he happily revealed. This anarchic defiance and commitment to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only increased my affection for it.

When I experienced a unexpected loss in the family not long ago, I was surprised to find that, during my most profound sorrow, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Maybe not. The soothing reminiscence it provided was necessary to weaken my mind’s sadness sludge – but the insights it had bestowed upon me as an adult were just as useful.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just cannot manage. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to be like them: accept the turmoil, put everything you’ve got into preserved goods and firearms and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

It’s powerful existential guidance from a very unlikely source – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my comfort movie.