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“Well, it’s rather brutal here. We’re advising all of our clients to invest all their resources into canned food and shotguns.” That bit of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, speaking, glasses-wearing member of the slimy Gremlin horde that swarms Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s merely an financial suggestion from one monster to another. However, oddly enough, it’s also pretty solid life advice. Truly, consider my perspective.

When situations deteriorate, the biggest mistake you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin understands this. In fact, most of the dentally-gifted beasts that inhabit Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (arguably his best) possess the same sly, self-aware funny bone regarding the indistinct border separating daily routine and pure pandemonium. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and with the passage of time, it’s the message that strikes the deepest chord.

An Early Life Obsession

Understandably, my fondness for this movie did not begin on such an deeply thoughtful note. As a child, we were limited to a few well-worn videocassettes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve almost certainly acquired from an independent video outlet and boasting growling monsters on its knackered cover. I was instantly captivated and these films did not delay lodging themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. From then on, they became an practically routine part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s initial installment typically gets all the accolades, thanks mostly because of its reputation as a partly frightening holiday classic – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. Nevertheless, its sequel rarely gets the same level of high regard, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d retreat into the house and play it. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. Gradually, it etched itself permanently in my mindset. If my parents noticed this obsession, they gave no indication of concern.

Subtler Delights and Societal Easter Eggs

As I grew, new insights rewarded repeat viewings, amplifying the pleasure of watching small emerald creatures gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his one-time partner Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his genuine article inspiration.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was modeled after a genuine “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner as a contingency for the world actually met its demise. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film different iterations of a self-aware scene where Gremlins seize control of the very film you’re watching. One for cinemas, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each providing a grinning portion of self-referential entertainment sorcery ahead of its time.

A Persistent Influence

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s wonderfully grotesque creatures that captured my attention as a child, this subsurface richness kept me hooked as an adult. Eventually, I even conversed with 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 wanted more. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he gleefully confessed. This cartoonish rebelliousness and commitment to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only made me love it even more.

When I went through a unexpected loss in the family not long ago, I was astonished to realize that, during my heightest mourning, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Maybe not. The comforting familiarity it furnished was essential to thin out my mind’s sadness sludge – but the insights it had bestowed upon me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just cannot manage. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: embrace the chaos, 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 highly unexpected fountain – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will forever remain my feelgood film.