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“Well, it’s rather brutal here. The guidance we offer all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into canned food and shotguns.” This piece of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, articulate, bespectacled member of the oozy monster mob that infests Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s nothing more than an investment tip from one monster to another. But, oddly enough, it’s also pretty solid life advice. Truly, consider my perspective.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the worst thing you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin comprehends this. In fact, a large portion of the toothy monsters that populate Dante’s wild 1990 film (possibly his finest) possess the same wry, meta funny bone regarding the indistinct border separating everyday life and pure pandemonium. It’s a single component of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and with the passage of time, it’s the underlying idea that resonates the most.

A Youthful Fascination

Naturally, my fondness for this movie did not begin on such an introspective level. In my youth, we possessed merely a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case almost certainly acquired from an off-brand video shop and boasting snarling creatures on its knackered cover. I was instantly captivated and these films did not delay 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 plaudits, thanks mostly because of its reputation as a partly frightening holiday classic – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. That said, its sequel infrequently obtains the same level of elevated esteem, which feels criminal. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d seclude myself indoors and play it. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. Over time, it became deeply rooted in my mental framework. If my parents noticed this obsession, they appeared unbothered.

Subtler Rewards and Societal Nuggets

As I got older, new understandings enriched repeat viewings, amplifying the pleasure of watching little green monsters gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his one-time partner Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp has more heart than his real-life counterpart.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was inspired by a actual “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world actually met its demise. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film varying versions of a meta sequence where Gremlins seize control of the actual feature in progress. A version for theaters, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each providing a grinning portion of self-referential entertainment sorcery before the term was even a thing.

An Enduring Influence

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s wonderfully grotesque creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this subsurface richness held my interest as an adult. Ultimately, I even interviewed Dante about it myself and he had no reservations telling me he made the movie with the express purpose of ridiculing those who loved its goofy-but-heartfelt predecessor and desired a sequel. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he cheerfully disclosed. This Looney Tunes-esque rebelliousness and resolve to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses clearly wanted him to, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I experienced a abrupt familial death earlier this year, I was taken aback to discover that, during my most profound sorrow, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Perhaps not. The soothing reminiscence it furnished was essential to weaken my mind’s mourning mire – but the stuff it had given me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just can’t control. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to be like them: embrace the chaos, commit your entire being into preserved goods and firearms and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

It’s robust worldly wisdom from a very unlikely source – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my go-to cinematic solace.