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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. We’re advising all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into canned food and shotguns.” This piece of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, talking, bespectacled member of the slick creature crowd that swarms Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s nothing more than an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. But, oddly enough, it’s also pretty solid life guidance. Honestly, consider my perspective.

When situations deteriorate, the biggest mistake you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin understands this. In fact, the majority of the fang-bearing creatures that occupy Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (arguably his best) possess the same knowing, self-referential sense of humour regarding the blurry line separating everyday life and absolute bedlam. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and with the passage of time, it’s the underlying idea that echoes the loudest.

A Youthful Obsession

Understandably, my fondness for this movie did not begin on such an deeply thoughtful note. In my youth, we were limited to 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 probably bought from an non-chain rental store and sporting snarling creatures on its worn-out artwork. I was right away smitten and these films quickly proceeded lodging themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. Henceforth, they became an almost-daily part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s first film typically gets all the praise, thanks largely to its reputation as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. Nevertheless, its sequel rarely gets the same level of high regard, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d seclude myself indoors and play it. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. With repetition, it ingrained itself in my mindset. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they didn’t seem to mind.

Hidden Rewards and Cultural Easter Eggs

As I matured, new understandings rewarded repeat viewings, heightening the enjoyment of watching small emerald creatures gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking 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 former spouse Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp has more heart than his actual-world equivalent.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was modeled after a genuine “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world actually met its demise. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film different iterations of a meta sequence where Gremlins take over the very film you’re watching. An edit for movie houses, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each delivering a smirking slice of self-referential entertainment sorcery ahead of its time.

A Persistent Influence

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s wonderfully grotesque creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this hidden treasure held my interest as an adult. In time, I even interviewed Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation informing me he made the movie with the direct intention of mocking those who loved its absurd-yet-genuine predecessor and craved further installments. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he cheerfully disclosed. This cartoonish rebelliousness and determination to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses clearly wanted him to, only made me love it even more.

When I went through a unexpected loss in the family recently, I was surprised to find that, during my deepest grief, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Perhaps not. The soothing reminiscence it furnished was necessary to weaken my mind’s grief morass – but the perspectives it had given me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just cannot manage. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to be like them: welcome the pandemonium, put everything you’ve got into canned food and shotguns and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

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