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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. Our recommendation is 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 scientifically altered, speaking, bespectacled member of the slick creature crowd that swarms Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s nothing more than an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. However, oddly enough, it’s also surprisingly sturdy life advice. Honestly, hear me out.

When things go bad, the biggest mistake you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin understands this. In fact, most of the toothy monsters that populate Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (debateably his greatest) possess the same sly, self-aware 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 as I age, it’s the underlying idea that strikes the deepest chord.

An Early Life Fixation

Naturally, 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. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its second chapter, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case likely purchased from an non-chain rental store and sporting growling monsters on its knackered cover. I was immediately enamoured and these films did not delay inserting themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. From then on, they became an near-everyday part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s initial installment commonly garners all the plaudits, thanks largely to its reputation as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. That said, its follow-up seldom receives the same level of high regard, which feels criminal. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d seclude myself indoors and pop it in. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. Gradually, it etched itself permanently in my mindset. If my parents noticed this obsession, they gave no indication of concern.

Hidden Rewards and Cultural Easter Eggs

As I matured, new understandings enhanced frequent screenings, elevating the fun of watching diminutive verdant beasts gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon future president Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his second wife Marla Maples. Luckily, 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 based on a real-life “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world actually met its demise. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film alternate cuts of a meta sequence where Gremlins seize control of the actual feature in progress. A version for theaters, another for home video and television, each offering a winking bit of self-referential entertainment sorcery before the term was even a thing.

An Enduring Appeal

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that drew my gaze 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 direct intention of poking fun at those who loved its silly-yet-sincere predecessor and craved further installments. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he happily revealed. This cartoonish insubordination and resolve to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I endured a unexpected loss in the family recently, I was taken aback to discover 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 nostalgic calm it offered was needed to thin out my mind’s sadness sludge – but the perspectives it had imparted to me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just are powerless over. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to be like them: embrace the chaos, put everything you’ve got into tinned provisions and hunting rifles and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

It’s strong life advice from a most improbable origin – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my go-to cinematic solace.