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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. We’re advising all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” This piece of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, speaking, bespectacled member of the slimy Gremlin horde that infests Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s nothing more than an financial suggestion from one monster to another. But, oddly enough, it’s also surprisingly sturdy life advice. Truly, consider my perspective.

When things go bad, the most counterproductive action you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Indeed, a large portion of the dentally-gifted beasts that inhabit Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (possibly his finest) possess the same sly, self-aware funny bone regarding the hazy boundary separating the mundane and absolute bedlam. 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 echoes the loudest.

An Early Life Fixation

Understandably, my fondness for this movie didn’t start on such an deeply thoughtful note. Growing up, we only had a few battered VHS 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 independent video outlet and featuring snarling creatures on its knackered cover. I was immediately enamoured and these films wasted no time embedding themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. After that point, they became an near-everyday part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s initial installment typically gets all the accolades, thanks primarily due to its status as a partly frightening holiday classic – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. However, its successor seldom receives the same level of high regard, which feels criminal. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d retreat into the house and pop it in. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. Over time, it ingrained itself in my mental framework. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they gave no indication of concern.

Subtler Discoveries and Pop-Culture References

As I matured, new understandings enriched frequent screenings, heightening the enjoyment of watching small emerald creatures joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his second wife Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp has more heart than his genuine article inspiration.

The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was modeled after a actual “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world really ended. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film varying versions of a meta sequence where Gremlins hijack the very film you’re watching. One for cinemas, one for VHS and TV, each offering a winking bit of meta pop-culture magic prior to the concept being mainstream.

A Lasting Legacy

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that captured my attention as a child, this hidden treasure maintained my fascination as an adult. Ultimately, I even interviewed Dante about it myself and he had no reservations telling me he made the movie with the specific aim of poking fun at those who loved its absurd-yet-genuine predecessor and wanted more. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he cheerfully disclosed. This Looney Tunes-esque insubordination and commitment to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only made me love it even more.

When I experienced a sudden family bereavement earlier this year, I was surprised to find that, during my most profound sorrow, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Maybe not. The nostalgic calm it provided was essential to weaken my mind’s grief morass – but the perspectives it had bestowed upon me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins rampaging through 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 follow their example: accept the turmoil, invest all your resources into canned food and shotguns and try not to take things too seriously.

It’s strong life advice from a most improbable origin – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my comfort movie.