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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. The guidance we offer all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” This nugget of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, speaking, bespectacled member of the oozy monster mob that overruns Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s merely an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. However, in a strange manner, it’s also remarkably sound life advice. Truly, listen to my reasoning.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the worst thing you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. In fact, the majority of the toothy monsters that populate Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (arguably his best) possess the same knowing, self-referential comic sensibility regarding the indistinct border separating daily routine and absolute bedlam. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and as I age, it’s the underlying idea that echoes the loudest.

A Childhood Fixation

Understandably, my connection with this movie wasn’t born on such an introspective level. In my youth, we were limited to a few well-worn videocassettes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case likely purchased from an non-chain rental store and boasting grimacing beasts on its knackered cover. I was immediately enamoured and these films wasted no time lodging themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. Henceforth, they became an near-everyday part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s first film commonly garners all the accolades, thanks primarily due to its reputation as a partly frightening holiday classic – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. However, its follow-up infrequently obtains the same level of elevated esteem, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d lock myself inside and pop it in. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. Over time, it etched itself permanently in my mindset. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they didn’t seem to mind.

Hidden Rewards and Pop-Culture Nuggets

As I got older, new understandings rewarded repeat viewings, amplifying the pleasure of watching little green monsters happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the ahead-of-its-time property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his one-time partner Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his genuine article inspiration.

The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was inspired by a real-life “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world really ended. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film different iterations 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 offering a winking bit of self-referential entertainment sorcery before the term was even a thing.

A Lasting Appeal

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that captured my attention as a child, this hidden treasure maintained my fascination as an adult. In time, 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 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 Looney Tunes-esque insubordination 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 sudden family bereavement not long ago, 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. Odd, no? Perhaps not. The soothing reminiscence it provided was essential to thin out my mind’s mourning mire – but the insights it had bestowed upon me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just are powerless over. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to be like them: welcome the pandemonium, invest all your resources into preserved goods and firearms and try not to take things too seriously.

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