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“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. The guidance we offer all of our clients to invest all their resources into canned food and shotguns.” That bit 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 director Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s simply an financial suggestion from one monster to another. But, in a strange manner, it’s also remarkably sound existential counsel. Honestly, hear me out.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the biggest mistake you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. In fact, most 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 hazy boundary separating the mundane and unadulterated chaos. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and the older I get, it’s the theme that strikes the deepest chord.

A Youthful Fixation

Naturally, my attachment to this movie did not begin on such an deeply thoughtful note. Growing up, 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 thick former-rental sleeve almost certainly acquired from an independent video outlet and featuring snarling creatures on its knackered cover. I was immediately enamoured and these films did not delay lodging themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. After that point, they became an almost-daily part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s first film typically gets all the praise, thanks mostly because of its reputation as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. Nevertheless, its sequel seldom receives the same level of elevated esteem, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d seclude myself indoors and pop it in. When I obtained my very own TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. Gradually, it ingrained itself in my mindset. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they gave no indication of concern.

Deeper Discoveries and Cultural Easter Eggs

As I matured, new insights enhanced frequent screenings, amplifying the pleasure of watching diminutive verdant beasts gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his one-time partner Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp possesses greater compassion 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 created by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film varying versions of a self-aware scene where Gremlins hijack the exact movie you are viewing. An edit for movie houses, one for VHS and TV, each offering a winking bit of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy before the term was even a thing.

An Enduring Legacy

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this deeper gold maintained my fascination as an adult. Ultimately, 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 silly-yet-sincere predecessor and craved further installments. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he gleefully confessed. This Looney Tunes-esque insubordination and commitment to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I experienced a sudden family bereavement earlier this year, I was taken aback to discover that, during my deepest grief, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Possibly not. The nostalgic calm it furnished was necessary to dilute my mind’s grief morass – but the stuff it had given me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just can’t control. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to be like them: 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 very unlikely source – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will forever remain my go-to cinematic solace.