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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 canned food and shotguns.” That bit of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, articulate, spectacled member of the slimy Gremlin horde that swarms Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s nothing more than an financial suggestion from one monster to another. But, oddly enough, it’s also surprisingly sturdy life guidance. Truly, hear me out.

When things go bad, the most counterproductive action you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Actually, most of the fang-bearing creatures that occupy Dante’s wild 1990 film (debateably his greatest) possess the same sly, self-aware sense of humour regarding the hazy boundary separating the mundane and pure pandemonium. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and the older I get, it’s the underlying idea that resonates the most.

A Youthful Fixation

Understandably, my connection with 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 second chapter, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve likely purchased from an independent video outlet and sporting snarling creatures on its tattered front. I was instantly captivated and these films quickly proceeded lodging themselves inside my small, malleable brain. From then on, they became an practically routine part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s first film commonly garners all the accolades, thanks primarily due to its legacy as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. Nevertheless, its sequel infrequently obtains the same level of lofty appreciation, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d seclude myself indoors and stick it on. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. Over time, it ingrained itself in my mindset. If my parents noticed this obsession, they gave no indication of concern.

Subtler Discoveries and Pop-Culture Easter Eggs

As I matured, new revelations enriched repeat viewings, heightening the enjoyment of watching little green monsters 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 later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his one-time partner Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his genuine article inspiration.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was modeled after a genuine “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world actually met its demise. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film alternate cuts of a meta sequence where Gremlins take over the actual feature in progress. A version for theaters, one for VHS and TV, each offering a winking bit of self-referential entertainment sorcery before the term was even a thing.

A Persistent Appeal

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that caught my eye as a child, this hidden treasure kept me hooked as an adult. Ultimately, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no qualms telling me he made the movie with the express purpose of ridiculing 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 happily revealed. This anarchic rebelliousness and resolve to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only made me love it even more.

When I endured a abrupt familial death earlier this year, I was taken aback to discover that, during my heightest mourning, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Perhaps not. The soothing reminiscence it offered was essential to dilute my mind’s grief morass – but the perspectives it had given me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just cannot manage. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: accept the turmoil, invest all your resources into preserved goods and firearms 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 comfort movie.