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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 wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, talking, glasses-wearing member of the slimy Gremlin horde that overruns Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s nothing more than an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. But, oddly enough, it’s also remarkably sound life guidance. Truly, listen to my reasoning.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the worst thing you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin understands this. In fact, the majority of the toothy monsters that populate Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (arguably his best) possess the same wry, meta sense of humour regarding the indistinct border 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 echoes the loudest.

A Youthful Obsession

Naturally, my connection with this movie didn’t start on such an introspective level. Growing up, we were limited to a few battered VHS tapes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case almost certainly acquired from an independent video outlet and featuring grimacing beasts on its worn-out artwork. I was instantly captivated and these films did not delay embedding themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. After that point, they became an near-everyday part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s original typically gets all the praise, thanks primarily due to its legacy as a partly frightening holiday classic – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. However, its follow-up rarely gets the same level of high regard, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, 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. With repetition, it became deeply rooted in my psyche. If my parents noticed this obsession, they appeared unbothered.

Subtler Rewards and Cultural Nuggets

As I grew, new understandings rewarded frequent screenings, heightening the enjoyment 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 inspired directly by the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his one-time partner Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his actual-world equivalent.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was based on a actual “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film varying versions of a self-aware scene where Gremlins seize control of the actual feature in progress. One for cinemas, one for VHS and TV, each delivering a smirking slice of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy before the term was even a thing.

A Persistent Appeal

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that captured my attention as a child, this hidden treasure kept me hooked as an adult. Eventually, I even interviewed Dante about it myself and he had no reservations informing me he made the movie with the specific aim of mocking those who loved its goofy-but-heartfelt predecessor and wanted more. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he gleefully confessed. This cartoonish insubordination and resolve to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only made me love it even more.

When I experienced a sudden family bereavement not long ago, I was surprised to find that, during my heightest mourning, all I wanted 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 dilute my mind’s grief morass – but the perspectives it had given me as an adult were just as useful.

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: welcome the pandemonium, commit your entire being into tinned provisions and hunting rifles and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

It’s powerful existential guidance from a very unlikely source – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my go-to cinematic solace.