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“Well, it’s rather brutal here. We’re advising all of our clients to invest all their resources into preserved goods and firearms.” This piece of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, speaking, spectacled member of the oozy monster mob that overruns Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s nothing more than an financial suggestion from one monster to another. Yet, in a strange manner, it’s also pretty solid existential counsel. Seriously, hear me out.

When situations deteriorate, the worst thing you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin understands this. Indeed, most of the toothy monsters that occupy Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (debateably his greatest) possess the same knowing, self-referential funny bone regarding the blurry line separating daily routine and absolute bedlam. It’s a single component of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and with the passage of time, it’s the underlying idea that resonates the most.

A Youthful Fixation

Naturally, my fondness for this movie didn’t start on such an philosophical plane. In my youth, we only had a few well-worn videocassettes 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 non-chain rental store and boasting grimacing beasts on its worn-out artwork. I was instantly captivated and these films wasted no time inserting themselves inside my small, malleable brain. Henceforth, they became an practically routine part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s original commonly garners all the accolades, 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 sequel rarely gets 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 seclude myself indoors and pop it in. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. Gradually, it became deeply rooted in my mental framework. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they didn’t seem to mind.

Subtler Delights and Societal Nuggets

As I got older, new understandings enhanced multiple watches, elevating the fun of watching diminutive verdant beasts gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the ahead-of-its-time real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his former spouse Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp has more heart than his real-life counterpart.

The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was based on 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 varying versions of a self-aware scene where Gremlins hijack the very film you’re watching. An edit for movie houses, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each delivering a smirking slice of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy prior to the concept being mainstream.

A Lasting Legacy

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s wonderfully grotesque creatures that captured my attention as a child, this deeper gold maintained my fascination as an adult. In time, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation telling me he made the movie with the direct intention of ridiculing 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 happily revealed. This cartoonish insubordination and determination to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses clearly wanted him to, only increased my affection for it.

When I went through a unexpected loss in the family recently, I was taken aback to discover that, during my deepest grief, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Possibly not. The soothing reminiscence it furnished was necessary to weaken my mind’s mourning mire – 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 cannot manage. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: welcome the pandemonium, invest all your resources into tinned provisions and hunting rifles and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

It’s strong life advice from a most improbable origin – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will forever remain my feelgood film.