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“Well, it’s rather brutal here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to invest all their resources into preserved goods and firearms.” That bit of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, speaking, bespectacled member of the oozy monster mob that infests Manhattan’s ultra-modern 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 portfolio pointer from one monster to another. Yet, oddly enough, it’s also pretty solid existential counsel. Honestly, hear me out.

When things go bad, the worst thing you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin understands this. In fact, most of the toothy monsters that inhabit Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (debateably his greatest) possess the same sly, self-aware funny bone regarding the blurry line separating daily routine and pure pandemonium. It’s a single component of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and as I age, it’s the theme that echoes the loudest.

An Early Life Obsession

Naturally, my connection with this movie did not begin on such an introspective level. Growing up, we were limited to a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its second chapter, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve almost certainly acquired from an off-brand video shop and featuring grimacing beasts on its knackered cover. I was immediately enamoured and these films did not delay lodging themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. From then on, they became an almost-daily part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s initial installment usually receives all the accolades, thanks mostly because of its status as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. Nevertheless, its sequel rarely gets the same level of elevated esteem, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d seclude myself indoors and stick it on. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. With repetition, it ingrained itself in my mindset. If my parents noticed this obsession, they appeared unbothered.

Subtler Discoveries and Cultural Easter Eggs

As I grew, new revelations rewarded multiple watches, amplifying the pleasure of watching diminutive verdant beasts gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the ahead-of-its-time development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his former spouse Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp has more heart than his genuine article inspiration.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was modeled after a actual “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner as a contingency for the world really ended. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film varying versions of a self-aware scene where Gremlins hijack the very film you’re watching. A version for theaters, another for home video and television, each offering a winking bit of meta pop-culture magic prior to the concept being mainstream.

A Lasting Influence

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that caught my eye as a child, this subsurface richness kept me hooked as an adult. Eventually, I even interviewed Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation telling me he made the movie with the direct intention of poking fun at 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 Looney Tunes-esque insubordination and commitment to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I experienced a sudden family bereavement recently, I was surprised to find that, during my deepest grief, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Maybe not. The comforting familiarity it provided was necessary to thin out my mind’s grief morass – but the stuff it had bestowed upon me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just cannot manage. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: welcome the pandemonium, put everything you’ve got into preserved goods and firearms and try not to take things too seriously.

It’s powerful existential guidance from a very unlikely source – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my feelgood film.