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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. We’re advising all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” This piece of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, speaking, bespectacled member of the oozy monster mob that swarms Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s simply an investment tip from one monster to another. Yet, curiously, it’s also pretty solid life advice. Seriously, hear me out.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the most counterproductive action you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin understands this. In fact, most of the dentally-gifted beasts that inhabit Dante’s wild 1990 film (debateably his greatest) possess the same knowing, self-referential sense of humour regarding the indistinct border separating the mundane and absolute bedlam. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and the older I get, it’s the message that echoes the loudest.

A Youthful Obsession

Naturally, my attachment to this movie wasn’t born on such an introspective level. Growing up, we only had a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve probably bought from an independent video outlet and featuring grimacing beasts on its tattered front. I was instantly captivated and these films quickly proceeded lodging themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. From then on, they became an almost-daily part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s original typically gets all the praise, thanks primarily due to its legacy as a partly frightening holiday classic – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. However, its follow-up seldom receives the same level of high regard, which feels criminal. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d lock myself inside and play it. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. With repetition, it ingrained itself in my mental framework. If my parents noticed this obsession, they gave no indication of concern.

Subtler Rewards and Societal Easter Eggs

As I grew, new insights enhanced multiple watches, elevating the fun of watching little green monsters happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon future president Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his former spouse Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his real-life counterpart.

The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was inspired by a actual “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film alternate cuts of a self-referential segment where Gremlins seize control of the actual feature in progress. A version for theaters, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each delivering a smirking slice of meta pop-culture magic before the term was even a thing.

An Enduring Legacy

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that captured my attention as a child, this deeper gold maintained my fascination as an adult. Eventually, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no qualms revealing to me he made the movie with the express purpose of mocking those who loved its silly-yet-sincere predecessor and desired a sequel. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he gleefully confessed. This anarchic defiance and determination to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses clearly wanted him to, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I went through a sudden family bereavement earlier this year, 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. Strange, isn’t it? Maybe not. The comforting familiarity it provided was essential to dilute my mind’s sadness sludge – but the stuff it had given me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just are powerless over. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to be like them: embrace the chaos, put everything you’ve got into preserved goods and firearms and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

It’s robust worldly wisdom from a highly unexpected fountain – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my go-to cinematic solace.