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“Well, it’s rather brutal here. We’re advising all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into canned food and shotguns.” This piece of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, articulate, bespectacled member of the slimy Gremlin horde that swarms Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s merely an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. But, in a strange manner, it’s also surprisingly sturdy life advice. Truly, listen to my reasoning.

When things go bad, the biggest mistake you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. In fact, most of the toothy monsters that inhabit Dante’s wild 1990 film (debateably his greatest) possess the same knowing, self-referential sense of humour regarding the hazy boundary separating the mundane and pure pandemonium. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and the older I get, it’s the underlying idea that strikes the deepest chord.

A Youthful Obsession

Of course, my attachment to this movie wasn’t born on such an introspective level. In my youth, we were limited to a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case likely purchased from an independent video outlet and sporting grimacing beasts on its tattered front. I was immediately enamoured and these films wasted no time inserting themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. Henceforth, they became an near-everyday part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s first film commonly garners all the accolades, thanks largely to its status as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. However, its sequel infrequently obtains the same level of lofty appreciation, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d seclude myself indoors and pop it in. When I obtained my very own TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. Gradually, it ingrained itself in my mental framework. If my parents noticed this obsession, they gave no indication of concern.

Subtler Discoveries and Societal Nuggets

As I grew, new understandings rewarded repeat viewings, heightening the enjoyment of watching little green monsters joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon future president Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his one-time partner Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his actual-world equivalent.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was modeled after a actual “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner as a contingency for the world really ended. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film alternate cuts of a self-aware scene where Gremlins take over the very film you’re watching. A version for theaters, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each offering a winking bit of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy ahead of its time.

A Persistent Influence

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this subsurface richness maintained my fascination as an adult. Ultimately, 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 Looney Tunes-esque defiance and determination to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I endured a abrupt familial death recently, 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. Strange, isn’t it? Possibly not. The nostalgic calm it offered was necessary to thin out my mind’s sadness sludge – but the insights it had given me as an adult were just as useful.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just can’t control. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: embrace the chaos, invest all your resources into canned food and shotguns and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

It’s powerful existential guidance from a very unlikely source – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will forever remain my comfort movie.