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“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to invest all their resources into canned food and shotguns.” That bit of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, talking, glasses-wearing member of the oozy monster mob that infests Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s simply an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. But, in a strange manner, it’s also surprisingly sturdy existential counsel. Truly, hear me out.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the most counterproductive action you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Indeed, the majority of the dentally-gifted beasts that occupy Dante’s wild 1990 film (debateably his greatest) possess the same knowing, self-referential funny bone regarding the hazy boundary separating daily routine and pure pandemonium. It’s a particular aspect 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 Childhood Fascination

Naturally, my attachment to this movie did not begin on such an deeply thoughtful note. As a child, we possessed merely a few well-worn videocassettes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box almost certainly acquired from an independent video outlet and boasting snarling creatures on its tattered front. I was right away smitten and these films wasted no time embedding themselves inside my small, malleable brain. From then on, they became an almost-daily part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s original usually receives all the accolades, thanks largely to its legacy as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. However, its successor infrequently obtains the same level of high regard, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d seclude myself indoors and stick it on. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. With repetition, it ingrained itself in my mindset. If my parents observed this fixation, they appeared unbothered.

Subtler Delights and Pop-Culture Easter Eggs

As I grew, new insights enhanced multiple watches, amplifying the pleasure of watching diminutive verdant beasts gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his one-time partner Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp has more heart than his genuine article inspiration.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was inspired by a real-life “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 alternate cuts of a self-referential segment where Gremlins take over the actual feature in progress. An edit for movie houses, another for home video and television, each delivering a smirking slice of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy ahead of its time.

A Lasting Legacy

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that captured my attention as a child, this hidden treasure held my interest as an adult. Ultimately, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no reservations revealing to me he made the movie with the express purpose of ridiculing those who loved its absurd-yet-genuine 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 defiance and determination to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses clearly wanted him to, only made me love it even more.

When I experienced a unexpected loss in the family not long ago, I was surprised to find that, during my heightest mourning, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Possibly not. The comforting familiarity it furnished was needed to dilute my mind’s grief morass – but the stuff it had given me as an adult were just as useful.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just are powerless over. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to be like them: embrace the chaos, invest all your resources into canned food and shotguns 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 go-to cinematic solace.