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“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to invest all their resources into preserved goods and firearms.” This nugget of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, articulate, glasses-wearing member of the slimy Gremlin horde that infests Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s merely an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. But, in a strange manner, it’s also pretty solid existential counsel. Truly, listen to my reasoning.

When things go bad, the biggest mistake you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin understands this. Actually, a large portion of the fang-bearing creatures that occupy Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (arguably his best) possess the same sly, self-aware comic sensibility regarding the blurry line separating everyday life and absolute bedlam. It’s a single component of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and with the passage of time, it’s the message that strikes the deepest chord.

A Youthful Fixation

Naturally, my fondness for this movie wasn’t born on such an deeply thoughtful note. Growing up, we were limited to a few well-worn videocassettes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve likely purchased from an independent video outlet and sporting grimacing beasts on its knackered cover. I was instantly captivated and these films did not delay embedding themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. After that point, they became an almost-daily part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s original typically gets all the plaudits, thanks primarily due to its status as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. Nevertheless, its follow-up infrequently obtains the same level of high regard, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d retreat into the house and play it. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. Gradually, it became deeply rooted in my psyche. If my parents noticed this obsession, they appeared unbothered.

Deeper Delights and Societal Nuggets

As I matured, new insights enhanced multiple watches, amplifying the pleasure of watching small emerald creatures gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his second wife Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp has more heart than his actual-world equivalent.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was based on a genuine “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner as a contingency for the world really ended. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film varying versions of a self-referential segment where Gremlins seize control of the exact movie you are viewing. One for cinemas, one for VHS and TV, each offering a winking bit of self-referential entertainment sorcery ahead of its time.

A Persistent Legacy

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s wonderfully grotesque creatures that caught my eye as a child, this deeper gold kept me hooked as an adult. Ultimately, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation revealing to me he made the movie with the direct intention of ridiculing those who loved its silly-yet-sincere predecessor and craved further installments. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he cheerfully disclosed. This cartoonish insubordination and resolve to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only increased my affection for it.

When I experienced a unexpected loss in the family earlier this year, I was taken aback to discover that, during my heightest mourning, 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 needed to dilute my mind’s mourning mire – but the stuff it had bestowed upon me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just can’t control. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to be like them: accept the turmoil, put everything you’ve got into preserved goods and firearms and try not to take things too seriously.

It’s robust worldly wisdom from a most improbable origin – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my feelgood film.