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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. The guidance we offer all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into canned food and shotguns.” That bit of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, speaking, glasses-wearing member of the oozy monster mob that swarms Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s simply an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. But, oddly enough, it’s also surprisingly sturdy existential counsel. Truly, consider my perspective.

When things go bad, the biggest mistake you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Actually, a large portion of the toothy monsters that populate Dante’s wild 1990 film (debateably his greatest) possess the same knowing, self-referential funny bone regarding the blurry line separating the mundane and pure pandemonium. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and with the passage of time, it’s the message that echoes the loudest.

A Youthful Fixation

Understandably, my fondness for this movie didn’t start on such an deeply thoughtful note. As a child, we possessed merely a few well-worn videocassettes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box probably bought from an non-chain rental store and sporting grimacing beasts on its knackered cover. I was instantly captivated and these films quickly proceeded lodging themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. After that point, they became an practically routine part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s initial installment typically gets all the accolades, thanks mostly because of its reputation as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. That said, its successor rarely gets the same level of high regard, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d retreat into the house and pop it in. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. With repetition, it ingrained itself in my mindset. If my parents observed this fixation, they appeared unbothered.

Subtler Discoveries and Cultural Nuggets

As I got older, new understandings enhanced repeat viewings, amplifying the pleasure of watching diminutive verdant beasts happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his second wife Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his actual-world equivalent.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was based on a actual “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world actually met its demise. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film different iterations of a self-referential segment where Gremlins seize control of the very film you’re watching. One for cinemas, another for home video and television, each delivering a smirking slice of self-referential entertainment sorcery prior to the concept being mainstream.

A Lasting Appeal

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 interviewed 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 absurd-yet-genuine predecessor and craved further installments. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he gleefully confessed. This cartoonish insubordination and commitment to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses clearly wanted him to, only increased my affection for it.

When I experienced a unexpected loss in the family earlier this year, I was surprised to find that, during my heightest mourning, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Maybe not. The soothing reminiscence it provided was essential to thin out my mind’s grief morass – but the stuff it had bestowed upon me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just are powerless over. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to be like them: embrace the chaos, commit your entire being into canned food and shotguns and try not to take things too seriously.

It’s robust worldly wisdom from a most improbable origin – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my feelgood film.