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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. The guidance we offer all of our clients to invest all their resources into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” That bit of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, speaking, glasses-wearing member of the oozy monster mob that overruns Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s simply an financial suggestion from one monster to another. Yet, oddly enough, it’s also pretty solid life advice. Truly, listen to my reasoning.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the worst thing you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin understands this. Actually, a large portion of the fang-bearing creatures that populate Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (possibly his finest) possess the same wry, meta comic sensibility regarding the blurry line separating the mundane and pure pandemonium. It’s a single component of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and with the passage of time, it’s the theme that strikes the deepest chord.

A Youthful Fascination

Of course, my connection with this movie didn’t start on such an deeply thoughtful note. Growing up, we possessed merely a few battered VHS tapes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case probably bought from an non-chain rental store and featuring grimacing beasts on its tattered front. I was immediately enamoured and these films wasted no time embedding themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. After that point, they became an almost-daily part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s first film typically gets all the praise, thanks mostly because of its status as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. Nevertheless, its successor seldom receives the same level of lofty appreciation, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d retreat into the house and stick it on. When I obtained my very own TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. Gradually, it became deeply rooted in my mental framework. If my parents observed this fixation, they appeared unbothered.

Subtler Rewards and Societal Easter Eggs

As I matured, new revelations rewarded frequent screenings, elevating the fun of watching small emerald creatures happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the ahead-of-its-time real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his one-time partner Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his real-life counterpart.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was based on a real-life “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world really ended. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film alternate cuts of a self-aware scene where Gremlins take over the very film you’re watching. An edit for movie houses, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each offering a winking bit of self-referential entertainment sorcery prior to the concept being mainstream.

A Lasting Appeal

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this hidden treasure kept me hooked as an adult. Ultimately, I even interviewed Dante about it myself and he had no qualms informing me he made the movie with the express purpose of ridiculing those who loved its absurd-yet-genuine 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 insubordination and resolve to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only increased my affection for it.

When I experienced a abrupt familial death recently, 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. Odd, no? Possibly not. The comforting familiarity it offered was essential to thin out my mind’s grief morass – but the stuff it had imparted to me as an adult were just as useful.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just are powerless over. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: accept the turmoil, commit your entire being into preserved goods and firearms and try not to take things too seriously.

It’s strong life advice from a very unlikely source – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will forever remain my feelgood film.