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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. We’re advising all of our clients to invest all their resources into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” This piece of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, speaking, glasses-wearing member of the slick creature crowd that overruns Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s simply an financial suggestion from one monster to another. However, in a strange manner, it’s also pretty solid life guidance. Seriously, listen to my reasoning.

When situations deteriorate, the most counterproductive action you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin comprehends this. Indeed, a large portion of the fang-bearing creatures that inhabit Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (arguably his best) possess the same knowing, self-referential funny bone regarding the blurry line separating daily routine and unadulterated chaos. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and as I age, it’s the message that echoes the loudest.

A Childhood Fascination

Naturally, my attachment to this movie didn’t start on such an deeply thoughtful note. As a child, we were limited to a few battered VHS tapes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve probably bought from an independent video outlet and boasting snarling creatures on its knackered cover. I was right away smitten and these films wasted no time inserting themselves inside my small, malleable brain. From then on, they became an almost-daily part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s first film typically gets all the plaudits, thanks mostly because of its reputation as a partly frightening holiday classic – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. That said, its sequel rarely gets the same level of elevated esteem, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d retreat into the house and pop it in. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. Gradually, it ingrained itself in my mental framework. If my parents observed this fixation, they gave no indication of concern.

Subtler Delights and Societal References

As I matured, new revelations enhanced repeat viewings, heightening the enjoyment of watching little green monsters gleefully trash 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 eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his former spouse Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his real-life counterpart.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was inspired by a real-life “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world actually met its demise. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film alternate cuts of a self-referential segment where Gremlins take over the exact movie you are viewing. An edit for movie houses, 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 effects expert Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this subsurface richness maintained my fascination as an adult. In time, I even interviewed Dante about it myself and he had no reservations telling me he made the movie with the direct intention 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 happily revealed. This Looney Tunes-esque insubordination and determination to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses clearly wanted him to, only made me love it even more.

When I went through a sudden family bereavement recently, I was taken aback to discover that, during my most profound sorrow, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Maybe not. The comforting familiarity it provided was needed to thin out my mind’s mourning mire – but the stuff it had imparted to me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just are powerless over. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to be like them: accept the turmoil, invest all your resources into tinned provisions and hunting rifles and try not to take things too seriously.

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