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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into preserved goods and firearms.” That bit of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, speaking, glasses-wearing member of the oozy monster mob that overruns Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s nothing more than an financial suggestion from one monster to another. Yet, curiously, it’s also surprisingly sturdy life advice. Truly, hear me out.

When situations deteriorate, the worst thing you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin comprehends this. In fact, a large portion of the fang-bearing creatures that inhabit Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (debateably his greatest) possess the same sly, self-aware sense of humour regarding the blurry line separating the mundane and absolute bedlam. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and the older I get, it’s the message that strikes the deepest chord.

An Early Life Fascination

Of course, my connection with this movie didn’t start on such an philosophical plane. Growing up, we possessed merely a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box likely purchased from an independent video outlet and featuring snarling creatures on its tattered front. I was right away smitten and these films did not delay inserting themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. After that point, they became an near-everyday part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s initial installment commonly garners all the praise, thanks primarily due to its legacy as a partly frightening holiday classic – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. That said, its sequel rarely gets the same level of elevated esteem, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d seclude myself indoors and play it. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. Over time, it became deeply rooted in my mental framework. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they gave no indication of concern.

Hidden Rewards and Pop-Culture Nuggets

As I grew, new insights rewarded frequent screenings, amplifying the pleasure of watching little green monsters joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his former spouse Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp possesses greater compassion 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 commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film alternate cuts of a self-aware scene where Gremlins hijack the very film you’re watching. One for cinemas, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each delivering a smirking slice of meta pop-culture magic ahead of its time.

A Persistent Legacy

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s wonderfully grotesque creatures that captured my attention as a child, this subsurface richness maintained my fascination as an adult. In time, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no qualms revealing to me he made the movie with the express purpose 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 happily revealed. This anarchic defiance and commitment to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses clearly wanted him to, only increased my affection for it.

When I experienced a abrupt familial death not long ago, I was taken aback to discover that, during my deepest grief, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Perhaps not. The soothing reminiscence it furnished was needed to thin out my mind’s grief morass – but the insights it had bestowed upon me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just are powerless over. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: accept the turmoil, put everything you’ve got into preserved goods and firearms and try not to take things too seriously.

It’s strong life advice from a most improbable origin – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my feelgood film.