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“Well, it’s rather brutal here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to invest all their resources into canned food and shotguns.” This piece of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, speaking, spectacled 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 financial suggestion from one monster to another. But, oddly enough, it’s also remarkably sound existential counsel. Seriously, listen to my reasoning.

When things go bad, the biggest mistake you can do is view events with undue solemnity. 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 wry, meta funny bone regarding the indistinct border separating the mundane and unadulterated chaos. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and the older I get, it’s the message that echoes the loudest.

A Youthful Obsession

Of course, my fondness for this movie wasn’t born on such an deeply thoughtful note. Growing up, we were limited to 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 non-chain rental store and featuring growling monsters on its worn-out artwork. I was immediately enamoured and these films quickly proceeded inserting themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. From then on, they became an almost-daily part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s original typically gets all the plaudits, thanks largely to its legacy as a partly frightening holiday classic – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. Nevertheless, its successor infrequently obtains the same level of high regard, which feels criminal. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d lock myself inside and pop it in. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. Over time, it ingrained itself in my mindset. If my parents noticed this obsession, they appeared unbothered.

Subtler Rewards and Pop-Culture Nuggets

As I grew, new revelations enriched multiple watches, amplifying the pleasure of watching little green monsters happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his second wife Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp has more heart than his genuine article inspiration.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was modeled after a actual “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world really ended. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film varying versions of a self-aware scene where Gremlins take over the exact movie you are viewing. A version for theaters, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each offering a winking bit of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy ahead of its time.

An Enduring Legacy

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that captured my attention as a child, this hidden treasure maintained my fascination as an adult. Eventually, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no reservations telling me he made the movie with the direct intention of poking fun at 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 happily revealed. This Looney Tunes-esque rebelliousness and determination to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses clearly wanted him to, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I endured a abrupt familial death not long ago, I was astonished to realize that, during my deepest grief, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Possibly not. The comforting familiarity it furnished was necessary to weaken my mind’s sadness sludge – but the perspectives it had given me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just can’t control. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: embrace the chaos, commit your entire being into canned food and shotguns and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

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