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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 preserved goods and firearms.” That bit of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, talking, glasses-wearing member of the oozy monster mob that infests Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s merely an financial suggestion from one monster to another. But, oddly enough, it’s also pretty solid life advice. Truly, hear me out.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the worst thing you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. In fact, most of the toothy monsters that populate Dante’s wild 1990 film (debateably his greatest) possess the same wry, meta comic sensibility regarding the blurry line separating everyday life and pure pandemonium. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and with the passage of time, it’s the message that resonates the most.

A Childhood Fascination

Understandably, my connection with this movie wasn’t born on such an deeply thoughtful note. Growing up, we possessed merely a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its second chapter, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve almost certainly acquired from an off-brand video shop and boasting growling monsters on its worn-out artwork. I was immediately enamoured and these films quickly proceeded embedding themselves inside my small, malleable brain. Henceforth, they became an almost-daily part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s first film commonly garners all the plaudits, thanks primarily due to its reputation as a partly frightening holiday classic – and don’t get me wrong, 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 invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d seclude myself indoors and play it. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. Gradually, it ingrained itself in my psyche. If my parents observed this fixation, they gave no indication of concern.

Subtler Rewards and Pop-Culture References

As I matured, new revelations enhanced multiple watches, heightening the enjoyment of watching little green monsters joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the ahead-of-its-time property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his former spouse Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his actual-world equivalent.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was modeled after a actual “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner as a contingency for the world really ended. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film alternate cuts of a self-aware scene where Gremlins hijack the exact movie you are viewing. One for cinemas, one for VHS and TV, each delivering a smirking slice of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy prior to the concept being mainstream.

A Persistent Appeal

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that caught my eye as a child, this subsurface richness maintained my fascination as an adult. Ultimately, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation revealing to me he made the movie with the specific aim of poking fun at those who loved its goofy-but-heartfelt predecessor and wanted more. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he gleefully confessed. This cartoonish defiance and resolve to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses clearly wanted him to, only made me love it even more.

When I experienced a unexpected loss in the family recently, I was surprised to find that, during my deepest grief, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Perhaps not. The soothing reminiscence it provided was necessary to weaken my mind’s sadness sludge – but the perspectives it had imparted to me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just cannot manage. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: accept the turmoil, invest all your resources into canned food and shotguns and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

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