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“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. We’re advising all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into canned food and shotguns.” That bit of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, articulate, glasses-wearing member of the slimy Gremlin horde that infests Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s merely an financial suggestion from one monster to another. But, in a strange manner, it’s also pretty solid life advice. Honestly, listen to my reasoning.

When situations deteriorate, the most counterproductive action you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. In fact, a large portion of the dentally-gifted beasts that populate Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (debateably his greatest) possess the same wry, meta funny bone regarding the indistinct border separating daily routine 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 underlying idea that echoes the loudest.

A Youthful Fixation

Of course, my fondness for this movie wasn’t born on such an deeply thoughtful note. In my youth, we only had a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve probably bought from an non-chain rental store and sporting snarling creatures on its knackered cover. I was instantly captivated and these films quickly proceeded inserting themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. After that point, they became an near-everyday part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s initial installment usually receives all the plaudits, thanks primarily due to its status as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. Nevertheless, its sequel infrequently obtains the same level of elevated esteem, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d retreat into the house and play it. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. Gradually, it became deeply rooted in my psyche. If my parents observed this fixation, they gave no indication of concern.

Deeper Discoveries and Pop-Culture Easter Eggs

As I matured, new understandings rewarded multiple watches, heightening the enjoyment of watching diminutive verdant beasts joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon future president Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his second wife Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp has more heart than his real-life counterpart.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was based on a genuine “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film alternate cuts of a self-aware scene where Gremlins hijack the actual feature in progress. A version for theaters, another for home video and television, each providing a grinning portion of self-referential entertainment sorcery prior to the concept being mainstream.

A Persistent Legacy

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this hidden treasure maintained my fascination as an adult. In time, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no reservations telling me he made the movie with the direct intention of mocking those who loved its absurd-yet-genuine predecessor and wanted more. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he cheerfully disclosed. This Looney Tunes-esque defiance and resolve to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses clearly wanted him to, only increased my affection for it.

When I experienced a sudden family bereavement not long ago, I was surprised to find that, during my most profound sorrow, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Possibly not. The nostalgic calm it offered was essential to dilute my mind’s grief morass – but the insights it had imparted to me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just are powerless over. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: welcome the pandemonium, invest all your resources into canned food and shotguns and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

It’s robust worldly wisdom from a highly unexpected fountain – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my comfort movie.