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“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. The guidance we offer all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” This nugget of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, articulate, bespectacled member of the slimy Gremlin horde that swarms 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. Yet, in a strange manner, it’s also surprisingly sturdy existential counsel. Truly, hear me out.

When things go bad, the worst thing you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Indeed, a large portion of the dentally-gifted beasts that populate Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (debateably his greatest) possess the same sly, self-aware sense of humour regarding the blurry line separating daily routine and pure pandemonium. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and as I age, it’s the underlying idea that echoes the loudest.

A Childhood Obsession

Of course, my fondness for this movie wasn’t born on such an philosophical plane. In my youth, we possessed merely 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 likely purchased from an independent video outlet and boasting growling monsters on its tattered front. I was immediately enamoured and these films did not delay inserting themselves inside my small, malleable brain. From then on, they became an near-everyday part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s original typically gets all the plaudits, thanks largely to its reputation as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. That said, its follow-up 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 lock myself inside and play it. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. Gradually, it etched itself permanently in my mental framework. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they didn’t seem to mind.

Deeper Rewards and Cultural Easter Eggs

As I grew, new revelations enriched frequent screenings, elevating the fun of watching small emerald creatures happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his one-time partner Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his real-life counterpart.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was inspired by a genuine “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film different iterations of a self-referential segment where Gremlins seize control of the exact movie you are viewing. One for cinemas, one for VHS and TV, each offering a winking bit of self-referential entertainment sorcery ahead of its time.

An Enduring Legacy

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s wonderfully grotesque creatures that captured my attention as a child, this deeper gold held my interest as an adult. Eventually, I even interviewed Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation revealing to me he made the movie with the specific aim of mocking 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 gleefully confessed. This anarchic defiance and determination to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only increased my affection for it.

When I experienced a unexpected loss in the family 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. Weird, right? Perhaps not. The nostalgic calm it furnished was necessary to dilute my mind’s sadness sludge – but the perspectives it had bestowed upon me as an adult were just as useful.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just can’t control. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: embrace the chaos, invest all your resources into tinned provisions and hunting rifles and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

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