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“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to invest all their resources into preserved goods and firearms.” This piece of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, articulate, spectacled member of the slick creature crowd that overruns Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s simply an financial suggestion from one monster to another. Yet, curiously, it’s also surprisingly sturdy existential counsel. Truly, consider my perspective.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the most counterproductive action you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. In fact, a large portion of the fang-bearing creatures that populate Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (debateably his greatest) possess the same knowing, self-referential comic sensibility regarding the indistinct border separating everyday life and pure pandemonium. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and with the passage of time, it’s the underlying idea that echoes the loudest.

A Youthful Obsession

Naturally, my fondness for this movie did not begin on such an philosophical plane. Growing up, we only had a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box almost certainly acquired from an off-brand video shop and boasting snarling creatures on its worn-out artwork. I was right away smitten and these films quickly proceeded inserting themselves inside my small, malleable brain. After that point, they became an near-everyday part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s original commonly garners all the praise, thanks largely to its reputation 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 invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d lock myself inside and stick it on. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. Over time, it ingrained itself in my mindset. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they gave no indication of concern.

Deeper Discoveries and Pop-Culture Easter Eggs

As I got older, new insights enhanced multiple watches, amplifying the pleasure of watching small emerald creatures joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his former spouse Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his actual-world equivalent.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was inspired by a genuine “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world really ended. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film alternate cuts of a self-referential segment where Gremlins hijack the very film you’re watching. A version for theaters, one for VHS and TV, each offering a winking bit of meta pop-culture magic before the term was even a thing.

A Persistent Influence

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this deeper gold kept me hooked as an adult. Eventually, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no qualms informing me he made the movie with the direct intention of poking fun at those who loved its silly-yet-sincere predecessor and desired a sequel. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he cheerfully disclosed. This anarchic insubordination and determination to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only made me love it even more.

When I endured a sudden family bereavement not long ago, I was astonished to realize that, during my heightest mourning, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Perhaps not. The comforting familiarity it provided was needed to dilute 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 some things in life you just are powerless over. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: accept the turmoil, put everything you’ve got into preserved goods and firearms and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

It’s robust worldly wisdom from a highly unexpected fountain – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will forever remain my feelgood film.