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“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. We’re advising all of our clients to invest all their resources into canned food and shotguns.” That bit of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, articulate, bespectacled member of the slimy Gremlin horde that infests Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s merely an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. But, in a strange manner, it’s also surprisingly sturdy life advice. Seriously, listen to my reasoning.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the most counterproductive action you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Actually, a large portion of the dentally-gifted beasts that occupy Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (possibly his finest) possess the same wry, meta comic sensibility regarding the blurry line separating the mundane and unadulterated chaos. It’s a single component 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 Youthful Obsession

Understandably, my attachment to this movie wasn’t born on such an deeply thoughtful note. In my youth, we possessed merely a few battered VHS tapes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case likely purchased from an independent video outlet and boasting grimacing beasts on its knackered cover. I was right away smitten and these films did not delay lodging themselves inside my small, malleable brain. Henceforth, they became an practically routine part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s first film commonly garners all the accolades, thanks primarily due to its reputation as a partly frightening holiday classic – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. However, its sequel seldom receives the same level of high regard, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance 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 became deeply rooted in my mindset. If my parents noticed this obsession, they gave no indication of concern.

Deeper Rewards and Cultural Easter Eggs

As I got older, new insights rewarded frequent screenings, elevating the fun of watching diminutive verdant beasts gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his former spouse Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his actual-world equivalent.

The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was modeled after a actual “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world actually met its demise. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film different iterations of a self-aware scene where Gremlins seize control of the very film you’re watching. An edit for movie houses, another for home video and television, each offering a winking bit of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy prior to the concept being mainstream.

A Persistent Influence

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that caught my eye as a child, this hidden treasure held my interest as an adult. Ultimately, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no qualms telling me he made the movie with the direct intention of mocking 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 cheerfully disclosed. This Looney Tunes-esque rebelliousness and determination to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I experienced a sudden family bereavement earlier this year, I was astonished to realize that, during my heightest mourning, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Maybe not. The nostalgic calm it furnished was essential to weaken my mind’s grief morass – but the insights it had given me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just are powerless over. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to be like them: welcome the pandemonium, commit your entire being into tinned provisions and hunting rifles and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

It’s strong life advice from a most improbable origin – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my feelgood film.