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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. The guidance we offer all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into preserved goods and firearms.” That bit of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, articulate, spectacled member of the oozy monster mob that overruns Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s merely an investment tip from one monster to another. But, curiously, it’s also pretty solid life guidance. Seriously, consider my perspective.

When situations deteriorate, the most counterproductive action you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Actually, the majority of the toothy monsters that inhabit Dante’s wild 1990 film (arguably his best) possess the same sly, self-aware sense of humour regarding the hazy boundary separating everyday life and unadulterated chaos. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and the older I get, it’s the theme that resonates the most.

A Childhood Fascination

Of course, my attachment to this movie did not begin on such an introspective level. As a child, we only had 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 sporting growling monsters on its worn-out artwork. I was right away smitten and these films wasted no time lodging themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. Henceforth, they became an practically routine part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s original commonly garners all the accolades, thanks mostly because of its status as a partly frightening holiday classic – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. However, its successor seldom receives the same level of high regard, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d retreat into the house and stick it on. When I obtained my very own TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. Gradually, it ingrained itself in my psyche. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they appeared unbothered.

Deeper Rewards and Pop-Culture Easter Eggs

As I grew, new understandings enhanced repeat viewings, amplifying the pleasure of watching diminutive verdant beasts gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the ahead-of-its-time real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on future president Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his former spouse Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his genuine article inspiration.

The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was inspired by a real-life “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner as a contingency for the world really ended. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film alternate cuts of a self-referential segment where Gremlins take over the actual feature in progress. One for cinemas, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each offering a winking bit of meta pop-culture magic prior to the concept being mainstream.

An Enduring Influence

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this deeper gold maintained my fascination as an adult. Eventually, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no reservations telling 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 happily revealed. This anarchic defiance and determination to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only increased my affection for it.

When I went through a abrupt familial death earlier this year, I was taken aback to discover that, during my heightest mourning, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Maybe not. The soothing reminiscence it provided was needed to thin out my mind’s mourning mire – but the stuff it had imparted to me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just can’t control. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to be like them: embrace the chaos, commit your entire being into preserved goods and firearms and try not to take things too seriously.

It’s robust worldly wisdom from a very unlikely source – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my comfort movie.