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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. We’re advising all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into preserved goods and firearms.” This piece of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, talking, glasses-wearing member of the oozy monster mob that overruns Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s simply an investment tip from one monster to another. Yet, in a strange manner, it’s also surprisingly sturdy life guidance. Truly, consider my perspective.

When situations deteriorate, the worst thing you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin comprehends this. Indeed, the majority of the dentally-gifted beasts that inhabit Dante’s wild 1990 film (arguably his best) possess the same sly, self-aware comic sensibility regarding the indistinct border separating everyday life and absolute bedlam. It’s a single component of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and as I age, it’s the theme that strikes the deepest chord.

A Youthful Fixation

Of course, my fondness for this movie didn’t start on such an introspective level. As a child, we only had a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box likely purchased from an non-chain rental store and sporting growling monsters on its worn-out artwork. I was immediately enamoured and these films did not delay lodging themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. From then on, they became an near-everyday part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s initial installment commonly garners all the plaudits, thanks mostly because of its reputation as a partly frightening holiday classic – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. Nevertheless, its sequel infrequently obtains the same level of high regard, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d lock myself inside and pop it in. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. With repetition, it ingrained itself in my psyche. If my parents noticed this obsession, they gave no indication of concern.

Subtler Rewards and Societal Nuggets

As I grew, new insights enhanced frequent screenings, heightening the enjoyment of watching diminutive verdant beasts happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the ahead-of-its-time development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his former spouse Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his real-life counterpart.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was based on a real-life “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world actually met its demise. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film alternate cuts of a meta sequence where Gremlins seize control of the actual feature in progress. An edit for movie houses, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each delivering a smirking slice of meta pop-culture magic ahead of its time.

An Enduring Legacy

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this hidden treasure maintained my fascination as an adult. In time, I even interviewed Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation telling me he made the movie with the express purpose of mocking 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 gleefully confessed. This Looney Tunes-esque rebelliousness and determination to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only made me love it even more.

When I experienced a sudden family bereavement not long ago, I was taken aback to discover that, during my most profound sorrow, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Maybe not. The nostalgic calm it offered was needed to weaken my mind’s grief morass – but the perspectives it had given me as an adult were just as useful.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just cannot manage. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to be like them: embrace the chaos, put everything you’ve got into tinned provisions and hunting rifles and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

It’s robust worldly wisdom from a very unlikely source – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my feelgood film.