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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 shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, speaking, bespectacled member of the oozy monster mob that infests Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s simply an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. But, oddly enough, it’s also surprisingly sturdy existential counsel. Seriously, consider my perspective.

When situations deteriorate, the worst thing you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin understands this. In fact, most of the dentally-gifted beasts that inhabit Dante’s wild 1990 film (possibly his finest) possess the same knowing, self-referential comic sensibility regarding the indistinct border separating daily routine and pure pandemonium. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and with the passage of time, it’s the message that echoes the loudest.

An Early Life Obsession

Naturally, my fondness for this movie wasn’t born on such an introspective level. As a child, we possessed merely a few battered VHS tapes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case almost certainly acquired from an non-chain rental store and sporting grimacing beasts on its worn-out artwork. I was right away smitten and these films did not delay embedding themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. Henceforth, they became an near-everyday part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s initial installment typically gets all the plaudits, thanks primarily due to its legacy as a partly frightening holiday classic – and don’t get me wrong, 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 always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d seclude myself indoors and pop it in. 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 observed this fixation, they appeared unbothered.

Hidden Rewards and Pop-Culture References

As I got older, new revelations enhanced multiple watches, amplifying the pleasure of watching small emerald creatures joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his former spouse Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his actual-world equivalent.

The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was based on a genuine “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world actually met its demise. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film varying versions of a self-referential segment where Gremlins hijack the actual feature in progress. One for cinemas, one for VHS and TV, each offering a winking bit of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy before the term was even a thing.

A Lasting Legacy

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this hidden treasure maintained my fascination as an adult. Eventually, I even interviewed Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation telling me he made the movie with the specific aim of poking fun at 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 happily revealed. This Looney Tunes-esque insubordination and resolve to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I went through a unexpected loss in the family recently, I was surprised to find that, during my heightest mourning, 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 necessary to thin out my mind’s grief morass – 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 some things in life you just cannot manage. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: embrace the chaos, put everything you’ve got 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 why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will forever remain my comfort movie.