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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. The guidance we offer all of our clients to invest all their resources into preserved goods and firearms.” This nugget of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, articulate, bespectacled member of the slimy Gremlin horde that swarms Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s simply an investment tip from one monster to another. Yet, curiously, it’s also remarkably sound existential counsel. Honestly, listen to my reasoning.

When things go bad, the most counterproductive action you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin comprehends this. Indeed, the majority of the fang-bearing creatures that occupy Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (possibly his finest) possess the same knowing, self-referential funny bone regarding the hazy boundary separating everyday life 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 strikes the deepest chord.

An Early Life Obsession

Naturally, my attachment to this movie did not begin on such an philosophical plane. Growing up, we were limited to a few well-worn videocassettes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve probably bought from an off-brand video shop and boasting snarling creatures on its tattered front. I was immediately enamoured and these films did not delay lodging themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. Henceforth, they became an practically routine part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s original typically gets all the accolades, thanks largely to its reputation as a partly frightening holiday classic – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. However, its sequel rarely gets the same level of high regard, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d seclude myself indoors and stick it on. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. Over time, it became deeply rooted in my mental framework. If my parents observed this fixation, they appeared unbothered.

Deeper Discoveries and Cultural Nuggets

As I matured, new revelations enriched frequent screenings, heightening the enjoyment of watching diminutive verdant beasts happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his second wife Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his genuine article inspiration.

The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was based on a real-life “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner as a contingency for the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film alternate cuts of a meta sequence where Gremlins take over the actual feature in progress. A version for theaters, one for VHS and TV, each delivering a smirking slice of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy before the term was even a thing.

A Lasting Influence

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s wonderfully grotesque creatures that captured my attention as a child, this hidden treasure kept me hooked as an adult. Eventually, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation informing me he made the movie with the express purpose of poking fun at those who loved its absurd-yet-genuine predecessor and wanted more. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he gleefully confessed. This Looney Tunes-esque insubordination and resolve to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses clearly wanted him to, only made me love it even more.

When I went through a unexpected loss in the family not long ago, I was taken aback to discover that, during my deepest grief, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Perhaps not. The nostalgic calm it provided was essential to dilute my mind’s mourning mire – but the insights it had given me as an adult were just as useful.

Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just can’t control. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: accept the turmoil, invest all your resources into canned food and shotguns and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

It’s powerful existential guidance from a most improbable origin – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my feelgood film.