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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. The guidance we offer all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” This nugget of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, articulate, bespectacled member of the oozy monster mob that swarms Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s simply an financial suggestion from one monster to another. However, curiously, it’s also pretty solid life guidance. Honestly, listen to my reasoning.

When situations deteriorate, the worst thing you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin understands this. Actually, most of the dentally-gifted beasts that occupy Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (arguably his best) possess the same knowing, self-referential funny bone regarding the indistinct border separating everyday life and absolute bedlam. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and the older I get, it’s the message that strikes the deepest chord.

An Early Life Obsession

Understandably, my attachment to this movie did not begin on such an deeply thoughtful note. As a child, we only had a few battered VHS tapes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box likely purchased from an independent video outlet and sporting growling monsters on its knackered cover. I was right away smitten and these films did not delay inserting themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. After that point, they became an near-everyday part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s original typically gets all the plaudits, thanks mostly because of its reputation as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. That said, its sequel infrequently obtains the same level of high regard, which feels criminal. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d seclude myself indoors and play it. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. With repetition, it became deeply rooted in my mindset. If my parents noticed this obsession, they appeared unbothered.

Hidden Discoveries and Societal Easter Eggs

As I grew, new insights enriched frequent screenings, heightening the enjoyment of watching small emerald creatures gleefully trash 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 future president Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his second wife Marla Maples. Fortunately, 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 actual “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film alternate cuts of a self-aware scene where Gremlins hijack the exact movie you are viewing. One for cinemas, one for VHS and TV, each providing a grinning portion of meta pop-culture magic ahead of its time.

A Lasting Appeal

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s wonderfully grotesque creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this subsurface richness kept me hooked as an adult. In time, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation informing me he made the movie with the express purpose of ridiculing those who loved its silly-yet-sincere predecessor and wanted more. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he gleefully confessed. This anarchic insubordination and resolve to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I experienced a unexpected loss in the family earlier this year, I was surprised to find that, during my heightest mourning, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Possibly not. The nostalgic calm it furnished was necessary to dilute my mind’s mourning mire – but the stuff it had given me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just can’t control. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: embrace the chaos, commit your entire being into canned food and shotguns and try not to take things too seriously.

It’s strong life advice from a very unlikely source – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my go-to cinematic solace.