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“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. The guidance we offer all of our clients to invest all their resources into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” This piece of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, articulate, spectacled member of the slimy Gremlin horde that swarms Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s nothing more than an investment tip from one monster to another. But, curiously, it’s also surprisingly sturdy existential counsel. Honestly, listen to my reasoning.

When things go bad, the worst thing you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin understands this. Actually, most of the dentally-gifted beasts that inhabit Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (possibly his finest) possess the same wry, meta funny bone regarding the blurry line separating the mundane and pure pandemonium. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and with the passage of time, it’s the theme that echoes the loudest.

An Early Life Obsession

Of course, my attachment to this movie did not begin on such an deeply thoughtful note. As a child, we were limited to 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 independent video outlet and sporting grimacing beasts on its tattered front. I was instantly captivated and these films quickly proceeded embedding themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. After that point, they became an near-everyday part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s initial installment typically gets all the accolades, thanks primarily due to its reputation as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. Nevertheless, its sequel infrequently obtains the same level of elevated esteem, which feels a travesty. 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 remained on repeat in my bedroom. With repetition, it became deeply rooted in my mindset. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they didn’t seem to mind.

Deeper Delights and Cultural References

As I grew, new insights enriched multiple watches, heightening the enjoyment of watching diminutive verdant beasts joyously wreck 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 ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his former spouse Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his actual-world equivalent.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was modeled after a real-life “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner as a contingency for the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film alternate cuts of a meta sequence where Gremlins take over the exact movie you are viewing. An edit for movie houses, another for home video and television, each providing a grinning portion of meta pop-culture magic prior to the concept being mainstream.

An Enduring Influence

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this hidden treasure held my interest as an adult. Eventually, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no reservations informing me he made the movie with the express purpose of ridiculing those who loved its goofy-but-heartfelt predecessor and wanted more. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he gleefully confessed. This cartoonish rebelliousness and determination to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only made me love it even more.

When I endured a abrupt familial death recently, I was astonished to realize that, during my heightest mourning, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Maybe not. The soothing reminiscence it provided was necessary to dilute my mind’s grief morass – but the stuff it had bestowed upon me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just can’t control. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: accept the turmoil, invest all your resources into canned food and shotguns and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

It’s powerful existential guidance from a most improbable origin – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my go-to cinematic solace.