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“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. The guidance we offer all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” That bit of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, speaking, glasses-wearing member of the oozy monster mob that infests Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s merely an financial suggestion from one monster to another. However, curiously, it’s also surprisingly sturdy life guidance. Honestly, listen to my reasoning.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the most counterproductive action you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Indeed, the majority of the fang-bearing creatures that inhabit Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (possibly his finest) possess the same knowing, self-referential funny bone regarding the indistinct border separating the mundane and pure pandemonium. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and the older I get, it’s the underlying idea that resonates the most.

An Early Life Obsession

Naturally, my fondness for this movie did not begin on such an deeply thoughtful note. In my youth, we possessed merely a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case likely purchased from an independent video outlet and boasting grimacing beasts on its tattered front. I was right away smitten and these films did not delay embedding themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. From then on, they became an practically routine part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s first film commonly garners all the praise, thanks primarily due to its status as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. Nevertheless, its follow-up infrequently obtains the same level of lofty appreciation, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d retreat into the house and play it. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. Gradually, it became deeply rooted in my psyche. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they gave no indication of concern.

Subtler Rewards and Cultural Easter Eggs

As I grew, new insights enhanced frequent screenings, amplifying the pleasure of watching small emerald creatures happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the ahead-of-its-time property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his second wife Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his genuine article inspiration.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was based on a actual “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film varying versions of a self-aware scene where Gremlins hijack the exact movie you are viewing. One for cinemas, another for home video and television, each delivering a smirking slice of meta pop-culture magic ahead of its time.

A Lasting Legacy

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this hidden treasure kept me hooked as an adult. Ultimately, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no qualms revealing to me he made the movie with the specific aim of ridiculing 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 happily revealed. This Looney Tunes-esque defiance and resolve to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only increased my affection for it.

When I endured a unexpected loss in the family recently, I was astonished to realize 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 necessary to dilute my mind’s grief morass – but the insights it had imparted to me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just can’t control. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: accept the turmoil, commit your entire being into canned food and shotguns and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

It’s strong life advice from a most improbable origin – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will forever remain my comfort movie.